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Marine-ivy

Cissus trifoliata

Found in Coastal hammocks, dunes, disturbed coastal areas, inland in exposed bluffs, glades, and rocky, open woodlands, disturbed thickets, agricultural field edges. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you

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Not native

Not native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 71%

Height
12–30 feet
Spread
5–10 feet
Light
Partial shade, Full sun
Soil moisture
Dry to wet

At a glance

Bloom
April to June
Fruiting season
August to September

Not yet recorded · Life cycle · Leaves

Recorded in 12 Alabama counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 4

Forests and woodlands

Trail on Little Kennesaw Mountain.
Named place / source context. Shown: Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, Georgia, a neighboring state.Trail on Little Kennesaw Mountain., Unidentified in HFC record, undated. Public domain. Source record.

Forest edges and thickets

Wooded scene looking out over partially open fields
Named place / source context. Shown: Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, Georgia and Tennessee; which part is not recorded, a neighboring state.Wooded scene looking out over partially open fields, Richard Schlecht, undated. Public domain. Source record.

Coastal Plain hammocks

Dense, evergreen groves of live oak, magnolia and other hardwoods in the southern Coastal Plain, from dry oak domes to wet hydric hammocks and south Florida's tropical hammocks; salt-shaped maritime hammocks are maritime forests.

Coastal dunes and beaches

Open sand of beaches, dunes and the hollows between them.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

7CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL

Genus host records with ranges including AL · Cissus

  • Cycnia collarisUnexpected Cycnia
  • Enyo lugubrisMournful Sphinx
  • Eumorpha labruscaeGaudy Sphinx
  • Eumorpha vitisVine Sphinx
  • Harrisina americanaGrapeleaf Skeletonizer Moth
  • Spodoptera eridaniaSouthern Armyworm Moth
  • Spodoptera latifasciaOrange-Striped Armyworm, Velvet Armyworm Moth
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
1BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Cissus

  • Leptotila verreauxiWhite-tipped Dove
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Vitaceae
Hardiness
Zones 6–10
Fruit begins
August
Fruit ends
September

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Marine ivy

Conservation status

Alabama rankNot available
Global rankG5
AL statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

Native alternatives

Find natives for your garden

Sources