Native Shrubs in Wildlife Landscaping

Virginia Creeper

Good Food and Fair Cover

Virginia Creeper, Woodbine- Parthenocissus quinquefolia
Wild Raisin (Appalachian Tea) – Viburnum cassinoides

Form:
High climbing or trailing woody vine, sometimes climbing to crowns of tall trees, 30 to 55 feet or more.

Bark:
Older vines produce tendrils along stem to grip supports. Can be mistaken for poison ivy.

Leaves:
Deciduous, alternate, compound, 5-leaflets, leaflets 2 to 6 inches long, oval to elliptical or lanceolate, coarsely toothed above middle. Purple to crimson in autumn.

Flowers:
June-July. Terminal clusters or from upper leaf axils, 25 to 200 flowers per cluster, greenish-individual flowers 1/8 inch across. Not showy.

Fruits:
Blue or black globose berry. Ripens in October, stays on vine into winter. Fruit stalks are red.

WV Range:
Common in all counties.

Natural Habitat:
Moist woods, thickets, fencerows, walls, hillsides and rocky banks.

Wildlife Use:
Fruits, are very important as fall and winter food for songbirds, numerous other birds, including all game species. Also eaten by mice, chipmunks and skunks. Foliage and twigs browsed by white-tailed deer.

Horticulture:
Uses: Trellis, wall cover, screens for porches, cover for fences and rock piles. Brilliant fall color.
Light: Partial to full sun.
Soil Moisture: Moist to dry.
Soil pH: Acid to neutral.
Problems: None. Very hardy plant.

Compiled by: Katharine B. Gregg, professor of biology, West Virginia Wesleyan College , Buckhannon , West Virginia .

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