Campsis radicans

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Trumpet vine
Campsis radicans bloom and buds.jpg
Status TNC G5.svg
Secure  (NatureServe) [1]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Bignoniaceae
Genus: Campsis
Species:
C. radicans
Binomial name
Campsis radicans
(L.) Bureau (1864) [2]
Synonyms [3]
  • Bignonia radicansL. (1753)
  • Tecoma radicans(L.) Juss.
  • Gelseminum radicans(L.) Kuntze
  • Bignonia floridaSalisb.
  • Bignonia coccineaSteud.
  • Campsis curtisii Seem.

Campsis radicans, the trumpet vine, [4] yellow trumpet vine, [5] or trumpet creeper [4] (also known in North America as cow itch vine [6] or hummingbird vine [7] ), is a species of flowering plant in the trumpet vine family Bignoniaceae, native to eastern North America, and naturalized elsewhere. Growing to 10 metres (33 feet), it is a vigorous, deciduous woody vine, notable for its showy trumpet-shaped flowers. It inhabits woodlands and riverbanks, and is also a popular garden plant.

Contents

Description

C. radicans is a vine that climbs on trees, other plants, or structures or trails along the ground and can grow to a length of up to 10 metres (33 feet). From the main vine, rigid or woody arching vines up to 2 metres (7 feet) long extend outward. The plant can form a dense groundcover or an aggressive liana covering plants or buildings. The leaves are opposite and odd-pinnately compound, meaning there is an odd number of leaflets, with one terminal leaflet. Leaves are up to 18 centimetres (7 inches) long with 7 to 13 leaflets that are each about 8 centimetres (3 inches) long and 4 centimetres (1.5 inches) wide. The leaflets are emerald green when new, maturing into a shiny dark green. They are ovate to broadly lanceolate and the edges are coarsely serrate. [8]

Typical leaf Campsis radicans-leaf.jpg
Typical leaf
Seed pod and leaves of Campsis radicans Trumpet Vine Seed Pod.jpg
Seed pod and leaves of Campsis radicans

The flowers come in terminal cymes of 2-8. Each flower is up to 9 centimetres (3.5 inches) long and trumpet shaped. They are orange to reddish orange in color with a yellowish throat and 5 shallow lobes bending backward. They generally appear after several months of warm weather. The flowers have no floral scent. After flowering, a long seed capsule about 15 centimetres (6 inches) long appears, eventually splitting in two to disperse its seeds. [9]

Pollen under microscope Pollen of Campsis radicans .jpg
Pollen under microscope

Taxonomy

The flamboyant flowering of Campsis radicans made it obvious to even the least botanically-minded of the first English colonists in Virginia. Consequently, the plant quickly made its way to England early in the 17th century. Its botanical parentage, as a hardy member of a mostly subtropical group, made its naming problematic: according to John Parkinson, the Virginia settlers were at first calling it a jasmine or a honeysuckle, and then a bellflower; he classed it in the genus Apocynum (dogbane). Joseph Pitton de Tournefort erected a catch-all genus Bignonia in 1700, from which it has since been extricated. [10]

Etymology

The Latin specific epithet radicans means "with stems that take root". [11] The plant is commonly known as cow-itch vine because skin redness and itching is experienced by some people after coming in contact with the leaves. [12]

Distribution

Campsis radicans is native to the eastern United States and extreme southern Ontario in Canada. It is naturalized in parts of the western United States as well as in Ontario and southern Quebec, parts of Europe, and scattered locations in Latin America. [3] [13]

Ecology

The flowers bloom in the summer for about 2 months and are very attractive to ruby-throated hummingbirds, [14] and many types of birds like to nest in the dense foliage. Moths, bees, flies, and ants also feed on the nectar of the flowers. [9] The flowers are followed by large seed pods. As these mature, they dry and split. Hundreds of thin, brown, paper-like seeds are released. These are easily grown when stratified. Larvae of Clydonopteron sacculana (the trumpet vine moth) feed on the seed pods. [15]

Cultivation

The trumpet vine grows vigorously. In warm weather, it puts out aerial rootlets that grab onto every available surface, and eventually expand into heavy woody stems several centimeters in diameter. It grows well on arbors, fences, telephone poles, and trees, although it may dismember them in the process. Ruthless pruning is recommended. [8] Outside of its native range this species has the potential to be invasive, even as far north as New England. [16] The trumpet vine thrives in many places in southern Canada as well.

Away from summer heat, C. radicans is less profuse of flower. A larger-flowered hybrid 'Mme Galen' was introduced about 1889 by the Tagliabue nurserymen of Lainate near Milan. [10]

The form C. radicans f. flava has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. [5]

A deeper red form "Flamenco" is available.

Toxicity

The plant can cause contact dermatitis. [17]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vine</span> Plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent stems or runners

A vine is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent stems, lianas, or runners. The word vine can also refer to such stems or runners themselves, for instance, when used in wicker work.

<i>Toxicodendron radicans</i> Species of plant

Toxicodendron radicans, commonly known as eastern poison ivy or poison ivy, is an allergenic flowering plant that occurs in Asia and eastern North America. The species is well known for causing urushiol-induced contact dermatitis, an itchy, irritating, and sometimes painful rash, in most people who touch it. The rash is caused by urushiol, a clear liquid compound in the plant's sap. The species is variable in its appearance and habit, and despite its common name, it is not a true ivy (Hedera), but rather a member of the cashew and pistachio family (Anacardiaceae). T. radicans is commonly eaten by many animals and the seeds are consumed by birds, but poison ivy is most often thought of as an unwelcome weed. It is a different species from western poison ivy, T. rydbergii, which has similar effects.

<i>Campsis</i> Genus of vines

Campsis, commonly known as trumpet creeper or trumpet vine, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Bignoniaceae, native to woodlands in China and North America. It consists of two species, both of which are vigorous deciduous perennial climbers, clinging by aerial roots, and producing large trumpet-shaped flowers in the summer. They are reasonably hardy and do well with the support of a wall, preferring full sun.

<i>Campsis grandiflora</i> Species of vine

Campsis grandiflora, commonly known as the Chinese trumpet vine, is a fast-growing, deciduous creeper with large, orange, trumpet-shaped flowers in summer. It can grow to a height of 10 meters. A native of East Asia, it is less hardy than its relative Campsis radicans.

<i>Parthenocissus quinquefolia</i> Species of flowering plant

Parthenocissus quinquefolia, known as Virginia creeper, Victoria creeper, five-leaved ivy, or five-finger, is a species of flowering vine in the grape family, Vitaceae. It is native to eastern and central North America, from southeastern Canada and the eastern United States west to Manitoba and Utah, and south to eastern Mexico and Guatemala.

<i>Passiflora caerulea</i> Species of flowering plant in the passion flower family Passifloraceae

Passiflora caerulea, the blue passionflower, bluecrown passionflower or common passion flower, is a species of flowering plant native to South America. It has been introduced elsewhere. It is a vigorous, deciduous or semi-evergreen tendril vine growing to 10 m (33 ft) or more. Its leaves are palmate, and its fragrant flowers are blue-white with a prominent fringe of coronal filaments in bands of blue, white, yellow, and brown. The ovoid orange fruit, growing to 6 cm (2 in), is edible, but is variously described as having a bland, undesirable, or insipid taste. In South America, the plant is known for its medicinal properties, and is used by both the Toba and the Maka peoples.

<i>Sesbania drummondii</i> Species of legume

Sesbania drummondii, known as poisonbean, rattlebox and rattlebush, is a medium-sized perennial shrub in the legume family Fabaceae. It is native to the southeastern United States, from Texas east to Florida.

<i>Ribes sanguineum</i> Species of flowering plant in the gooseberry family Grossulariaceae

Ribes sanguineum, the flowering currant, redflower currant, red-flowering currant, or red currant is a North American species of flowering plant in the family Grossulariaceae, native to the western United States and Canada.

<i>Pandorea jasminoides</i> Species of vine

Pandorea jasminoides, also known by the common names bower of beauty and bower vine, is a species of flowering plant in the family Bignoniaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is a woody climber with pinnate leaves that have three to nine egg-shaped leaflets, and white or pink trumpet-shaped flowers that are red and hairy inside. It is also grown as an ornamental.

<i>Ipomoea quamoclit</i> Species of plant in the family Convolvulaceae

Ipomoea quamoclit, commonly known as cypress vine, cypress vine morning glory, cardinal creeper, cardinal vine, star glory, star of Bethlehem or hummingbird vine, is a species of vine in the family Convolvulaceae native to tropical regions of the Americas and naturalized elsewhere in the tropics.

<i>Cobaea scandens</i> Species of vine

Cobaea scandens, the cup-and-saucer vine, cathedral bells, Mexican ivy, or monastery bells, is a species of flowering plant in the phlox family Polemoniaceae. It is native to Mexico, with isolated sightings elsewhere in tropical central and South America.

<i>Jasminum polyanthum</i> Species of jasmine

Jasminum polyanthum, the many-flowered jasmine, pink jasmine, or white jasmine, is a species of flowering plant in the olive family Oleaceae, native to China and Myanmar. A strong evergreen twining climber, it is especially noted for its abundant, highly fragrant pink to white flowers.

<i>Euonymus fortunei</i> Species of flowering plant

Euonymus fortunei, the spindle, Fortune's spindle, winter creeper or wintercreeper, is a species of flowering plant in the family Celastraceae, native to east Asia, including China, Korea, the Philippines and Japan. E. fortunei is highly invasive and damaging in the United States, causing the death of trees and forest in urban areas.

<i>Tecoma stans</i> Species of tree

Tecoma stans is a species of flowering perennial shrub in the trumpet vine family, Bignoniaceae, that is native to the Americas. Common names include yellow trumpetbush, yellow bells, yellow elder, ginger Thomas. Tecoma stans is the official flower of the United States Virgin Islands and the floral emblem of The Bahamas.

Hummingbird vine is a colloquial term for certain climbing plants whose flowers are pollinated by hummingbirds. They are often planted in American gardens to attract these birds.

<i>Campsis <span style="font-style:normal;">×</span> tagliabuana</i> Species of vine

Campsis × tagliabuana is a mid-19th-century hybrid between Campsis radicans and Campsis grandiflora. It produces trumpet-shaped, orange to red flowers up to 3 in (8 cm) long that appear in loose clusters of 6 to 12. It is a woody, clinging, perennial vine that attaches itself to structures and climbs vigorously with aerial roots like those of ivy. It bears dark-green deciduous leaves, 8–12 in (20–30 cm) long. Its flowers are very attractive to bees, butterflies and birds. Like its parents it is hardy but in cooler temperate regions requires the shelter of a sunny wall to produce its spectacular flowers in abundance.

<i>Parthenocissus henryana</i> Species of vine

Parthenocissus henryana is a species of flowering plant in the vine family Vitaceae, native to China.

<i>Dolichandra unguis-cati</i> Species of flowering plant

Dolichandra unguis-cati, commonly known as cat's claw creeper, funnel creeper, or cat's claw trumpet, is a rapidly growing climbing vine belonging to the family Bignoniaceae. It affects all plant layers of the forest ecosystem spreading rapidly both vertically and horizontally.

<i>Eccremocarpus scaber</i> Species of flowering plant

Eccremocarpus scaber, the Chilean glory-flower or Chilean glory creeper, is a species of perennial plant in the Bignoniaceae family. It is found in Chile.

<i>Podranea ricasoliana</i> Species of plant in the genus Podranea

Podranea ricasoliana, called the pink trumpet vine, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Podranea, native to South Africa, Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

References

  1. "NatureServe Explorer 2.0".
  2. Campsis radicans (L.) Bureau. Plants of the World Online . Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  3. 1 2 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  4. 1 2 "Campsis radicans". Germplasm Resources Information Network . Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture . Retrieved 21 December 2017.
  5. 1 2 "RHS Plant Selector - Campsis radicans f. flava" . Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  6. John Tveten; Gloria Tveten (5 July 2010). Wildflowers of Houston and Southeast Texas. University of Texas Press. p. 184. ISBN   978-0-292-78687-5.
  7. Dale Mayer (12 November 2010). The Complete Guide to Companion Planting: Everything You Need to Know to Make Your Garden Successful. Atlantic Publishing Company. p. 246. ISBN   978-1-60138-345-7.
  8. 1 2 "Know Your Natives – Trumpet Vine". Arkansas Native Plant Society. 17 September 2022.
  9. 1 2 "Trumpet Creeper (Campsis radicans)". www.illinoiswildflowers.info.
  10. 1 2 Alice M. Coats, Garden Shrubs and Their Histories (1964) 1992, s.v. "Campsis".
  11. Harrison, Lorraine (2012). RHS Latin for gardeners. United Kingdom: Mitchell Beazley. p. 224. ISBN   9781845337315.
  12. "Campsis radicans - Plant Finder". www.missouribotanicalgarden.org. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
  13. Biota of North America Program, 2013 county distribution map
  14. "Campsis radicans (Cow-itch, Cow Vine, Devil's Shoestring, Foxglove Vine, Hellvine, Trumpet Creeper, Trumpet Vine) | North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox". plants.ces.ncsu.edu. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
  15. Robinson, Gaden S.; Ackery, Phillip R.; Kitching, Ian; Beccaloni, George W.; Hernández, Luis M. (2023). "HOSTS - The Hostplants and Caterpillars Database at the Natural History Museum". www.nhm.ac.uk. doi:10.5519/havt50xw.
  16. "Campsis radicans (trumpet-creeper): Go Botany". gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org.
  17. "USDA Plants Database". plants.usda.gov.