Hello, I was wondering if anyone know what these plants were. All photos were taken in Huntsville State Park in South East Texas.
1 & 2 are the same plant.
3 & 4 are the same plant.
5 is its own plant
6 is its own plant
7 is its own plant with the plant from photo 6 in the background.
by LunaTheTuna1412
3 Comments
No. 7 is pokeweed.
No. 1 and 2 looks like passion flower/fruit
7 is American pokeweed (Phytolacca americana) – native and very valuable for wildlife.
It’s a host plant for several species of moths (including the giant leopard moth), and the berries are liked by birds, particularly songbirds. The flowers attract a wide variety of pollinators, and the hollow stems dry out during the cold months to become good shelter for overwintering insects like bees. The pink/magenta color of the stems has earned it some limited use as an ornamental.
It should be noted that it’s poisonous to mammals if eaten raw, and the sap is a skin irritant. Some folks can also get contact dermatitis from touching it with bare skin, but it’s not a common reaction. It’s aggressive in disturbed areas since those are the conditions that it’s adapted to, and it’s invasive outside of its native range in places like the West Coast and Europe.
It shouldn’t be confused with Indian pokeweed (Phytolacca acinosa), which is invasive in both Europe and North America. It can be identified by its upright fruit/flower clusters and lobed fruits (American pokeweed berries are round/spherical when mature).
[Pokeweed (Phytolacca americana)](https://w.illinoiswildflowers.info/weeds/plants/pokeweed.htm)
1 and 2 are probably purple passionflower (Passiflora incarnata), which is found throughout much of the southeastern US.
3 and 4 are American trumpet vine (Campsis radicans) a native member of the bignonia family.
[Campsis radicans – Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campsis_radicans)
[Trumpet Creeper (Campsis radicans)](https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/trees/plants/trumpet_creeper.htm)
[Virginia Tech Dendrology Fact Sheet](https://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=333)
Unsure on 5, maybe something in the morning glory family.
6 looks like American beautyberry (Callicarpa americana)