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Climbing Dogbane

Thyrsanthella difformis

Found in moderately dry to moist upland forests and woodlands, bottomland and riparian forests, moist prairies, flatwoods, swamps, marshes, old fields, roadsides. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

22
Good

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

Profile 82%

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

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Bloom
May to July
Fruiting season
July to September

Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Leaves

Recorded in 41 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 7

Prairies and grasslands

Barrens native plants returning after prescribed fire, September 2020
Barrens grassland after a prescribed fire. Shown: Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky, a neighboring state.Barrens native plants returning after prescribed fire, September 2020, NPS Photo / Rick Olson, September 2020. Public domain. Source record.

Pine flatwoods

Wet Pine Flatwoods, Shaken Creek Preserve - typical shrub layer
Wet pine flatwoods with a shrub layer. Shown: Shaken Creek Preserve, Pender and Onslow Counties, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Wet Pine Flatwoods, Shaken Creek Preserve - typical shrub layer, Robert Thornhill, undated. CC BY 4.0. Source record.

Swamps

View, Dismal Swamp, North Carolina
Named place / source context. Shown: Great Dismal Swamp, North Carolina, as titled by Museum of Fine Arts Boston; nineteenth-century artistic interpretation, a neighboring state.View, Dismal Swamp, North Carolina, Regis Francois Gignoux, 1850. Public domain. Source record.

Forests and woodlands

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

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.

Freshwater marshes

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

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

1CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · Thyrsanthella

  • Colomychus talisDistinguished Colymychus
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
4BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Trachelospermum

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
Apocynaceae
Flower color
White, yellow or green
Fruit begins
July
Fruit ends
September

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

Growing sources and scope
  • Bloom · “May to July” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Flower color · “White, yellow or green” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
  • Fruit begins · “July” · 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
  • Life cycle · “Perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
  • Light · “Partial shade; Full shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Soil · “Dry; Moist; Wet (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as

Trachelospermum difforme

Conservation status

Virginia rankS4S5
Global rankG4G5 [G5]
VA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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How to check your spot

Sources