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Plant profile · Austin & Hill Country

Carolina Coralbead

Cocculus carolinus
native · Hill Countrytoxic

Carolina Coralbead is a vine native to the Texas Hill Country that grows 3–15 ft tall and 1 ft wide. It wants full sun or part shade and low water, and handles clay soil. Blooms green in Jun–Aug. Evergreen — it holds its leaves through winter. Good for birds.

Toxic — people, pets. Carolina snailseed berries are toxic and attractively red.

Will it grow in your yard?

Enter your ZIP. The finder checks Carolina Coralbead against your microclimate, then ranks it against your sun, your watering and deer pressure.

The facts

5 sources
Type
Vine
Sun
Full sun to part shade (3–6 hrs of direct sun)
Water
Low
Height
3–15 ft
Spread
1 ft
Bloom
Jun–Aug · green
Foliage
Evergreen
Soil
Takes clay · recorded on clay, limestone, loam, moist, rich, rocky
Deer
Moderate — deer may browse it, especially new growth
Wildlife
Supports birds

Where it grows

Recorded in these EPA Level IV ecoregions in the Austin and Hill Country launch area:

Balcones CanyonlandsLlano UpliftEdwards Plateau WoodlandNorthern Blackland PrairieSouthern Post Oak SavannaFloodplains and Low TerracesLimestone Cut PlainSan Antonio Prairie

3,273 occurrence records in Central Texas (GBIF).

Can you buy it?

Also grows here — hard to find. Native and recorded growing in Central Texas, but not on the grower stock lists we read. Sourcing varies: some are stocked widely, others you will have to hunt for.

also grows from seed It starts readily from seed, so a packet from a native-seed supplier, or seed collected with permission, is often the easiest way to get a plant no nursery pots.