American Trumpet Vine (TVA, White's Creek Small Wild Area, Plants)

American Trumpet Vine

Campsis radicans

Summary ⁵

Campsis radicans (trumpet vine or trumpet creeper, also known in North America as cow itch vine or hummingbird vine), is a species of flowering plant of the family Bignoniaceae, native to the southeastern United States. Growing to 10 m (33 ft), 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 subject.

Barcode data: campsis radicans ⁶

The following is a representative barcode sequence, the centroid of all available sequences for this species.

Comments ⁷

The flowers have been observed in both the species to be visited by Humming birds and ants which bore a hole at the base of the corolla tube to get at the nectary.

Description ⁸

This perennial woody vine is up to 40' long, branching occasionally. Trumpet Creeper usually climbs up trees, shrubs, telephone poles, and other vertical structures using aerial rootlets, otherwise it sprawls across the ground. Young shoots are greenish brown, but become brown and woody as they mature. Pairs of opposite compound leaves occur along the length of the vine. These compound leaves are odd pinnate, consisting of about 7-11 leaflets; they are up to 2½' long and ¾' across. The central stalk of each compound leaf is often hairy. The leaflets are up to 3" long and 1" across. They are ovate or elliptic, pinnately veined, and coarsely toothed along the margins. The upper surface of each leaflet is shiny and hairless, while the lower surface often has a few hairs along the major veins. Periodically, short cymes of 2-8 flowers are produced along the length of the vine. These flowers are up to 3½" long and have an elongated funnelform shape that is trumpet-like in appearance. The corolla is orange to reddish orange; along its outer rim there are 5 shallow lobes that curl backward. The tubular calyx is reddish orange, leathery in texture, and 5-toothed; it is much shorter than the corolla. Along the inner surface of the corolla, there are reddish lines that function as nectar guides and 4 inserted stamens. There are extra-floral nectaries at the base of each flower. The blooming period occurs during the summer and lasts about 2 months. The abundance of flowers is variable; there is no floral scent. Each flower is replaced by an elongated seed capsule about 6" long that tapers at both ends. This seed capsule eventually splits apart into two sections to release the seeds. The seeds are flattened and have large membranous wings; they are dispersed by the wind. The root system consists of a woody taproot.

Faunal associations ⁹

The nectar of the flowers attracts the Ruby-Throated Hummingbird, Baltimore Oriole, Orchard Oriole and some Sphinx moths; the hummingbird and sphinx moths are effective pollinators, while the orioles have a tendency to tear-up the flowers, causing more harm than good. Bumblebees and honeybees sometimes seek nectar or pollen from the flowers, but they are probably less effective pollinators. The extra-floral nectaries attract an abundance of ants and flies; to a lesser extent, Halictid bees visit the extra-floral nectaries as well. The caterpillars of Paratraea plebeja (Plebeian Sphinx) feed on the foliage, as do the adults and larvae of the leaf beetle, Octotoma plicatula. The caterpillars of Clydonopteron tecomae (Trumpet Creeper Moth) feed on the seedpods and their contents. The foliage is toxic to mammalian herbivores and little bothered by them; a small number of people may experience a rash from contact with the foliage. Because of the luxuriant leaves and rampant growth of this vine, it provides good cover and nesting habitat for many species of songbirds.

Flower visiting insects and birds of trumpet creeper in illinois ¹⁰

Campsis radicans (Trumpet Creeper)
(Hummingbirds suck nectar from flowers, while orioles perforate [prf] the flowers near their corollas to steal nectar [sn@prf], and sometimes hummingbirds sucked nectar from these perforations as well; according to Robertson, bees collect pollen from flowers & are non-pollinating, however Bertin found that the honeybee and bumblebees sometimes sucked nectar within the flowers and successfully pollinated them; Halictid bees, ants, and flies suck nectar from extra-floral nectaries; observations are from Robertson, Bertin, and Smith et al.)

Flower visitors:

Birds
Trochilidae: Archilochus colubris sn fq sn@prf (Rb, Brt), Icterus galbula prf sn@prf np (Brt), Icterus spurius prf sn@prf np (Brt)

Bees (long-tongued)
Apidae (Apinae): Apis mellifera sn cp (Brt); Apidae (Bombini): Bombus spp. sn cp (Brt), Bombus pensylvanica cp fq np (Rb)

Bees (short-tongued)
Halictidae (Halictinae): Unidentified spp. cp np (Brt), Augochlorella aurata (Smh), Lasioglossum zephyrus cp np (Rb)

Moths
Sphingidae: Manduca sexta sn (Brt)

Extra-floral nectary visitors:

Bees (short-tongued)
Halictidae (Halictinae): Lasioglossum imitatus sn fq (Rb), Lasioglossum versatus sn fq (Rb), Lasioglossum zephyrus sn fq (Rb)

Ants
Formicidae: Crematogaster lineolata sn fq (Rb), Formica fusca sn fq (Rb), Formica schaufussi sn (Rb), Tapinoma sessilis sn (Rb)

Flies
Syrphidae: Syritta pipiens sn (Rb); Sarcophagidae: Helicobia rapax sn (Rb), Ravinia anxia sn (Rb), Ravinia stimulans sn (Rb); Calliphoridae: Lucilia sericata sn (Rb); Muscidae: Musca domestica sn (Rb), Stomoxys calcitrans sn (Rb); Milichiidae: Milichiella lucidula sn fq (Rb); Otitidae: Delphinia picta sn fq (Rb)

Sources and Credits

(c) Shihmei Barger 舒詩玫, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), http://www.flickr.com/photos/70668033@N00/4761191558
(c) jacinta lluch valero, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/70626035@N00/15175020617/
(c) Swallowtail Garden Seeds, some rights reserved (CC BY), https://www.flickr.com/photos/swallowtailgardenseeds/14743854287/
(c) Martin LaBar, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), https://www.flickr.com/photos/martinlabar/162619801/
Adapted by Jonathan (JC) Carpenter from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campsis_radicans
(c) Barcode of Life Data Systems, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://eol.org/data_objects/30732526
(c) Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63110 USA, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/4988297
(c) John Hilty, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/29449649
(c) John Hilty, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/29449653
(c) John Hilty, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/32220674

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