Thicket Creeper
Parthenocissus vitacea
Also listed as Parthenocissus inserta, Cissus verticillata
In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in maritime thickets, rich alluvial forests, rich forests over mafic rocks, roadsides, roadside banks, and dumps. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Arkansas (estimated). How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 94%
- Height
- About 1 foot
- Light
- Partial shade, Full shade, Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Dry to wet
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Woody perennial
- Leaves
- Deciduous
- Bloom
- May to June
- Fruiting season
- August to September
Not yet recorded · Spread
County records are not available.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Floodplain and bottomland forests
Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.
Forests on moist but not wet ground, such as rich slopes and ravines.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Who uses this plant?
28CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AR
Genus host records with ranges including AR · Parthenocissus
- Alypia octomaculataEight-Spot Forester, 8-Spot Forester
- Amphion floridensisNessus Sphinx
- Amphipyra pyramidoidesMiranda Underwing, Copper Underwing, Copper Amphipyra
- Darapsa myronVirginia Creeper Sphinx
- Deidamia inscriptumLettered Sphinx
- Desmia funeralisGrape Leaffolder Moth
- Dyspteris abortivariaThe Bad-Wing, Badwing
- Enyo lugubrisMournful Sphinx
- Eudryas grataBeautiful Wood-Nymph
- Eulithis diversilineataLesser Grapevine Looper Moth
Show all 28
- Eulithis gracilineataGreater Grapevine Looper
- Eumorpha achemonAchemon Sphinx
- Eumorpha pandorusPandorus Sphinx, Pandora Sphinx
- Geina periscelidactylaGrape Plume Moth
- Halysidota tessellarisBanded Tussock Moth, Pale Tiger Moth
- Harrisina americanaGrapeleaf Skeletonizer Moth
- Hyalophora cecropiaCecropia Silkmoth, Cecropia Moth
- Hyles lineataWhite-Lined Sphinx
- Hyphantria cuneaFall Webworm
- Monochroa absconditellaStrawberry Crown Miner
- Orgyia leucostigmaWhite-Marked Tussock Moth
- Phigalia strigatariaSmall Phigalia, Small Oak Looper
- Phyllodesma americanaLappet Moth, American Lappet Moth, Southern Lappet Moth
- Psychomorpha epimenisGrapevine Epimenis
- Pyrrharctia isabellaIsabella Tiger Moth, Banded Woolybear
- Sphecodina abbottiiAbbott's Sphinx
- Spilosoma virginicaVirginian Tiger Moth, Yellow Woolybear Moth, Yellow Bear
- Vitacea scepsiformisVirginia Creeper Clearwing, Lesser Grape Root Borer
20BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Parthenocissus
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
12BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Parthenocissus
- Sialia sialisEastern Bluebird
- Catharus fuscescensVeery
- Catharus guttatusHermit Thrush
- Catharus ustulatusSwainson's Thrush
- Hylocichla mustelinaWood Thrush
- Plectrophenax nivalisSnow Bunting
- Tachycineta bicolorTree Swallow
- Turdus migratoriusAmerican Robin
- Tyrannus tyrannusEastern Kingbird
- Tyrannus verticalisWestern Kingbird
Show all 12
- Vireo griseusWhite-eyed Vireo
- Vireo olivaceusRed-eyed Vireo
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
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Vitaceae
- Growth rate
- Rapid
- Growth habit
- Spreads by runners
- Foliage color
- Green
- Fruit begins
- August
- Fruit ends
- September
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “May to June” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit begins · “August” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Fruit ends · “September” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Growth habit · “Spreads by runners” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth rate · “Rapid” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Height · “About 1 foot” · USDA PLANTS (ranked first; Minnesota Wildflowers differs) · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Leaf retention · “Deciduous” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Life cycle · “Woody perennial” · Minnesota Wildflowers
- Light · “Partial shade; Full shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Soil · “Dry; Moist; Wet (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as
Cissus verticillata; Parthenocissus vitacea; Seasonvine
Conservation status
| Arkansas rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| AR status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Growing cautions
- Spreads by runners. USDA PLANTS lists its growth form as stoloniferous. USDA PLANTS
For planning only; these do not change the score or Fit.
Sources
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025)
- Arkansas occurrence source
- 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