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Sunday - June 21, 2015
From: Austin, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Plant Identification, Vines
Title: Invasive vine with yellow flowers in Austin
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
What is the invasive vine in Austin that has wire like stems and small leaves. It just blossomed huge yellow flowers this spring. It climbs cliff, trees, bldgs., etc.ANSWER:
The native Gelsemium sempervirens (Carolina jessamine) has large yellow flowers in the spring and its leaves aren't very large. It is not normally considered invasive.
Another possibility is Macfadyena unguis-cati (Catclawvine), listed as invasive in the Texas Invasives database and native to the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico and also Guatemala. Here is more information and photos from Texas AgriLife Extension.
Other than those two vines, I can't think of any possibility for an invasive vine with large yellow flowers for Austin, Texas. If neither of these vines are the one you have seen and you have photos of it, please visit our Plant Identification page to find links to plant identification forums that accept photos of plants for identification.
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