Black Jetbead
Rhodotypos scandens
Found in suburban woodlands, disturbed areas, roadsides, old house sites, well established locally. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
Not native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 82%
- Height
- 3–6 feet
- Spread
- 4–9 feet
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Dry to moist
Do not plant. Listed invasive in Virginia.
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At a glance
- Life cycle
- Woody perennial
- Leaves
- Deciduous
- Bloom
- March to May
- Fruiting season
- June to September
Recorded in 18 Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Forest or woodland where the source does not say how moist or dry.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Who uses this plant?
—CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claimPlant details
- Family
- Rosaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 4a–8b
- Soil pH
- Acidic to alkaline
- Flower color
- White
- Fruit begins
- June
- Fruit ends
- September
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “Late March to May” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “White” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Fruit begins · “June” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Fruit ends · “September” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Hardiness · “Zones 4a–8b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “3–6 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- 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
- primary_flower_color · “white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil · “Dry; Moist (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Soil pH · “Acidic to alkaline” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “4–9 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Jetbead
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | Not available |
|---|---|
| Global rank | GNR |
| VA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Sources
- Virginia DCR invasive plant list
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- USDA PLANTS
- FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- FloraQuest: Northern Tier (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- 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