Skyblue clustervine
Jacquemontia pentanthos
Convolvulaceae


Landscape Uses:

Accent or specimen vine.

Ecological Restoration Notes:

Availability:
Grown by one or two native plant nurseries in South Florida. Available in Boynton Beach at Native Choice Nursery (561-756-4370).
Description:
Twining vine.
Height:
N/A; a vine with stems to 6 feet or more in length.
Growth Rate:
Fast.
Range:
Monroe County Keys north to Miami-Dade and Collier counties; West Indies, Mexico, Central America and South America; cultivated and naturalized elsewhere. Rare throughout its range in South Florida. In Miami-Dade County, limited to Everglades National Park and adjacent areas to the east of Long Pine Key. Apparently not native to and introduced in Broward County.
Habitats:
Hammock edges, thickets and marl prairies.
Soils:
Moist, well-drained limestone or calcareous sandy soils, with humusy top layer.
Nutritional Requirements:
Moderate; can grow in nutrient poor soils, but needs some organic content to thrive.
Salt Water Tolerance:
Low; does not tolerate long-term flooding by salt or brackish water.
Salt Wind Tolerance:
High; can tolerate moderate amounts of salt wind without significant injury.
Drought Tolerance:
Moderate; generally requires moist soils, but tolerant of short periods of drought once established.
Light Requirements:
Full sun.
Flower Color:
Light (sky) blue with a white throat.
Flower Characteristics:
Showy, about 3/4" wide; usually closing by midafternoon.
Flowering Season:
All year; peak in fall.
Fruit:
Inconspicuous capsule.
Wildlife and Ecology:
Provides food for birds. Nectar plant for nessus sphinx (Amphion floridensis), tantalus sphinx (Aellopus tantalus) and tersa sphinx (Xylophanes tersa) moths.
Horticultural Notes:
Can be grown from seed.
Comments:
Skyblue clustervine is widely planted outside of its historic range and is escaping from cultivation. In the right conditions it can be fairly aggressive. It is listed as endangered by the State of Florida. Taxonomy: J. pentantha is an orthographic variant. See also the Florida Wildflower Foundation's Flower Friday page and Florida Natural Areas Inventory's Field Guide to the Rare Plants of Florida page (Chafin 2000).


Rosimar Rivera
Roger L. Hammer
Keith A. Bradley
Forest & Kim Starr
Forest & Kim Starr
Kristen Finch
In cultivation, Palm Beach County, Florida, 2013