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.

Help us grow by giving to the Plant Database Fund or by becoming a member

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.

Search Smarty Plants

See a list of all Smarty Plants questions

Please forgive us, but Mr. Smarty Plants has been overwhelmed by a flood of mail and must take a break for awhile to catch up. We hope to be accepting new questions again soon. Thank you!

Need help with plant identification, visit the plant identification page.

rate this answer

Not Yet Rated

Wednesday - July 11, 2012

From: Las Vegas, NV
Region: Rocky Mountain
Topic: Invasive Plants, Plant Identification, Vines
Title: Identification of vine from Las Vegas NV
Answered by: Barbara Medford

QUESTION:

I'm interested in identifying the vine shown by the leaf in this photo: https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/zR3R4JSPYcCI4ESczNXWM4h8z33Cq5cyZNqSSYf9hx0?feat=directlink My mother-in-law got one of these vines years ago in Texas, but we've never been able to identify it. It seems to be healthy, and she says it grows high in trees. She brought it back with her when she moved back to Las Vegas, and it seems to tolerate the desert sun well. It grows reddish flowers in late July and into the fall months, when it goes dormant and dies back.

ANSWER:

We are sorry, but we are no longer set up to accept pictures. We can, however, see if we can find the vine you are asking about in our Native Plant Database. This sounds like one of the members of the Bignoniaceae family of vines:

Bignonia capreolata (Crossvine)

Campsis radicans (Trumpet creeper)

Neither plant is native to Nevada, but both are native to Texas. Follow each plant link to our webpage on that plant to learn its bloom times, growing conditions, water needs, etc. We should note that both can be aggressive and invasive, with the Trumpet Creeper being the hardest to control. They do, indeed, grow up into trees but can damage or kill those trees by shading the tree leaves. However, being in the desert conditions might control their aggressiveness, if they live.

If neither plant link appears to be a link with your vine, go to our Plant Identification page for a list of forums that do accept pictures and perhaps someone will be able to identify it.

From the Image Gallery

Crossvine
Bignonia capreolata

Trumpet creeper
Campsis radicans