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| Distribution | The former Calystegia sepium from RAB (1968) has now been split out into several species, all now in the genus Convolvulus. Thus, many specimens labelled as C. sepium have probably not been annotated or moved into the new species folders at herbaria. For now, the website editors have mapped records strictly to the mountains and adjacent Piedmont foothills. It is not clear if the "out of range" specimen of C. americanus actually belongs to this taxon, though the range suggests so.
Weakley (2018) shows the range as a Northern one essentially confined to the Appalachians, ranging south to NC and TN. | |
| Abundance | Based on the distribution of the counties in collections, it appears to be uncommon to infrequent, at least southwest to Haywood and Jackson counties. The website editors suggest a State Rank of S3? and no Watch List as the present time. However, as it is an undescribed taxon, it certainly would not be improper to gather records of it and put it on the Watch List. | |
| Habitat | Weakley (2018) states "Woodland edges". More habitat information is needed to help biologists search for this taxon. | |
| Phenology | Probably blooms from May to August, and fruits shortly after flowering. | |
| Identification | Members of the former Calystegia sepium (now Convolvulus) complex -- C. americanus, C. fraterniflorus, C. binghamiae, and species 2 -- all are herbaceous vines that range to about 12 feet long or more, and they are also strongly twining. The large alternate leaves are mostly arrowhead-shaped to triangular, with long tips and heart-shaped or more often squared-off leaf bases. Flowers are mostly in the middle and upper leaf axils and are quite large, funnel-shaped, about 2-3 inches long and across, either white or pink with yellow deep in the throat. C. fraterniflorus differs from the other three by the "margins of the bracts immediately subtending the flower overlapping > 1/2 their length; bracts inflated at base (saccate), the apex usually obtuse; flowers 1-2 per axil" (Weakley 2018) -- versus "margins of the bracts immediately subtending the flowers overlapping at the base only or not at all; bracts mostly flat (or often keeled), the apex usually acute; flowers 1 per axil" in the others. Of this latter group, only C. binghamiae has white flowers, whereas C. americanus and C. species 2 have pink flowers. These latter two are separated by "Leaves with basal lobes rounded or with a single angle, or if with 2 angles then not spreading; plant glabrous or commonly pubescent to tomentose on stem" (Weakley 2018) for C. americanus -- versus "Leaves with lobes with 2 angles, spreading; plant glabrous" for C. species 2. In summary, this is the only pink-flowered member of the genus found in the mountains and adjacent foothills; all others in the mountains have white flowers, those in the "sepium" group with yellow in the center of the throat and those in the "spithamaea" group being all white. | |
| Taxonomic Comments | See Distribution. This taxon is not identified by NatureServe.
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| Other Common Name(s) | None | |
| State Rank | [S3?] | |
| Global Rank | GNR | |
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| USACE-emp | | |
