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// SPECIES PROFILE · VINE · NATIVE · EVERGREEN

Crossvine

Bignonia capreolata

Crossvine is the early-spring trumpet of the eastern Oklahoma woodland edge — a high-climbing semi-evergreen native vine that opens orange-throated flowers in mid-April, weeks before trumpet creeper or coral honeysuckle, and pulls in the first ruby-throated hummingbirds arriving from their Gulf crossing. Cut a stem in cross-section and you find the diagnostic Greek-cross pith pattern that gives the plant its name. Better behaved than its showier cousin trumpet creeper, native rather than the aggressive Asian honeysuckle, and one of the few woody natives that holds purple-bronzed leaves through winter, crossvine deserves a place on every NE Oklahoma trellis, arbor or pine trunk that catches morning sun.

// QUICK FACTS
Family
Bignoniaceae (catalpa / trumpet creeper family)
Group
Vine — woody, tendril-climbing, semi-evergreen
Native range
SE United States — Maryland to TX, west to E OK
USDA hardiness
Zones 6–9 (Tulsa = 7a/7b)
Mature size
30–50 ft climb · can reach 70 ft on tall trees
Sun
Full sun for best bloom; tolerates part shade
Soil
Average, moist, well-drained; pH 5.5–7.5
Water
Average; drought-tolerant once established
Bloom time
Mid-April through May (peak: 2–3 weeks)
Flower color
Orange-red exterior, yellow throat — cultivar-dependent
Climbing method
Branched tendrils with adhesive disks (no aerial roots)
Wildlife
Ruby-throated hummingbird, orchard oriole, native bumblebees
Larval host
Trumpet vine sphinx (Paratraea plebeja) and rustic sphinx
Winter foliage
Persistent; turns purple-red bronze in cold
Crossvine (Bignonia capreolata) — orange trumpet flowers and opposite leaflets with branched tendril
Bignonia capreolata — the early-spring trumpet of NE Oklahoma woodland edges and a key first-arrival hummingbird flower. Photo via Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons.

Identification

[ field key — opposite leaves · branched tendril · flower · cross-pith ]

Habit & climbing method

A high-climbing woody vine that ascends by branched tendrils tipped with small adhesive disks, similar in mechanism to Boston ivy. Unlike trumpet creeper (Campsis radicans), crossvine has no aerial rootlets and does not damage masonry or wood siding. Stems become woody and gray-brown with age, reach 1–3 in diameter at the base of a long-established plant, and can climb 50 ft into the canopy of a host tree without strangling it.

Foliage — opposite, two-leaflet, with tendril

The single most diagnostic feature: each leaf is opposite, compound with only TWO leaflets, and a tendril is borne between the leaflets (a modified third leaflet). Leaflets are 2–6 in long, oblong-lance shaped, smooth and glossy with entire margins. Foliage is persistent through winter in Tulsa, often turning a deep purple-bronze or burgundy in cold weather and re-greening in spring. Crush a leaf and there is no notable scent.

Flowers & fruit

Mid-April through May, in 2–5-flowered cymes from leaf axils on year-old wood. Each flower is a 2–3 in five-lobed trumpet with reddish-orange exterior and a yellow throat (typical wild form); cultivars range from soft tangerine ('Tangerine Beauty') to deep blood-red ('Atrosanguinea'). Fragrance is distinctly mocha or coffee-like on warm afternoons. Fruit is a flat, narrow, 4–8 in capsule that splits to release winged seeds — rarely conspicuous in Oklahoma plants.

The "cross" & lookalikes

Cut a mature stem cleanly across and you see a pale Greek-cross pattern in the pith — the species namesake. Distinguish from: Campsis radicans (trumpet creeper, which has 7–11 toothed pinnate leaflets and aerial rootlets); Lonicera sempervirens (coral honeysuckle, opposite simple sessile leaves with the topmost pair fused); and the invasive Japanese honeysuckle (L. japonica, hairy stems and smaller white-yellow flowers). Among them, crossvine is the only one with two-leaflet leaves and a tendril.

Habitat & Range in NE Oklahoma

Bignonia capreolata is native across the southeastern US and reaches the western edge of its range in the deeper soils of eastern Oklahoma — the Ouachita National Forest in Le Flore and McCurtain counties, the eastern Ozarks of Adair and Cherokee counties, the bottomlands of the Arkansas, Illinois and Kiamichi rivers, and scattered sites along the eastern Cross Timbers as far west as Tulsa County. Its preferred habitat is moist mesic woodland edge — the transition zone where mature oak-hickory or pine-hardwood canopy meets a creek bottom, road cut, fence line or clearing — where it climbs into low canopy in part shade but flowers heaviest where its top growth reaches sun.

Crossvine is most abundant on slightly acid, well-drained sandy loams over sandstone in the Ouachitas; it is uncommon on the alkaline limestone soils of the northern Osage and Pawhuska area. It is undocumented as a noxious or invasive species anywhere in North America, and although it can climb tall and persist for decades, it does not strangle or smother its host trees the way porcelain-berry, kudzu or Japanese honeysuckle do. In a NE Oklahoma garden it is a true native that functions ecologically — a hummingbird and bumblebee plant, a sphinx-moth host, an evergreen screen — without becoming a long-term management problem.

Ecology & Wildlife Value

[ hummingbirds · pollination · sphinx hosts · wildlife cover ]

Ruby-throated hummingbirds

Crossvine flowers are classic hummingbird flowers: long tubular corollas, no insect-friendly landing platform, deep nectar reward, red and orange coloration. The species blooms in mid-April, which exactly matches the spring arrival of the ruby-throated hummingbird in NE Oklahoma after its Gulf crossing — one of the earliest sustained native nectar sources available. A mature vine on a sunny pergola can hold a half dozen hummers actively feeding through the peak two-week bloom.

Bumblebees, orioles, butterflies

Native bumblebees are heavy visitors and sometimes the primary pollinators in cool springs when hummingbirds are scarce. Orchard orioles and Baltimore orioles probe flowers and have been documented as pollen vectors. Larger butterflies, including swallowtails and zebra swallowtails, nectar at the flowers as well. Crossvine sets seed reliably wherever hummingbirds and large native bees are present.

Lepidoptera hosts

Documented larval host of the trumpet vine sphinx (Paratraea plebeja) and a documented secondary host of the rustic sphinx (Manduca rustica). Both are large hawkmoths whose adults are themselves significant nighttime pollinators of other native flowers — another small piece of NE Oklahoma's ecological web that benefits from a backyard crossvine.

Cover & structural value

The dense, evergreen tangle of mature crossvine on a fence or arbor provides year-round nesting and roosting cover for cardinals, mockingbirds, brown thrashers, and Carolina wrens. Unlike the invasive Japanese honeysuckle that it could ecologically replace, crossvine does not blanket understory or smother adjacent shrubs.

Replace invasive vines with this: If you are removing Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica), porcelain-berry (Ampelopsis brevipedunculata), Chinese wisteria (Wisteria sinensis) or English ivy from a NE Oklahoma fenceline or arbor, crossvine is the leading native ecological replacement: woody, evergreen, climbing 30 ft+, hummingbird-pollinated, and non-aggressive. Pair it with coral honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) for an extended bloom sequence from April through frost.

Horticulture & Care

[ siting · trellis · cultivars · pruning · pests ]

When to plant

Container-grown crossvine establishes best in fall (September–November) or in early spring before the heat builds. NE Oklahoma summer heat is harsh on a first-year root system, so avoid June–August planting unless you are committed to weekly watering through October.

Siting & structure

Crossvine wants sun on its top growth and cool moist roots. Choose a site with morning to mid-day sun, and either mulch the root zone heavily or plant a shallow-rooted companion (such as American alumroot) at its base. Provide a sturdy permanent structure: a 6–8 ft wood arbor, an iron pergola, a chain-link or cattle-panel fence, or a tall pine or cedar trunk. The branched tendrils with adhesive disks will climb almost any textured surface but do not damage masonry — in NE Oklahoma it is sometimes used to soften stone and brick walls.

Planting & establishment

Pruning & training

For the first 2–3 years, train shoots loosely onto the support and let the plant build root system and woody framework — expect modest bloom in years 1 and 2, then a major increase in year 3 and beyond. Annual maintenance is a late-winter pruning just after the worst cold has passed: shorten side shoots back to 2–4 buds to concentrate flowering, remove dead and crossing wood, and pull any growth running where you do not want it. Crossvine blooms on the previous year's wood, so do not hard-prune in summer or you will lose next year's bloom. Mature plants in NE Oklahoma can be cut back hard (renovation prune to 2 ft from the base) every 8–15 years if they become woody and bare at the bottom; they regenerate strongly from the crown.

Pests & diseases

Notable cultivars for NE Oklahoma

Cultivar Flower Distinguishing feature Notes for Tulsa
'Tangerine Beauty' Tangerine-orange with yellow throat Heaviest bloomer of the named cultivars; longer bloom window The standard ornamental selection; the one most often available at regional independent garden centers; reliable hummingbird performer.
'Atrosanguinea' Deep red-violet trumpet, narrower than typical Heirloom selection prized for dark color Less prolific bloom than 'Tangerine Beauty' but a more saturated color for night-lit pergolas.
'Jekyll' Yellow with red throat Compact, lower-vigor selection Garden-scale; a good choice for a single-arch arbor where a 50-ft vine would be too much.
'Helen Fredel' Orange-yellow, large flower Vigorous, heavy bloom Newer selection; performs well in Tulsa-area trial gardens.
'Shalimar Red' Deep orange-red Slightly later bloom; long flowering Extends the spring nectar window an extra 10–14 days when planted with 'Tangerine Beauty'.

Wild-form crossvine grown from seed or local cuttings is also worth seeking out from native-plant nurseries (e.g., the OKLA Tulsa Audubon Society plant sale, the Wild Things Nursery in southern Oklahoma); local genetics tend to be the most cold-hardy and the best matched to regional pollinators.

Cultural & Material Uses

Crossvine has a quiet but real ethnobotanical record across the southeastern US, mostly as a folk medicine and a structural plant rather than a major economic crop.

Sources & Further Reading

  • USDA NRCS PLANTS Database — Bignonia capreolata: plants.usda.gov/plant-profile/BICA
  • USDA Forest Service Fire Effects Information System (FEIS) — Bignonia capreolata: fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/vine/bigcap
  • Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center — Bignonia capreolata: wildflower.org — BICA
  • Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder — Bignonia capreolata cultivar profiles and culture.
  • Oklahoma Native Plant Society — native vine selections for Oklahoma landscapes; Bignonia capreolata profile.
  • Oklahoma State University Extension — Native Plants for Oklahoma Landscapes (HLA-6435) and the OSU horticultural plant fact sheet series, vine selections.
  • Wikipedia — Bignonia capreolata: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bignonia_capreolata (CC BY-SA 4.0).
  • Audubon Society — Plants for Birds database, Bignoniaceae entries.
  • Tyrl, R.J. et al. (2008), A Field Guide to Oklahoma's Plants, Oklahoma State University Press.

Photos courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributors under their respective licenses.

Companion Planting

[ guild · polyculture · cross-layer pairings ]

In a shaded woodland understory, crossvine pairs naturally with: american hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana), american beautyberry (Callicarpa americana), american alumroot (Heuchera americana), inland sea oats (Chasmanthium latifolium), virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia), and black cherry (Prunus serotina).

Train crossvine onto a sturdy host such as a hedgerow shrub or arbor; combine with low groundcovers below.