Crossvine is one of three members of the Bignoniaceae plant family found in our area the other two being Catalpa (the bean tree) and Trumpet Creeper (Campsis radicans), both of which flower later in the year. Crossvine blooms toward the end of April and the first week of May. It is especially conspicuous on trees near Scarborough Creek along Old Kerr Hollow Road and in several places along the Cemetery Ridge Trail. It can also be seen driving along the Pellissippi Parkway as one approaches the Arboretum from Oak Ridge.

Crossvine can grow to more than 50 ft in length. Its compound leaves have three leaflets, the terminal one modified into tendrils that enable it to climb. These leaf characteristics differentiate it from Trumpet Creeper which has many leaflets, no terminal tendrils, but aerial rootlets for climbing. Crossvine has orange-red flowers while those of Trumpet Creeper are red. The tubular flowers of both Crossvine and Trumpet Creeper attract hummingbirds at different times of the growing season. Crossvine derives its common name from the fact that the pith of a cut stem often appears as a dark, cross-like center.

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