Volubilis
/vol-YOO-bih-lis/🏷️ Taxonomy●● Intermediate
Also known as: volubile
A habit epithet specifically describing a plant that climbs by twining — wrapping its stems spirally around a host or support rather than using tendrils, adhesive roots, or hooks. The twining habit is one of the most distinctive climbing mechanisms in the plant kingdom. Appears as volubilis (both genders).
Etymology
From Latin volubilis, meaning "that rolls," "spinning," or "twining," from volvere (to roll, to turn).
Example
“Convolvulus volubilis and various Ipomoea species twine their stems clockwise or counterclockwise around any available support, living up to the spiralling, rolling energy of this epithet.”