sedum ternatum

SEDUM TERNATUM

Wetland indicators

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the principal federal agency dealing with information on wetlands, has over the years researched species of plants and their probability of being found in wetlands.

A product of this work are wetland indicators, which include five basic designations and options for gradients in between. The implications for landscapers is that the designations can suggest relative moisture requirements for plants. For example, a wetland species will almost certainly require constant moisture, while an upland species can manage with dryer habitats.

Codes have been assigned to many native species. A summary of names and definitions:

OBL - Obligate Wetland. Probability of 99 percent that it occurs naturally in wetlands.

FACW - Facultative Wetland. Usually found in wetland, with a probability of 67 to 99 percent, but occasionally is found in non-wetlands.

FAC - Facultative. Equally likely to be found in wetlands or non-wetlands, with a probability of 34 to 66 percent in wetlands.

FACU - Facultative Upland. Usually occurs in non-wetlands, with a probability of 1 to 33 percent of being found in wetlands.

UPL - Obligate Upland. Occurs almost always naturally in non-wetlands, probability of 99 percent.

Occasionally found is the indicator "NI," which means insufficient information is available to assign an indicator status.

About Pennystone

The Pennystone Project provides information relating to sustainable landscape practices using native species, with emphasis on the northeastern counties of Pennsylvania.

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Herbaceous, woody vines - northeastern Pennsylvania

Introduction

Nearly 30 species of woody and herbaceous vines are considered native to Pennsylvania and identified as having distribution in the northeastern counties. Of them, 18 species are reported as commercially available from a variety of reputable nurseries within the United States and others appear to be unavailable.

Criteria for listing the species here are:

  • Availability at least by mail order as seed or live plants from a legitimate nursery in the United States
  • Reported as native to Pennsylvania and identified as being found in Carbon, Monroe, Pike or Wayne Counties, especially in all or several. This suggests the region contains suitable habitat for the species to be successfully grown.

The 18 entries on this list include both perennial herbaceous and woody vines native to northeastern Pennsylvania and are organized in the following manner:

Latin (or scientific) name*
Common name(s)
A brief description of natural habitat - i.e., where it is found in nature
US Fish and Wildlife Service wetland indicators when available
Characteristics including bloom color and period
Suggestions for home cultivation, including light requirements, moisture, soil description, and if available soil pH range and preference
How relatively easy it is to find in the commercial marketplace, in the context of nationwide mail order nurseries
*Sometimes scientific names have recently changed and not all literature has yet caught up. Where it seems helpful, we have also include "AKA" - also known as.

Not listed is Toxicodendron radicans (eastern poison ivy), considered by most to be unsuitable for landscape planting. Those involved in accurate site restoration will find poison ivy is commercially available from a few sources.

 

Adlumia fungosa

Allegheny-vine - moist coves, rocky woods, ledges, alluvial slopes, and thickets. Climbing, to 10 feet. White flowers, summer to fall. Grow in part shade to shade in moist humusy loam. Very few sources.

Apios americana

Ground-nut - moist to wet woods and floodplains; FACW. Twining, to 10 feet; pink flowers in summer. Sun to part shade in moist sandy loam. Very few sources.

Celastrus scandens

American bittersweet - dry fields, rocky ledges, woods, hedgerows; FACU-. Dioecious, twining, to 12-16 feet, greenish-white flowers in early summer. Grow in lean to average soils with regular moisture in full sun; suckers at the roots to form large colonies and can strangle trees and shrubs. Commonly available.

Clematis occidentalis

Purple clematis - open woods, banks, gravelly embankments, rocky woods, slopes and cliffs. Climbing or trailing woody vine to 10 feet; violet flowers in late spring. Grow in part shade to shade in circumneutral mesic sandy to rocky soils. Very few sources.

Clematis virginiana

Virgin's-bower - stream edges, wet roadsides, fencerows, and other moist, disturbed, wooded or open sites; FAC. Climbing or trailing woody vine to 15 feet. White flowers in summer. Grow in sun to shade; prefers moist soils in part shade. Commonly available.

Dioscorea villosa

Wild yam - woods, thickets, rocky slopes; FAC+. Twining vine to 15 feet; greenish-yellow flowers, early summer. Grow in part shade to shade in dry to moist rocky loam. Several sources.

Echinocystis lobata

Prickly cucumber - moist alluvial soil on stream banks and woods edges; FAC. Annual vine with 16-20 foot stems; white flowers in summer. Grow in sun to part sun in moist sandy loam. Inedible fruit. Very few sources.

Humulus lupulus

Brewer's hops - moist alluvial soil, woods edges, thickets and waste ground; FACU. Twining vine to 30 feet. Greenish flowers in summer. Grow in sun to part sun in moist sandy loam. Used to flavor beer. Several sources.

Lonicera dioica var. dioica

Mountain honeysuckle - rocky moist woods and thickets; FACU. Climbing woody vine or shrub, 3 to 6 feet; red to purple flowers in late spring. Grow in part sun to part shade in dry to moist circumneutral sandy loam. Very few sources.

Lonicera hirsuta

Hairy honeysuckle - moist woods, swamps and rocky thickets; FAC. Climbing woody vine, to 10 feet; orange-yellow flowers in spring. Grow in part sun to part shade in dry to moist sandy loam. Very few sources.

Lonicera sempervirens

Trumpet honeysuckle - roadsides, woods, thickets; FACU. Woody vine, 10 to 20 feet; red-orange flowers in summer, red fruit in fall. Grow in sun to part sun in moist loamy well drained soil. Tolerates shade, but will flower less; very popular with hummingbirds. Several sources.

Menispermum canadense

Moonseed - deciduous woods and thickets, along streams, bluffs and rocky hillsides, fencerows; FACU. Shade tolerant woody twining vine, 5 to 30 feet; whitish flowers in early fall. Grow in part sun to part shade in moist sandy loam. Very few sources.

Parthenocissus quinquefolia

Virginia-creeper - open woods, fields, clearings, stream banks; FACU. Woody tendril vine, 30 to 50 feet. White flowers in spring, with fruit in late fall. Grow in average, medium, well-drained soil in full sun to part shade. Tolerates full shade and a wide range of soil and environmental conditions. Often mistaken for poison ivy, but harmless. Commonly available.

Polygonum arifolium

Halberd-leaf tearthumb - shaded swamps, ponds, tidal marshes along rivers, wet ravines in forests; OBL. Annual vine; white to pink flowers in summer. Grow in moist to wet rich loams in sun to part shade. Very few sources.

Smilax herbacea

Carrion-flower - higher elevations in rich woods and floodplains, alluvial thickets, and meadows, often in calcareous soils; FAC. Climbing vine, 3 to 10 feet greenish-yellow flowers in early summer. Grow in part shade to shade in moist average soil. Very few sources.

Smilax hispida

Bristly greenbrier - swamps, moist woods thickets and roadsides. Climbing vine, 20 to 40 feet. Greenish yellow flowers late spring. Grow in moist loams in full sun to part shade. Tolerates wet soils. Very few sources.

Vitis aestivalis

Summer grape - open forests, woodlands, woodland borders and thickets; climbs nearly all hardwood and conifer tree species that grow in its range; FACU. Climbing vine, 15 to 30 feet; yellowish green flowers in spring, fruit in fall. Grow in deep, loamy, medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun. Very few sources.

Vitis riparia

Frost grape is found on riverbanks and in alluvial thickets; FACW. Climbing vine, 30 to 70 feet; yellow-green flowers in May, fruit in late fall. Grow in sun to shade in moist, rich soil. Several sources.