Lianas are climbing plants with relatively long slender woody stems rooted in soil and extending to the forest canopy where they produce abundant foliage. Like “tree” or “shrub” “liana” refers to a polyphyletic functional group that exhibits considerable structural diversity among taxa (Schnitzer and Bongers 2002). Hundreds of species of lianas exist worldwide and the liana growth form is represented in nearly all major plant families (Putz and Mooney 1991).