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The terms 'vines' and 'creepers' are used frequently in plant descriptions. They both have flexible growth and cannot support themselves in an upright habit.

A simple image search brings almost identical results. (vines and creepers) And from here:

All creepers are vines, but not all vines are creepers.

Are there any major differences that can be apparent between vines and creepers? What are they?

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J. Musser
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1 Answers1

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Vines are not a special group of plants, but - like trees and shrubs - defined by appearances. Vines have long stalks/shots/branches that are too weak to support themselves. Usually vines are divided in two subgroups, creepers and climbers:

  • Creepers are vines that - if left alone - trail over the ground or hang down. If gardeners want them to grow upwards, they must tie them to some supporting structure. Creepers are often used as ground cover.

  • Climbers on the other hand, are vines that can climb on their own. They either

    • wrap their entire branch around supporting structures (like wisteria),
    • grow tendrils (sweat peas) or tendril-like leaves (clematis) or
    • have some sort of special aerial rootlets (English ivy) or adhesive pads (Virginia creeper -> a misnomer!)

    If no supporting structure is available, climbers will "creep" over the ground, too, of course.

Caveat: The naming is not always consistent, "Virginia creeper" is actually a "climber".

Edit as requested:

There is another type of "creepers", namely ground-covering or "crouching" plants without long "vine-like" branches. Creeping thyme is an example.

As all names in this post are based on apperance and not on some kind of botanical relationship, this was to be expected.

Stephie
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