Les introduced me to this wonderful plant. She called it hummingbird vine that she got while in Tuscaloosa. Now that I have it of course I've seen it a few places. One in particular is a neighbors house I go by when I walk the pups. I finally got to ask her where did she get hers, and actually they voluntarily came up due to neighbor planting them. They look lovely growing out and up the cracks of her retaining wall. She told me the name of the plant is Cypress Vines. So you know me I Googled it and here is a little bit of info on it.
Description
Cypress-vine is a very attractive twining morning-glory with smooth stems, lacy leaves and scarlet flowers. The leaves are 3-4 in (7.6-10.2 cm) long and feather-like, finely divided pinnately into threadlike segments. The scarlet red (rarely white) flowers are tubular, about 1.5 in (3.8 cm) long, and flare out at the mouth into a five-pointed star. Under ideal conditions the vine can climb to 20 ft (6 m) or more, but it is always a dainty, fragile vine and not at all aggressive.
Location
Cypress-vine is native to Mexico and tropical America but has escaped cultivation and is now established throughout much of the eastern United States from Florida and Texas north to at least Kansas and Ohio. It seems still to be expanding its range. Cypress-vine normally occurs in cultivated fields, roadsides and disturbed areas.
Usage
Use cypress-vine to cover a trellis in a hurry. The lacy leaves and brilliant red flowers make a screen that you'd rather look at than through. Cypress-vine is an excellent source of nectar for butterflies and hummingbirds. It will continue to bloom until frost. I allow them to climb on my butter beans in the vegetable garden.
Features
Cypress-vine is the perfect plant for the just-germinating gardener. The seeds are relatively large, easy to handle and take only 4 days to sprout; the cotyledons (seed leaves) are large and distinctive, looking like swept-back airplane wings; the next leaves to appear are the handsome feathery leaves that distinguish the plant; the vine grows quickly, producing beautiful scarlet flowers in less than 30 days. Then the butterflies and hummingbirds come!
Although cypress-vine is not native to North America, it has caused little concern among those who would protect us from exotic pest plants, probably because it does not appear to be replacing any native species or disrupting natural plant communities. It is, in my opinion, a welcome addition to our flora.
