Cardiospermum halicacabum
(balloon vine)

Preferred Scientific Name

• Cardiospermum halicacabum L.

Preferred Common Name

• balloon vine

Other Scientific Names

• Cardiospermum acuminatum Miq.
• Cardiospermum corycodes Kunze
• Cardiospermum glabrum Schumach. & Thonn.
• Cardiospermum inflatum Salisb.
• Cardiospermum luridum Blume
• Cardiospermum moniliferum Schwagr. ex Steud.
• Corindum halicacabum (L.) Medik.

International Common Names

• English: heart pea; heartseed; lesser balloonvine; love in a puff; small balloon creeper; small balloon vine; winter-cherry
• Spanish: amor en bolsita; bejuco Colorado; farolito; globitos; revienta caballo
• French: pois de merveille
• Chinese: dao di ling
• Portuguese: balaozinho

Local Common Names

• Australia: small balloon vine
• Costa Rica: amor en bolsita; farolito; globitos
• Cuba: farolito (var. halicacabum); revienta caballos
• Dominican Republic: toffe-toffe
• Germany: Ballonrebe; Blasenerbse; Herzsame
• Haiti: bonnet carré; persil bâtard; pois de merveille; pois merveille
• Indonesia: cenet (Malay, Western Sumatra); ketipes (Javanese); paria gunung (Sundanese)
• Italy: vesicaria del cuore
• Lesser Antilles: bonne kawe; bonnet care; chapeau carre; heart seed; liane persil; lyann pesi; pesi bata; sprain bush vine; wild parsley
• Malaysia: bintang berahi; peria bulan; uban kayu
• Mexico: pejuco colorado
• Netherlands: Blaaserwt
• Philippines: kana; paria-aso; parol-parolan
• South Africa: lesser balloon vine
• Thailand: kok kra om; luupleep khruea; pho om

EPPO code

• CRIHA (Cardiospermum halicacabum)

• Domain: Eukaryota
•     Kingdom: Plantae
•         Phylum: Spermatophyta
•             Subphylum: Angiospermae
•                 Class: Dicotyledonae
•                     Order: Sapindales
•                         Family: Sapindaceae
•                             Genus: Cardiospermum
•                                 Species: Cardiospermum halicacabum

The family Sapindaceae includes 142 genera and approximately 1900 species distributed worldwide. Sapindaceae, along with the families Bignoniaceae and Fabaceae, are the major components of the vine vegetation of the Neotropics (Stevens, 2012). The genus Cardiospermum currently comprises 17 species of subshrubs and herbaceous climbers commonly called balloon vines (the Plant List, 2013). Around half of the species occur in moist tropical and subtropical regions of the world while other species are well-adapted to arid and semiarid habitats (Ferrucci and Urdampilleta, 2011; Gildenhuys et al., 2013). Cardiospermum is mostly restricted to the Neotropics (from Mexico to southern South-America; Ferrucci and Urdampilleta, 2011), with three species that extend into the Paleotropics. The species C. halicacabum is often listed as a cosmopolitan species with a wide distribution. The native status of this species is highly debated and still remains uncertain (Ferrucci and Urdampilleta, 2011; Urdampilleta et al., 2013; Gildenhuys et al., 2013).

The name Cardiospermum is the combination of the Latin words “cardio” meaning heart, and “sperma” meaning seed and refers to the white heart-shaped pattern (pseudohilum) observed on the seeds (USDA-NRCS, 2015). 

Herbaceous vine, much branched from the base, climbs by means of tendrils and attains 1.5-2 m in length. Stems with 5 longitudinal ribs, glabrous or puberulent; cross section with a single vascular cylinder. Leaves alternate, biternate; leaflets chartaceous, puberulent or sparsely pubescent, the apex obtuse, acute, or acuminate, the base attenuate, the margins lobate or laciniate; terminal leaflet lanceolate or triangular, rhombic or narrowly lanceolate in outline, 2-3.5(5) cm long; lateral leaflets ovate, lanceolate, or oblong in outline, 1-2.5 cm long; rachis and petiole not winged; petioles 2-3 cm long; stipules lanceolate, approximately 5 mm long; tendrils in pairs, spirally twisted, at the end of short axillary axes (aborted inflorescences), from which an inflorescence usually develops. Flowers functionally unisexual, zygomorphic, in axillary racemiform thyrses, shorter than the accompanying leaf. Calyx light green, of 4 unequal sepals, the outer ones approximately 1.2 mm long, the inner ones 3-3.5 mm long. Petals white, obovate, 2.5-3.5 mm long; petaliferous appendages slightly shorter than the petals, fleshy and yellow at the apex, forming a hood that encloses the apex of the glands of the disc; disc unilateral, with 4 rounded or ovoid glands, approximately 0.4 mm long; stamens 8, the filaments unequal, pubescent; ovary trilocular, with one style and 3 stigmas. Capsules brown, pearlike, turbinate-obtriangular or sometimes nearly ellipsoid, 1.5-3 × 2-4 cm, pubescent. Seeds black, shiny, approximately 5 mm in diameter; hilum green when fresh, white when dry, cordate (Acevedo-Rodríguez, 2005; Flora of China Editorial Committee, 2015). 

The ornamental trade of C. halicacabum spans more than 100 years. However, in Australia, it is speculated that C. halicacabum was introduced during James Cook’s second voyage in the 1770’s (Bean, 2007; Harris et al., 2007). In South Africa, the introduction of C. halicacabum occurred approximately 100 years ago (Simelane et al., 2011). In North America, C. halicacabum was reported in the Spontaneous Illinois Vascular Flora before 1922 and was described as abundant in Oklahoma in the 1820’s (Gildenhuys et al., 2013). In Cuba, where this species is listed as introduced and invasive (Oviedo Prieto et al., 2012), it appears in herbarium collections made in 1910 (US National Herbarium).

C. halicacabum also occurs in Asia. In China it is described as a common weed in forest margins, shrublands, grasslands, cultivated areas and wastelands of the east, south and southwest (Flora of China Editorial Committee, 2015) while in India it is a widespread weed. The history of C. halicacabum in these countries is unknown, but it is widely used for medicinal purposes (Subramanyam et al., 2007; Gildenhuys et al., 2013).

Soil drainage

• free

Soil reaction

• acid
• alkaline
• neutral

Soil texture

• heavy
• light
• medium

C. halicacabum spreads by seeds, which are dispersed by birds, wind and water. Fruits can float on both seawater and freshwater and therefore they can be dispersed by ocean and water currents.

Long-distance introductions of this species are mainly the result of human activities (Rojo and Pitargue, 1999; Gildenhuys et al., 2013). It can also be dispersed as a potential seed contaminant and in dumped garden waste (USDA-ARS, 2015). 

C. halicacabum is a major weed with substantial economic impacts on sugarcane and soyabean plantations (Gildenhuys et al., 2013). It is also listed as an environmental weed in Australia and South Africa where dense infestations can impede access, increase the risk and intensity of fires and harbour pests and diseases (Invasive Species South Africa, 2015; Weeds of Australia, 2015). 

C. halicacabum is globally listed as an aggressive invasive plant species. It is a “transformer weed” that grows forming a dense and thick curtain of stems and leaves which excludes light and inhibits photosynthesis in the native plants below (McKay et al. 2010; Weeds of Australia, 2015). The weight of this vegetation can also contribute to canopy collapse and ecosystem destruction. It invades forest margins, woodland, grassland, riverbanks, floodplains and rocky sites. Dense infestations can also increase the risk and intensity of fires, altering the successional process in natural habitats (Gildenhuys et al., 2013; Weeds of Australia, 2015).

Because C. halicacabum contains potentially toxic compounds such as saponins, cyanolipids and cyanogenic glycosides, it can be toxic for humans (Rojo and Pitargue, 1999).

• Invasive in its native range
• Proved invasive outside its native range
• Has a broad native range
• Abundant in its native range
• Highly adaptable to different environments
• Is a habitat generalist
• Tolerates, or benefits from, cultivation, browsing pressure, mutilation, fire etc
• Pioneering in disturbed areas
• Highly mobile locally
• Benefits from human association (i.e. it is a human commensal)
• Long lived
• Fast growing
• Has high reproductive potential
• Has propagules that can remain viable for more than one year
• Reproduces asexually

• Ecosystem change/ habitat alteration
• Loss of medicinal resources
• Modification of fire regime
• Modification of successional patterns
• Monoculture formation
• Negatively impacts agriculture
• Negatively impacts forestry
• Reduced amenity values
• Reduced native biodiversity
• Threat to/ loss of native species

• Competition - monopolizing resources
• Competition - shading
• Competition - smothering
• Rapid growth
• Rooting

• Highly likely to be transported internationally accidentally
• Highly likely to be transported internationally deliberately

C. halicacabum is cultivated as an ornamental and medicinal plant (PROTA, 2015). The root is the most important plant part used for medicinal purposes. In South-East Asia it is considered to be a diaphoretic, diuretic, emetic, antipyretic and purgative. Apart from its medicinal uses, C. halicacabum is eaten as a vegetable, the stems serve to make baskets and the seeds are used as beads. An edible oil can be obtained from the seed (Rojo and Pitargue, 1999).