Boston Ivy
Parthenocissus tricuspidata
Found in moist forests. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you
—
Not native
Not native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 82%
- Height
- 30–60 feet
- Spread
- 5–10 feet
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Somewhat dry to moist
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At a glance
- Life cycle
- Woody perennial
- Leaves
- Deciduous
- Bloom
- June to August
- Fruiting season
- September to October
JFMAMJJASOND
Recorded in 7 Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
31CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
Genus host records with ranges including VA · Parthenocissus
- Adela ridingsellaRidings' Fairy Moth
- Albuna fraxiniVirginia Creeper Clearwing
- 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
- Eudryas grataBeautiful Wood-Nymph
Show all 31
- Eulithis diversilineataLesser Grapevine Looper Moth
- 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
- Lophocampa caryaeHickory Tussock Moth, Hickory Tiger Moth
- 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
- Heliozela aesella
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist 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
Growing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- Vitaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 4a–8b
- Soil pH
- Acidic to alkaline
- Flower color
- Yellow or white
- Growth rate
- Rapid
- Growth habit
- Single crown
- Foliage color
- Dark 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
- Bloom · “June to August” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Yellow or white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs)
- Foliage color · “Dark green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit begins · “September” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Fruit ends · “October” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Growth habit · “Single crown” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth rate · “Rapid” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Hardiness · “Zones 4a–8b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “30–60 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs)
- Leaves · “Deciduous” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Life cycle · “Woody perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “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
- Soil · “Moist; Occasionally dry” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil pH · “Acidic to alkaline” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “5–10 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | Not available |
|---|---|
| Global rank | GNR |
| VA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Sources
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- USDA PLANTS
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025)
- 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