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Peppervine

Nekemias arborea

In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in swamp forests, marshes, wet thickets, moist to wet maritime forests. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you

65
Strong

Native to Louisiana (estimated). How scores work Is it native here?

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Height
20–35 feet
Spread
8–10 feet
Light
Full sun, Partial shade
Soil moisture
Usually 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
Summer
Fruiting season
September to October

Recorded in 60 Louisiana parishes.

Natural habitats

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

1 of 4

Swamps

The Land of Evangeline
Joseph Rusling Meeker, The Land of Evangeline (1874): moss-hung trees over a still bayou in Louisiana swamp forest. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Louisiana bayou country (Meeker, The Land of Evangeline, 1874)The Land of Evangeline, Joseph Rusling Meeker, 1874. Public domain. Source record. scaled to 1280 x 923 by the Wikimedia thumbnailer from 4096 x 2953; no crop or other change

Freshwater marshes

Open, herb-covered wetlands with fresh, non-tidal water.

Forest edges and thickets

Borders of forests, clearings and shrubby thickets.

Maritime forests and thickets

Salt-pruned forests and shrub thickets behind coastal dunes.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Louisiana. Shared habitat, not food. 104 animals.

Widespread birds also seen here (34)

Found in many habitats here, so not listed above.

All wildlife of Louisiana

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

16CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including LA

Genus host records with ranges including LA · Ampelopsis

  • Acoloithus falsariusClemens' False Skeletonizer Moth
  • Alypia octomaculataEight-Spot Forester, 8-Spot Forester
  • Amphion floridensisNessus Sphinx
  • Darapsa myronVirginia Creeper Sphinx
  • Deidamia inscriptumLettered Sphinx
  • Enyo lugubrisMournful Sphinx
  • Eudryas grataBeautiful Wood-Nymph
  • Eulithis gracilineataGreater Grapevine Looper
  • Eumorpha achemonAchemon Sphinx
  • Eumorpha intermediaIntermediate Sphinx
Show all 16
  • Eumorpha labruscaeGaudy Sphinx
  • Eumorpha pandorusPandorus Sphinx, Pandora Sphinx
  • Eumorpha satellitiaThe Satellite Sphinx
  • Harrisina americanaGrapeleaf Skeletonizer Moth
  • Monochroa absconditellaStrawberry Crown Miner
  • Sphecodina abbottiiAbbott's Sphinx
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
7BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Ampelopsis

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
1BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

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

  • Gallinula galeataCommon Gallinule
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

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Vitaceae
Hardiness
Zones 7a–9b
Flower color
Green or white
Growth rate
Rapid
Growth habit
Several stems
Foliage color
Green
Fruit begins
September
Fruit ends
October

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

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Ampelopsis arborea

Conservation status

Louisiana rankSNR
Global rankG5
LA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources