Wild, White, Late Summer-blooming Vines

Hog peanut (Amphicarpaea bracteata)

Native vines bloom throughout the year, starting as early as January in some years when the yellow flowers of Gelsemium and the coral trumpets of Lonicera open their earliest flowers. As summer winds down, a flurry of white blooms appear on tangled roadsides. I thought it would be helpful to mention four of the ones that you might see.

The first and showiest one to mention is Virgin’s bower (Clematis virginiana). This clematis has four petals in a flat arrangement (not a bell shape like most of our other native clematis). These flowers mature to a crazy tangle of seeds with long fuzzy tails that I find quite showy. The leaves are usually divided into 3 leaflets with toothed edges. This vine is long, up to 20 feet, and vigorous; it can really provide an eye-catching display over shrubs and small trees in damp ditches.

Native virgin's bower (Clematis virginiana)

The seed heads of Clematis virginiana (with pink flowers of
ground nut, Apios americana)

Non-native Clematis terniflora with smooth edges on leaves

A very similar but non-native clematis is sweet autumn clematis (Clematis terniflora). In fact, the plants are so similar that I don’t know of a way to visually use the flowers to tell them apart. The leaves are how you can discern the difference: the leaves of this species are also often divided into leaflets (sometimes more than 3), and the leaflets have smooth edges with no teeth. Sometimes the leaflets also have faint white markings.

A third white-blooming vine is climbing hempvine (Mikania scandens). It is a member of the Asteraceae family and an aggressive spreader. The leaves are oppositely-arranged and heart-shaped. The small flowers are clustered together (usually 4 per head) and are often white with slight tinges of pink or purple once you look closely. Multiple heads are in a panicle arrangement. This website has great photos. It also grows in damp areas and I have seen it on the same roadside as Virgin’s bower clematis. A similar vine with heart-shaped leaves is climbing buckwheat (Fallopia scandens). It has very distinctive seeds. 

Mikania scandens with Clematis virginiana in lower left

Heart-shaped leaves of Mikania scandens (with pokeweed)

Hog peanut is the fourth and last plant; it is perhaps not as noticeable since the flowers can be rather modest and sparse. However, its foliage is persistent and seems to be much longer than the stated 6-8 feet in length. Hog peanut (Amphicarpaea bracteata) has thin stems and trifoliate leaves. Very pale pink flowers, almost white, are 2 or more in racemes which develop into seedpods like other bean family (Fabaceae) members. The common name comes from the presence of ground-level flowers (self-pollinating) that create single-seeded fleshy fruits that are edible. You can find good pictures here. This vine is considered an annual in most areas.

Hog peanut (Amphicarpaea bracteata); see earlier photo in this blog also

So there you have it, a collection of late summer-blooming vines. Go out there, discover them, and figure out what they are! It makes wandering around so much more interesting.