Bigonia capreolata
Family: Bignoniaceae
Description: A high-climbing woody evergreen vine with opposite 2-foliate leaves and showy orange flowers. Flowers usually show with reddish orange throats but can be reddish orange with yellow throats. Attaches with clawed tendrils. A climbing, woody vine reaching 15 meters (50 ft.) long with showy, orange-red, trumpet-shaped flowers 5 cm (2 inches) long and 3 cm (1 1/2 inches) across which hang in clusters of two to five. They are sometimes seen high in a tree, as the vine climbs by means of tendrils. Holdfasts (adhesive pads) at the end of their tendrils allow crossvine to cling to stone, bricks and fences without support. Leaves are opposite and bifoliolate – trifoliate, but one leaflet being modified into a branched tendril. Leaflets are 10-15 cm (4-6 inches) long by 3.8 cm (1-1/2 inches) wide. Persistent, glossy, semi-evergreen leaves change from dark green in summer to reddish-purple in winter.
Field Identification: Vine. Narrow, compound leaves change from dark green in summer to reddish-purple in winter. Trumpet shaped flowers show a variety of combinations of red and yellow. The fruit is a brown, flat, pod-like capsule.
Plant Trivia: The common name refers to the cross-shaped pattern revealed when the stem is cut; this pattern results from four radial wedges of phloem embedded within the stem’s xylem. The genus Bignonia is named after Jean-Paul Bignon. Molecular phylogenetic studies reveal that Bignonia capreolata shares a close relationship with other climbing members of the family, such as Campsis radicans (trumpet creeper). These species likely diversified in response to ecological pressures, such as competition for sunlight in dense forests.
Occurrence: Native habitat: forested floodplains and uplands, hammocks, fencerows, limestone escarpments, moist woods, wooded slopes and alluvial bottoms along streams. It is native to the central and southern United States.
Bloom Period: Mar-May
Plant Use: Nectar source for hummingbirds and bees. An early nectar source for butterflies. Deer browse it in winter. Ornamentally, an evergreen vine with glossy leaves and showy, two-tone, trumpet flowers. The vine is frequently planted for erosion control along slopes and riverbanks, where its extensive root system helps stabilize soil.
Dichotomous Key to the Family Bignoniaceae:
- Plant a tree………….……………….Catalpa
Plant a vine or shrubby vine………….2
2. Tendrils present………………….Bignonia
Tendrils absent…………………..Campsis
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