General Plant Information (Edit)
Plant Habit: Vine
Life cycle: Perennial
Sun Requirements: Full Sun to Partial Shade
Partial or Dappled Shade
Water Preferences: Wet
Wet Mesic
Mesic
Dry Mesic
Dry
Soil pH Preferences: Slightly acid (6.1 – 6.5)
Neutral (6.6 – 7.3)
Slightly alkaline (7.4 – 7.8)
Minimum cold hardiness: Zone 6a -23.3 °C (-10 °F) to -20.6 °C (-5 °F)
Maximum recommended zone: Zone 9b
Plant Height: 20-50 feet
Plant Spread: 6-12 feet
Leaves: Good fall color
Deciduous
Fruit: Edible to birds
Other: Ellipsoid drupe, dark purple at maturity.
Fruiting Time: Late summer or early fall
Flowers: Inconspicuous
Flower Color: Green
White
Other: Greenish-white
Bloom Size: Under 1"
Flower Time: Late spring or early summer
Underground structures: Taproot
Uses: Will Naturalize
Wildlife Attractant: Birds
Resistances: Flood Resistant
Humidity tolerant
Drought tolerant
Toxicity: Fruit is poisonous
Containers: Not suitable for containers
Miscellaneous: Monoecious

Image
Common names
  • Rattan-Vine
  • Rattan Vine
  • Supplejack
  • Alabama Supple-Jack
  • Alabama Supplejack

Photo Gallery
Location: Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois
Date: 2023-10-24
a vine on a trellis in the Midwest Collection
Location: Botanical Garden University Gent, Belgium
Date: 2015-10-23
Location: Botanical Garden University Gent, Belgium
Date: 2015-10-23
Location: Botanical Garden University Gent, Belgium
Date: 2015-10-23
Location: Tennessee
TVA
Photo by texaskitty111
Location: Jacksonville, TX
Date: 2012-02-16
Comments:
  • Posted by ILPARW (southeast Pennsylvania - Zone 6b) on Nov 2, 2023 8:00 AM concerning plant:
    This Alabama Supplejack or Rattan Vine is native to swamp to upland woodlands in the coastal plain of the South from east Texas up to southern Illinois to southeast Virginia down into all of Florida. It is a woody twining vine (liana) that can grow just on the ground or climb high up into trees. Its tough stems have been used in wickerworks. The alternate, simple, shiny, leathery leaves have prominent veins, get good yellow to orange to red fall color, and look similar to Buckthorn leaves, as it is in the Buckthorn Family. The small greenish-white flowers are in small clusters in late spring into early summer. The dark blue fruits (drupes) are about 1 inch long, are eaten by birds, squirrels, and raccoons, and are slightly toxic to humans to eat. Some native plant nurseries in the South sell it.

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