Native Plants

Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

rate this answer

Monday - July 28, 2014
From: Henderson, TN
Region: Southeast
Topic: Plant Identification, Vines
Title: Identification of vine with feathery leaves and deep pink flowers
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
I have growing up my porch what appears to be a vine with feathery leaves and small deep pink flowers. There is no water sources near by. Can you tell me what it is?ANSWER:
You can do a COMBINATION SEARCH in our Native Plant Database and choose "Tennessee" from Select State or Province and "Vine" from Habit (general appearance). This will give you a list 85 native vines that occur in Tennessee. Most of the species have photos of the vines. You can further limit the list by using the NARROW YOUR SEARCH option in the sidebar and choosing "Pink" and "Red" from BLOOM COLOR. This narrows the list to 24. When I did the search, I didn't see any vines that fit your description. However, you should try the search yourself to see if I missed something.
This sounds like it could be the non-native Ipomoea quamoclit (Cypress vine), native to Mexico and Central America. It is shown as occurring in Tennessee on the USDA Plants Database distribution map.
If you don't find your vine in the Tennessee native vines or it isn't the non-native cypress vine, please visit our Plant Identification page where you find links to several plant identification forums that will accept photos of plants for identification.
More Vines Questions
Identification of purchased vine
November 11, 2010 - Hi,
I bought a hanging vine plant, and came with no id. The leaves are simple, alternate arrangement, entire margin (smooth edge margin). It has an ashy look, like the green purple sage. The flower ...
view the full question and answer
Poison Ivy in Semi-wetland Massachusetts
June 27, 2013 - You answered this question for Tennessee, but I would like an answer for a Massachusetts semi-wetlands area: What can I plant to discourage poison ivy, or at least make it very clear that it is poison...
view the full question and answer
How to get Poison Ivy?
November 22, 2015 - I know this is a silly question but we have a lot of poison ivy in the area and I know that birds eat the seeds and berries, can you get poison ivy from bird poop or track it in the house? From shoes ...
view the full question and answer
Restoring the woods in Central Austin.
May 08, 2012 - I live in Austin, south central between Red Bud trail close to the low water bridge and Bee Caves road. My question: I want to make the wooded sections of my yard attractive. They have filtered sun...
view the full question and answer
Identification of thorny vine in Michigan
May 21, 2013 - We have a species growing around our rural SW Michigan property that I'm trying to identify: I either see stalks up to 3 ft tall, or much longer vines if they find anchor. The most notable characte...
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |