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Cardiospermum grandiflorum

Cardiospermum grandiflorum

Sw.

Family: Sapindaceae
Order: Sapindales
Class: Magnoliopsida
Phylum / Division: Magnoliophyta
Kingdom: Plantae

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Description


Cardiospermum grandiflorum, commonly known as showy balloonvine, heart pea or heart seed, is a species of climbing plant native to eastern Argentina and Brazil.

Taxonomy: It was described by Olof Swartz and is in the family Sapindaceae in his work Nova Genera & Species Plantarum seu Prodromus descriptionum Vegetabilium, maximam partem incognitorum quae sub itinere in Indiam Occidentalem annis 1783–87 (New genera and plant species, or Preliminary description of plants, mostly unknown, which were collected during a trip to East India in 1783–1787), written by him on the results of the expedition to the Caribbean.

 The species can grow over 10 m long and it has small white flowers. It is a herbaceous, evergreen, fast-growing liana with a tough stem that clings to the support with antennae. Leaves are compound, consisting of leaves with large teeth.

Inflorescence: The flowers are small, slightly fragrant, with creamy white petals. The fruit is a capsule, cracking into three parts when ripe. Seeds are black, hard, with a membranous wing. In warm climates, it reproduces by self seeding, as well as vegetatively, such as by root pieces.

Similar species: Cardiospermum grandiflorum is a large growing, semi-woody perennial, whereas Cardiospermum halicacabum is smaller in size, less woody and usually an annual. C. grandiflorum has larger fruit than the more compact fruit of C. halicacabum. A kidney-shaped hilum exists on C. halicacabum seeds and a round hilum on C. grandiflorum seeds. Furthermore, the leaves and stems of C. grandiflorum have small reddish hairs that are lacking in C. halicacabum, which additionally has smaller flowers than those of C. grandiflorum.

Invasive species: Planted as an ornamental, it has been introduced to all continents except Antarctica, and is a dangerous invasive in places. The species has been added to the list of invasive alien species of Union concern since 2019. This means that the plant cannot be imported or sold anywhere in the European Union.

It is also a significant environmental weed in eastern New South Wales and south-eastern Queensland, where it is listed as a priority environmental weed in four Natural Resource Management regions. also on the New Zealand NPPA list of banned plants.

Source: Wikipedia, article Cardiospermum grandiflorum. Content adapted from Wikipedia, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license. Accessed on 17/07/2026.





Geographic distribution


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Species photographs

Count: 7

Foto
Photography ID: 682224
♂ ♀
  Adult

Vicente López
Buenos Aires
Argentina
04/12/2026
Marcos Garberoglio
Foto
Photography ID: 681635
♂ ♀
  Adult

Reserva Ecológica Vicente López
Buenos Aires
Argentina
04/05/2026
Marcos Garberoglio
Foto
Photography ID: 631240
  Adult

Gualeguaychú
Entre Ríos
Argentina
04/17/2025
Rodolfo Julio Velazquez
Foto
Photography ID: 540052
  Adult

Parque Provincial Moconá
Misiones
Argentina
05/28/2023
Elsa Longo
Foto
Photography ID: 472400
  Adult

La Lucila
Buenos Aires
Argentina
11/21/2021
Eduardo Nadal
Foto
Photography ID: 458803
  Adult

Santo Tomé
Santa Fe
Argentina
05/02/2021
Eduardo Beltrocco


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 Detail of places sorted by number of records






Species records

Count: 9



Page 1 of 1
Record IDDateExact timeCountryProvince / departmentPlaceFilmedPhotographedRecorded vocalObservedHeardWounded or deadNumber of individualsUser or BibliographyDetail
245784612/04/2026ArgentinaBuenos AiresÁrea Natural Yrigoyen (Yrigoyen y el Río), Vicente LópezMarcos Garberoglio
245652905/04/2026ArgentinaBuenos AiresReserva Ecológica Vicente LópezMarcos Garberoglio
227470617/04/2025ArgentinaEntre RíosRío Gualeguaychú (zona Reserva Florística Parque Unzué), GualeguaychúRodolfo Julio Velazquez
180483828/05/2023ArgentinaMisionesParque Provincial Moconá1Guillermo Marcaida
178605528/05/2023ArgentinaMisionesParque Provincial MoconáElsa Longo
176119530/06/2022ArgentinaCiudad Autónoma de Buenos AiresReserva Ecológica Costanera Sur (RECS)1Guillermo Marcaida
163346230/06/2022ArgentinaCiudad Autónoma de Buenos AiresReserva Ecológica Costanera Sur (RECS)Elsa Longo
150318621/11/2021ArgentinaBuenos AiresLa LucilaEduardo Nadal
145121402/05/2021ArgentinaSanta FeHumedal lindante al Rio Salado, Santo ToméEduardo Beltrocco
Page 1 of 1

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Recommended citation
Please use the following reference when citing this species account.
EcoRegistros. 2026. Cardiospermum grandiflorum – Species account. Accessed from www.ecoregistros.org on 14/09/2026.