Natives For Your Neighborhood
Conservation of rare plants, animals, and ecosystems

General Landscape Uses: Primarily recommended for natural landscapes and habitat restorations. Also butterfly gardens.

Ecological Restoration Notes: An occasional element in hammocks and swamps.

Availability: Rarely grown by native plant nurseries in northeast Florida.

Description: A twining, high climbing vine. Leaves compound.

Dimensions: N/A; a climbing vine with 8 feet in length or more.

Growth Rate: Moderate.

Range: Eastern and central North America south to Miami-Dade and Collier counties.

 Map of select IRC data from peninsular Florida.

 Map of suggested ZIP codes from South Florida north to southern Brevard, Osceola, Polk, and Pasco counties.

 Map of ZIP codes with habitat recommendations from the Monroe County Keys north to Martin and Charlotte counties.

Habitats: Wet to moist hammocks and floodplain forests.

Soils: Wet to moist, poorly-drained to moderately well-drained organic soils.

Nutritional Requirements: Moderate; can grow in nutrient poor soils, but needs some organic content to thrive.

Salt Water Tolerance: Low; does not tolerate flooding by salt or brackish water.

Salt Wind Tolerance: Low; salt wind may burn the leaves.

Drought Tolerance: Low; requires moist to wet soils and is intolerant of long periods of drought.

Light Requirements: Light shade to moderate shade.

Flower Color: Reddish-brown.

Flower Characteristics: Semi-showy. Fragrant.

Flowering Season: Summer-fall.

Fruit: Inconspicous pod (legume).

Wildlife and Ecology: Larval host plant for northern cloudywing (Thorybes pylades) and silver spotted skipper (Epargyreus clarus) butterflies. Attracts bee pollinators.

Horticultural Notes: Can be grown from seed.

Comments: See also the Florida Wildflower Foundation's Flower Friday page.