Cypress-vine
Ipomoea quamoclit
Found in fields, hedgerows, disturbed areas. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
—
Not native
Not native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 65%
- Height
- 15–20 feet
- Spread
- 3–6 feet
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Somewhat dry to moist
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At a glance
- Life cycle
- Annual
- Leaves
- Deciduous
Not yet recorded · Bloom
Bloom: recorded only in the FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team) phone app (app page).
Recorded in 33 Alabama counties.
Habitats
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground.
Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there. All habitats
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
49CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL
Genus host records with ranges including AL · Ipomoea
- Agrius cingulataPink-Spotted Hawkmoth, Sweet Potatoe Caterpillar
- Agrotis gladiariaSwordsman Dart, Clay-Backed Cut-Worm
- Agrotis ipsilonIpsilon Dart, Black Cutworm, Greasy Cutworm
- Amyna strictaEight-Spot Moth
- Anomis flavaTropical Anomis Moth
- Argyrotaenia ivanaIvana Leafroller Moth
- Autographa precationisCommon Looper Moth
- Chloridea virescensTobacco Budworm Moth
- Chrysodeixis includensSoybean Looper Moth
- Elaphria chalcedoniaChalcedony Midget
Show all 49
- Elophila obliteralisWaterlily Leafcutter Moth
- Emmelina monodactylaMorning-Glory Plume Moth
- Eublemma rectaStraight-Lined Seed Moth
- Euptoieta claudiaVariegated Fritillary, (?)Gulf Fritillary
- Euzophera semifuneralisAmerican Plum Borer
- Feltia herilisMaster's Dart
- Feltia jaculiferaDingy Cutworm
- Feltia subterraneaSubterranean Dart, Granulate Cutworm
- Hahncappsia mancalisCommon Hahncappsia
- Helicoverpa zeaCorn Earworm Moth
- Herpetogramma fluctuosalisGreater Sweetpotato Webworm
- Herpetogramma thestealisZigzag Herpetogramma, Subtle-Feathered Grass Moth
- Hydriris ornatalisOrnate Hydriris
- Hyles lineataWhite-Lined Sphinx
- Hypena scabraGreen Cloverworm Bomolocha, Black Snout
- Lascoria ambigualisAmbiguous Moth, Ambiguous Litter Moth
- Lygropia tripunctataSweet Potato Leaf Roller
- Marimatha nigrofimbriaBlack-Bordered Lemon
- Marimatha tripunctaThree-Spotted Lemon
- Megalopyge opercularisSouthern Flannel Moth, Puss Caterpillar
- Mythimna unipunctaArmyworm Moth, White Speck
- Orgyia leucostigmaWhite-Marked Tussock Moth
- Ostrinia obumbratalisSmartweed Borer
- Papilio troilusSpicebush Swallowtail
- Patania silicalisHerbivorous Patania, Herbivorous Pleuroptya
- Schizura ipomaeaeMorning-Glory Prominent, Checkered-Fringe Prominent
- Spilosoma virginicaVirginian Tiger Moth, Yellow Woolybear Moth, Yellow Bear
- Spodoptera dolichosSweetpotato Armyworm, Dolichos Armyworm, Large Cotton Armyworm
- Spodoptera eridaniaSouthern Armyworm Moth
- Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
- Spodoptera latifasciaOrange-Striped Armyworm, Velvet Armyworm Moth
- Spodoptera ornithogalliYellow-Striped Armyworm Moth, Cotton Cutworm
- Spoladea recurvalisHawaiian Beet Webworm
- Spragueia damaSouthern Spragueia
- Udea rubigalisCelery Leaftier
- Vanessa carduiPainted Lady, Cosmopolite
- Cosmopterix astrapias
- Cosmopterix gemmiferella
- Microthyris anormalis
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
3Specialist beesPollen specialists
Pollen specialists · Ipomoea
- Melitoma grisella
- Melitoma marginella
- Melitoma taurea
2BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Ipomoea
- Columbina passerinaCommon Ground Dove
- Cyrtonyx montezumaeMontezuma Quail
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
- Convolvulaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 11a–12b
- Flower color
- Red
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Flower color · “Red” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Hardiness · “Zones 11a–12b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “15–20 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Leaves · “Deciduous” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Life cycle · “Annual” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- primary_flower_color · “red” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil · “Occasionally dry; Occasionally wet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “3–6 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Cypress Vine
Conservation status
| Alabama rank | SNA |
|---|---|
| Global rank | GNR |
| AL status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Sources
- Alabama Plant Atlas
- USDA PLANTS
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications