N/A; a vine with stems 3-10 feet or more in length.
Growth Rate:
Fast.
Range:
Eastern and central United States west to Texas and south to Miami-Dade and Lee counties; also reported for Collier County. Apparently extirpated in Miami-Dade County; it was collected once in 1915 in pinelands near Arch Creek by John Kunkel Small, Charles Mosier and George Small. Very rare in Broward County and known only from the area around Pine Island Ridge.
Habitats:
Thickets and disturbed sites.
Soils:
Moist, well-drained sandy or limestone soils, with or without humusy top layer.
Nutritional Requirements:
Moderate; can grow in nutrient poor soils, but needs some organic content to thrive.
Salt Water Tolerance:
Low; does not tolerate flooding by salt or brackish water.
Salt Wind Tolerance:
Low; salt wind may burn the leaves.
Drought Tolerance:
High; does not require any supplemental water once established.
Light Requirements:
Full sun to light shade.
Flower Color:
Purple.
Flower Characteristics:
Showy.
Flowering Season:
Spring-summer.
Fruit:
Large berry, yellow at maturity. Edible.
Wildlife and Ecology:
Larval host plant for gulf fritillary (Agraulis vanillae), variegated fritillary (Euptoieta claudia) and zebra longwing (Heliconius charitonius) butterflies.
Gann, G.D., M.E. Abdo, J.W. Gann, G.D. Gann, Sr., S.W.
Woodmansee, K.A. Bradley, E. Verdon and K.N. Hines. 2005-2008. Natives For Your Neighborhood. http://www.regionalconservation.org.
The Institute for Regional Conservation, Miami.