Taxon: Cardiospermum grandiflorum Sw.

Summary

Genus:

Cardiospermum

Family:

Sapindaceae

Subfamily:

Sapindoideae

Nomen number:

9013

Place of publication:

Prodr. 64. 1788

Verified:

12/12/2000 ARS Systematic Botanists.

Accessions:

3 (0 active, 0 available) in National Plant Germplasm System. (Map it)

Other conspecific taxa

Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations

Heterotypic Synonym(s)
Cardiospermum barbicule Baker
Cardiospermum hirsutum Willd.

No images

Conservation Status

Reference(s)

Adams, C. 1972. Flowering plants of Jamaica
Boggan, J. et al. 1997. Checklist of the plants of the Guianas, ed. 2
Brako, L. & J. L. Zarucchi. 1993. Catalogue of the flowering plants and gymnosperms of Peru. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 45
Carrisso, L. W. et al., eds. 1937-. Conspectus florae angolensis.
Carroll, S. P. et al. 2005. Invasion history and ecology of the environmental weed ballon vine, Cardiospermum grandiflorum Swartz, in Australia. Pl. Protect. Quart. 20:140-144.
Dubs, B. 1998. Prodromus florae matogrossensis. Botany of Mato Grosso, series B, no. 3.
Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
George, A. S., ed. 1980-. Flora of Australia.
Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
Hansen, A. & P. Sunding. 1993. Flora of Macaronesia: checklist of vascular plants, ed. 4. Sommerfeltia vol. 17.
Henderson, L. 2001. Alien weeds and invasive plants: a complete guide to declared weeds and invaders in South Africa. Plant Protection Research Institute, Handbook 12
Hnatiuk, R. J. 1990. Census of Australian vascular plants. Australian Flora and Fauna Series No. 11.
Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles. Note: mentions
Huxley, A., ed. 1992. The new Royal Horticultural Society dictionary of gardening
Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. 2008. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares.
Jørgensen, P. M. & S. León-Yánez, eds. 1999. Catalogue of the vascular plants of Ecuador. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 75
Keay, R. W. J. & F. N. Hepper. 1953-1972. Flora of west tropical Africa, ed. 2.
Lazarides, M. & B. Hince. 1993. CSIRO Handbook of Economic Plants of Australia
Lebrun, J. P. & A. L. Stork. 1991-. Énumération des plantes à fleurs d'Afrique tropicale. Note: Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques de la Ville de Genève
Mabberley, D. J. 1997. The plant-book: a portable dictionary of the vascular plants, ed. 2
Pittier, H. F. et al. 1945-1947. Catálogo de la flora venezolana.
Press, J. R. & M. J. Short, eds. 1994. Flora of Madeira.
Reitz, R., ed. 1965-. Flora ilustrada catarinense.
Standley, P. C. & J. A. Steyermark. 1946-1976. Flora of Guatemala.
Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:883.
Weber, E. 2003. Invasive plant species of the world: a reference guide to environmental weeds
Woodson, R. E. & R. W. Schery, eds. 1943-1980. Flora of Panama.
Zuloaga, F. O. & O. Morrone, eds. 1996, 1999. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares de la República Argentina. I. Pteridophyta, Gymnospermae y Angiospermae (Monocotyledonae), II. Dicotyledonae. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 60, 74.

Common names

Language	Name	seq	Citation
English	balloonvine	1	Lazarides, M. & B. Hince. 1993. CSIRO Handbook of Economic Plants of Australia
English	heartseed	1	Huxley, A., ed. 1992. The new Royal Horticultural Society dictionary of gardening
English	heartseedvine	1	George, A. S., ed. 1980-. Flora of Australia.
Afrikaans	blaasklimop	2	Henderson, L. 2001. Alien weeds and invasive plants: a complete guide to declared weeds and invaders in South Africa. Plant Protection Research Institute, Handbook 12

Distribution

order_code	Status	Continent	Subcontinent	Country	State	Note	Reference
1	Native	Africa	East Tropical Africa	Kenya			Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
1	Native	Africa	East Tropical Africa	Tanzania			Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
1	Native	Africa	East Tropical Africa	Uganda			Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Sudan
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Angola
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Malawi			Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Zambia			Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Zimbabwe			Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	Botswana			Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	Eswatini			Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	Namibia			Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa	Eastern Cape		Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa	Gauteng		Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa	KwaZulu-Natal		Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa	Limpopo		Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa	Mpumalanga		Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa	Western Cape		Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Benin
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Côte D'Ivoire
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Ghana
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Guinea
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Liberia
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Nigeria
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Sierra Leone
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Togo
1	Native	Africa	West-Central Tropical Africa	Cameroon
1	Native	Africa	West-Central Tropical Africa	Central African Republic
1	Native	Africa	West-Central Tropical Africa	Congo
1	Native	Africa	West-Central Tropical Africa	Democratic Republic of the Congo
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Zacatecas		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:883.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Campeche		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:883.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Chiapas		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:883.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Guerrero		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:883.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Hidalgo		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:883.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	México		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:883.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Michoacán de Ocampo		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:883.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Oaxaca		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:883.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Puebla		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:883.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Tabasco		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:883.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:883.
1	Native	Southern America	Brazil	Brazil
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Jamaica			Adams, C. 1972. Flowering plants of Jamaica
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Belize
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Costa Rica
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	El Salvador
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Guatemala
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Honduras
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Nicaragua
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Panama			Woodson, R. E. & R. W. Schery, eds. 1943-1980. Flora of Panama.
1	Native	Southern America	Northern South America	Guyana			Boggan, J. et al. 1997. Checklist of the plants of the Guianas, ed. 2
1	Native	Southern America	Northern South America	Venezuela
1	Native	Southern America	Southern South America	Argentina			Zuloaga, F. O. & O. Morrone, eds. 1996, 1999. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares de la República Argentina. I. Pteridophyta, Gymnospermae y Angiospermae (Monocotyledonae), II. Dicotyledonae. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 60, 74.
1	Native	Southern America	Southern South America	Paraguay
1	Native	Southern America	Southern South America	Uruguay			Zuloaga, F. O. & O. Morrone, eds. 1996, 1999. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares de la República Argentina. I. Pteridophyta, Gymnospermae y Angiospermae (Monocotyledonae), II. Dicotyledonae. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 60, 74.
1	Native	Southern America	Western South America	Bolivia
1	Native	Southern America	Western South America	Ecuador			Jørgensen, P. M. & S. León-Yánez, eds. 1999. Catalogue of the vascular plants of Ecuador. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 75
1	Native	Southern America	Western South America	Peru			Brako, L. & J. L. Zarucchi. 1993. Catalogue of the flowering plants and gymnosperms of Peru. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 45
2	Cultivated					also cult.
4	Naturalized	Africa	Macaronesia	Spain	Canarias
4	Naturalized	Australasia	Australia	Australia			Hnatiuk, R. J. 1990. Census of Australian vascular plants. Australian Flora and Fauna Series No. 11.
4	Naturalized	Pacific	North-Central Pacific	United States	Hawaii
4	Naturalized	Pacific	Northwestern Pacific	Micronesia
6	Other					possibly not native in Africa

Native
Africa

NORTHEAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Sudan
EAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda
WEST-CENTRAL TROPICAL AFRICA: Central African Republic, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congo
WEST TROPICAL AFRICA: Benin, Côte D'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Togo
SOUTH TROPICAL AFRICA: Angola, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe
SOUTHERN AFRICA: Botswana, Namibia, Eswatini, South Africa [KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, Western Cape, Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga]

Northern America

NORTHERN MEXICO: Mexico [Zacatecas]
SOUTHERN MEXICO: Mexico [Campeche, Chiapas, Guerrero, Hidalgo, México, Michoacán de Ocampo, Oaxaca, Puebla, Tabasco, Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave]

Southern America

CARIBBEAN: Jamaica
CENTRAL AMERICA: Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, El Salvador
NORTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: Guyana, Venezuela
BRAZIL: Brazil
WESTERN SOUTH AMERICA: Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru
SOUTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay

Cultivated (also cult.)
Naturalized
Africa

MACARONESIA: Spain [Canarias]

Australasia

AUSTRALIA: Australia

Pacific

NORTH-CENTRAL PACIFIC: United States [Hawaii]
NORTHWESTERN PACIFIC: Micronesia

Other (possibly not native in Africa)

Reference(s)

Adams, C. 1972. Flowering plants of Jamaica
Boggan, J. et al. 1997. Checklist of the plants of the Guianas, ed. 2
Brako, L. & J. L. Zarucchi. 1993. Catalogue of the flowering plants and gymnosperms of Peru. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 45
Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
Hnatiuk, R. J. 1990. Census of Australian vascular plants. Australian Flora and Fauna Series No. 11.
Jørgensen, P. M. & S. León-Yánez, eds. 1999. Catalogue of the vascular plants of Ecuador. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 75
Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:883.
Woodson, R. E. & R. W. Schery, eds. 1943-1980. Flora of Panama.
Zuloaga, F. O. & O. Morrone, eds. 1996, 1999. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares de la República Argentina. I. Pteridophyta, Gymnospermae y Angiospermae (Monocotyledonae), II. Dicotyledonae. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 60, 74.

Economic Uses

Usage	Type	Reference
Environmental	ornamental	Weber, E. 2003. Invasive plant species of the world: a reference guide to environmental weeds
Environmental	ornamental	Huxley, A., ed. 1992. The new Royal Horticultural Society dictionary of gardening
Materials	beads	Mabberley, D. J. 1997. The plant-book: a portable dictionary of the vascular plants, ed. 2
Weed		Weber, E. 2003. Invasive plant species of the world: a reference guide to environmental weeds
Weed		Henderson, L. 2001. Alien weeds and invasive plants: a complete guide to declared weeds and invaders in South Africa. Plant Protection Research Institute, Handbook 12
Weed		Lazarides, M. & B. Hince. 1993. CSIRO Handbook of Economic Plants of Australia

Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgstest.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=9013. Accessed 17 April 2026.