Supplejack
Berchemia scandens
In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in swamp forests, bottomlands, streambanks, also upland in moist to even dry forests, woodlands, glades, and prairies over calcareous rock or sediment. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Louisiana (estimated). How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 100%
- Height
- 20–60 feet
- Spread
- 6–12 feet
- Light
- Dappled sunlight, Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Somewhat dry to moist
Space about 9 ft apart from its recorded spread. Enter your bed size for a count
Will it fit your yard?
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Woody perennial
- Leaves
- Deciduous
- Bloom
- April to May
- Fruiting season
- August to October
Recorded in 61 Louisiana parishes.
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.
Streams, rivers and their banks
Flowing water and its banks, bars and rocky shoals.
Forests and open woodlands on dry ridges and slopes, often oak or pine.
Forest or woodland where the source does not say how moist or dry.
Glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone
Open, thin-soil openings and rock on limestone, dolomite or other lime-rich rock, including cedar glades.
Open, grass-dominated places kept open by fire, grazing or thin soil, from tallgrass prairie to Piedmont prairies.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Louisiana. Shared habitat, not food. 132 animals.
- American BitternBotaurus lentiginosus
- American Black DuckAnas rubripes
- American CrowCorvus brachyrhynchos
- American PipitAnthus rubescens
- AnhingaAnhinga anhinga
- Baltimore OrioleIcterus galbula
- Bank SwallowRiparia riparia
- Bell's VireoVireo bellii
- Bewick's WrenThryomanes bewickii
- Bonaparte's GullChroicocephalus philadelphia
- Brown-headed CowbirdMolothrus ater
- Cackling GooseBranta hutchinsii
- Carolina WrenThryothorus ludovicianus
- Chuck-will's-widowCaprimulgus carolinensis
- Common GrackleQuiscalus quiscula
- Dark-eyed JuncoJunco hyemalis
- DickcisselSpiza americana
- Eastern TowheePipilo erythrophthalmus
- Field SparrowSpizella pusilla
- GadwallAnas strepera
- Grasshopper SparrowAmmodramus savannarum
- Great Crested FlycatcherMyiarchus crinitus
- Great-tailed GrackleQuiscalus mexicanus
- Greater White-fronted GooseAnser albifrons
Widespread birds also seen here (34)
Found in many habitats here, so not listed above.
- American Goldfinch
- American Kestrel
- American Robin
- Bald Eagle
- Black-crowned Night-heron
- Blue Grosbeak
- Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
- Canada Goose
- Cedar Waxwing
- Chimney Swift
- Common Nighthawk
- Common Yellowthroat
- Cooper's Hawk
- Double-crested Cormorant
- Eastern Kingbird
- European Starling
- Great Egret
- Great Horned Owl
- Mourning Dove
- Northern Cardinal
- Northern Flicker
- Northern Mockingbird
- Osprey
- Pine Siskin
- Purple Finch
- Red-tailed Hawk
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Sharp-shinned Hawk
- Tree Swallow
- Turkey Vulture
- White-throated Sparrow
- Yellow-breasted Chat
- Yellow-crowned Night-heron
- Yellow-rumped Warbler
Who uses this plant?
1CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including LA
Genus host records with ranges including LA · Berchemia
- Synanthedon scitulaDogwood Borer, Pecan Borer
0BeesSoutheastern regional records
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
5BirdsRecorded eating Berchemia in Louisiana
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Birds whose range includes Louisiana, most records first.
- Common Ground-dove4 diet records
- Mourning Dove2 diet records
- American RobinFruit. 1 diet record
- Blue-headed Vireo1 diet record
- Hermit ThrushFruit and seeds. 1 diet record
Direct food only. 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
Birds that eat Berchemia 5
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.
- Common Ground-doveColumbina passerina
- Mourning DoveZenaida macroura
- American RobinTurdus migratorius
- Blue-headed VireoVireo solitarius
- Hermit ThrushCatharus guttatus
Plant details
- Family
- Rhamnaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 6a–9b
- Soil pH
- Acidic to neutral
- Flower color
- Green or white
- Fruit begins
- August
- Fruit ends
- October
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “April to May” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Green or white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Fruit begins · “August” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Fruit ends · “October” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Hardiness · “Zones 6a–9b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “20–60 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Leaves · “Deciduous” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Life cycle · “Woody perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Dappled sunlight (shade through upper canopy all day); Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards differs)
- Soil · “Moist; Occasionally dry; Occasionally wet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards differs)
- Soil pH · “Acidic to neutral” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “6–12 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Rattan Vine; Supple Jack
Conservation status
| Louisiana rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| LA 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.
Sources
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025)
- Louisiana 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