Students for Stewardship The Cork Board
← Back to the library

Carolina Angelpod

Matelea carolinensis (ma-TEL-ee-uh kair-oh-lin-EN-sis)

Family: Apocynaceae Native Vine (vertical)

This native vine is in the dogbane family. They are herbaceous, twining vines with broad, opposite, ovate (often heart-shaped) leaves with maroon flowers. In Central North Carolina these native perennials are often found in power lines, at the edge of woodlands, and climbing fences along roadways.

Source: NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox ↗ NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, 35 attributes.

How it fits the guild

Guild layer 6 - Vine (vertical)
See companions & conflicts ↓

Companions & Conflicts

Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.

No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.

Also noted by NC State

Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.

Full plant profile

Growing Conditions
Plant type
Native Plant; Vine; Wildflower
Light
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
NC region
Coastal; Piedmont
Canopy layer
6 - Vine (vertical)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Climbing
Foliage
Deciduous
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Opposite
Leaf shape
Cordate
Leaf margin
Entire
Leaf size
1-3 inches long
Hairs present
Yes
Leaf detail
Twining vine with milky sap; 2-4 in. heart-shaped short-hairy leaves acuminate, cordate with rounded basal sinus.
Flower color
Brown/Copper; Purple/Lavender; Red/Burgundy
Flower form
Cyme
Flower shape
Cup; Star
Flower size
3-6 inches
Flower detail
Cupped star-shaped 5 petaled flowers are a maroon purple-brown color clustered in groups of 5-10 on axillary cymes on long stalks.
Bloom time
Spring; Summer
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Native
Origin
Maryland to Texas
Distribution
Open deciduous woods, stream banks in SE USA, AL , AR , DC , DE , GA , KY , LA , MD , MS , NC , SC , TN , TX , VA
Attracts
Butterflies
Landscape Use
Landscape location
Riparian; Slope/Bank; Vertical Spaces; Woodland
Landscape theme
Native Garden
Garden tags
#brown #stream banks #maroon #twining #purple #burgundy #NC native #heart-shaped leaves #woodland

Planted at Hunnicutt

Nobody’s planted this one yet.