I’ve been seeing these around the farm for years and only last year realized they are a native plant, and actually a passionflower. They die back each winter so it’s perfectly fine to let them climb onto other plants. This year I have let them go, and this is the lovely result! This one is climbing along a branch of the button bush.
Here’s more info from NC State’s plant database:
Eastern yellow passion flower is a native herbaceous vine in the Passifloraceae family. The hardiest of the passion flower vine, it maintains its foilage in mild winters through zone 8b. Fing it statewide in woodlands, forests, thickets, and maritime forests. Tendrils along the stem allow the vine to climb to 20 feet in height without damaging any trellises or structures.
Plant this vine in fertile, moist, well-drained soils in full sun to partial shade. To encourage robust root growth and ensure its return the following spring plants should be added to the ground as early in the growing season as possible.
The bright green leaves are wider than they are long and softly lobed in three parts. The flowers are small, about 1 inch or less across, pale greenish-yellow to off-white, blooming in late summer to fall. The flowers are followed by small black berries that that are eaten by birds and mammals.
This vine is an important wildlife plant, attracting bees, butterflies, birds, and mammals while being resistant to damage by deer. It is happy in a container, will grow on a trellis or fence or sprawl on the ground, and is at home in a butterfly or pollinator garden. In cold areas, containers may need to be brought indoors over the winter. This plant is much better behaved in the garden than P. incarnata.
2 comments:
Pretty plant. I'm glad its good for so many animal species, that's always a plus.
It’s so delicate and pretty!
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