Calystegia marginata
Common names
small-flowered white bindweed
Biostatus
Native
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Lianes & Related Trailing Plants - Dicotyledons
Flower colours
White
Detailed description
Glabrous perennial vine with creeping rhizome and slender twinning or prostrate stems (when prostrate these root freely at the nodes). Petioles slender (20-)50(-55) x 0.5-1 mm. Lamina bright green, 25-80 x 15-45 mm, sagittae, usually narrowly triangular (rarely broadly so); apex acute to acuminate; basal lobes acute, usually distinctly toothed (resembling a fish tail); basal sinus broad and rounded. Flowers usually solitary; peduncles 10-25 mm long, narrowly winged. Bracts broad-ovate, obtuse. 10 mm long. Sepals broad-ovate, < bracts, obtuse. Corolla 15 x 12 mm, white, campanulate. Capsule 6 mm diam., globose. Seeds black, reticulately ribbed, ribs protruberant.
Similar taxa
Can be confused with C. tuguriorum and vegetative forms of C. sepium subsp. roseata. From both it is readily distinguished by the bright-green, narrowly sagittate leaves with conspicuous fish tail-like notches on the basal lobes. The white flowers are much smaller than in either species and are borne on conspicuously winged peduncles. The seeds are covered in distinctive protuberances absent in the other two species.
Distribution
Indigenous. North Island from Te Paki to Manukau in the West and Cuvier Island in the east. Also recorded on Rekohu (Chatham Island) in the Chatham Islands group. There are historic records from near Thames. Present in Eastern Australia.
Habitat
Primarily coastal but also found in lowland areas. Prefers open shrublands, rough pasture or bracken dominated sites, usually on coastal headlands, but also on road sides, along railway embankments and in rough pasture and lawns.
Current conservation status
The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2022-2023 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS) – more information about this can be found on the NZTCS website. This report includes replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants. Previous assessments can be found here.
- Conservation status of vascular plants in Aotearoa New Zealand, 2023. 2024. Peter J. de Lange, Jane Gosden, Shannel P. Courtney, Alexander J. Fergus, John W. Barkla, Sarah M. Beadel, Paul D. Champion, Rowan Hindmarsh-Walls, Troy Makan and Pascale Michel Department of Conservation. Source: NZTCS and licensed by DOC for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
2023 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: Sp, DPR, DPS, DPT, SO
Threats
Ignorance seems to be the main threat. Because it is frequently mistaken as a convolvulus, it is sprayed. Also its preference for successional habitats and along road margins tend to make it especially vulnerable to routine, roadside weed spraying. Despite this problem there is some field evidence to suggest it is actually increasing its range. Plants have even been found in urban areas such as Whangarei and Auckland, in situations where the species had not previously been known.
Detailed taxonomy
Genus
Family
Synonyms
None
Endemic taxon
No
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
Present throughout the year but peaking in spring and summer
Fruiting
Present throughout the year
Life cycle and dispersal
Capsules are water and possibly also wind dispersed (Thorsen et al., 2009).
Propagation technique
Easy from fresh seed. Somewhat weedy. The small arrow-shaped and tailed bright green leaves and tiny white flowers are quite unusual and attractive. Does well on an rock wall or on a grassy bank. Cold sensitive. An excellent coastal vine for a bach property.
Other information
Etymology
calystegia: Name is derived from the Greek words kalyx ‘cup’, and stege ‘a covering’, meaning ‘a covered cup’, the calyx of some bindweeds being enclosed in two bracts.
marginata: From the Latin marginatus ‘edge, margin’, where one colour is surrounded by a very narrow rim of another
NVS code
The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.
CALMAR
Chromosome number
2n = 22
Previous conservation statuses
The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2022-2023 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS) – more information about this can be found on the NZTCS website. This report includes replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants. Previous assessments can be found here.
- Conservation status of vascular plants in Aotearoa New Zealand, 2023. 2024. Peter J. de Lange, Jane Gosden, Shannel P. Courtney, Alexander J. Fergus, John W. Barkla, Sarah M. Beadel, Paul D. Champion, Rowan Hindmarsh-Walls, Troy Makan and Pascale Michel Department of Conservation. Source: NZTCS and licensed by DOC for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
2017 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: DP, SO, Sp
2012 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: SO, Sp
2009 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: SO, EF
2004 | Sparse
Regional conservation statuses
Auckland: 2025 | Regionally Threatened – Regionally Critical | Qualifiers: DPR, DPS, DPT, EF, PF, SO, Sp
The regional threat classification system leverages off the national assessments in the NZTCS, providing information relevant for the regional context. Auckland conservation status information is sourced from the “Conservation status of vascular plant species in Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland” Simpkins E et al. (2025) report.
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Allan, H.H. 1961: Flora of New Zealand. Vol. I. Wellington, Government Printer.
Thorsen, M. J.; Dickinson, K. J. M.; Seddon, P. J. 2009. Seed dispersal systems in the New Zealand flora. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 11: 285-309
Webb, C.J.; Sykes, W.R.; Garnock-Jones, P.J. 1988: Flora of New Zealand. Vol. IV. Naturalised Pteridophytes, Gymnosperms, Dicotyledons.Christchurch, New Zealand, Botany Division, D.S.I.R..
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared for NZPCN by P.J. de Lange 1 November 2005. Description adapted from Allan (1961) and Webb et al. (1988), supplemented with observations made from fresh and dried material.
Some of this factsheet information is derived from Flora of New Zealand Online and is used under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 New Zealand licence.
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Calystegia marginata Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/calystegia-marginata/ (Date website was queried)