am trying to ID a woody vine growing in NC--zone 7. has survived the winters here so far. deciduous, twining woody vine with lenticels. leaves are simple, alternately arranged, orbicular to broadly ovate, with remote teeth and a mucro at the apex. hairy, petiolate. vine has grown several years without flowering, getting quite stocky. flowering now, with single flowers about 1.5 to 2" wide. white, regular. looks kinda like it should be in the tea family. sepals 5-7, separate, light green and somewhat hairy. petals white, separate, 5-7, cuplike. stamens separate, MANY. Single pistil with MANY styles, separate, and white. am concerned that this could be an invasive; it is NOT native to NC. will get a photo posted when i get them uploaded.
just checked some images and it looks like you're right on! I suspect this is a functional female because the stamens don't appear to have any pollen. I don't have a scope with me right now to check the anthers. It's growing in a courtyard at the science center here, and i have looked at it before but gotten nowhere. this is the first time it has bloomed. a butterfly exhibit is going in soon, so this will still be blooming then, i think. one of my friends is going to build a trellis for it because right now it is just climbing up some posts. thanks so much!
