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Shale Barren Bindweed

Calystegia spithamaea subsp. purshiana

Also listed as Convolvulus purshianus

Found in shale barrens and woodlands, less typically on limestone. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you

33
Good

Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 59%

Light
Partial shade, Full sun
Soil moisture
Dry to moist
Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Life cycle · Leaves · Bloom

Height and bloom: NC species account not read yet.

Spread, life cycle and leaves: no source found yet.

This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.

Recorded in 15 Virginia counties.

Natural habitats

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

1 of 3

Glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone

Cedar glade in the Pennyroyal Plain, Simpson County
Limestone cedar glade. Shown: Pennyroyal Plain, Simpson County, Kentucky, a neighboring state.Cedar glade in the Pennyroyal Plain, Simpson County, Mason Brock (Masebrock), undated. Public domain. Source record.

Shale barrens

Steep, sun-baked slopes of loose shale with sparse oaks and Virginia pine and their own endemic wildflowers. Linked only where the source names shale barrens; calcareous shale stays with the limestone glades.

Forests and woodlands

Forest or woodland where the source does not say how moist or dry.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

2CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · Calystegia

  • Emmelina monodactylaMorning-Glory Plume Moth
  • Spodoptera ornithogalliYellow-Striped Armyworm Moth, Cotton Cutworm
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
16BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Calystegia

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

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

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Convolvulaceae

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

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Calystegia spithamaea; Calystegia spithamaea ssp. stans; Calystegia spithamaea subsp. purshiana

Conservation status

Virginia rankS4
Global rankG5T4 [G4]
VA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources