Balloonvine
Cardiospermum halicacabrum L.
Sapindaceae (Soapberry Family)
▲ seedling
▲▼ young plants
young plant▲
▲ flowering plant
▲▼ flowers
vining growth habit▲▼
flowers & fruit▲
fruit▲▼
Balloonvine, Love-in-a-Puff:
· summer annual vine (in U.S., tender perennial where it originated in South America)
· has trifoliate leaves; leaflets light-green, hairy, lobed
· vine grows 6-10’ long and has panicles of tiny white flowers, followed by green, sac-like fruit with single seed inside; fruit turns brown with maturity
· is in the Soapberry Family (Sapindaceae)
· found more common in southern part of Midwest in soybean, cotton fields and other fertile, cultivated soils
· has been grown as an ornamental in southern states