Black jetbed is a deciduous ornamental shrub in the Rosaceae (rose) family that was introduced to the United States from eastern Asia in 1866. The name comes from the Greek word rhodon which means rose and typos meaning type, the species name scandens means to climb. The form is loosely multi-branched and mounded to somewhat arching but it can appear unkept and ragged in the landscape and can quickly reach a height of up to 6 feet tall. It grows from full sun to partial shade in a wide variety of soil types including clay as long as they are well-drained. Four petaled showy white flowers appear in late spring to early summer and are followed by shiny black fruits that appear in groups of four in the fall and last throughout the winter months. It is drought and pollution tolerant, adaptable to urban and shade conditions, and is very cold hardy. Black jetbead escapes cultivation and invades forests and forms a thick shrub layer causing native plants to be displaced. Due to its rapid growth and weedy tendencies it should not be planted in the landscape, consider native alternatives listed in the left column. Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: No serious insect or disease problems. This plant is an aggressive grower and is invasive in some areas of the eastern United States. This species is classified as invasive by the NC Invasive Plant Council.
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 sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
Clay; High Organic Matter; Loam (Silt); Sand; Shallow Rocky
Soil pH
Acid (<6.0); Alkaline (>8.0); Neutral (6.0-8.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage
Available space
3 feet-6 feet; 6-feet-12 feet
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 3 ft. 0 in. - 6 ft. 0 in. | Width: 4 ft. 0 in. - 9 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Rapid
Maintenance
High
Canopy layer
3 - Shrub (3-15 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Arching; Mounding; Multi-stemmed
Texture
Medium
Foliage
Deciduous
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Opposite
Leaf shape
Ovate
Leaf margin
Doubly Serrate
Leaf size
3-6 inches long, 1-3 inches wide
Hairs present
Yes
Leaf detail
The leaves are bright green, opposite, simple, ovate, doubly serrated, and 2.5 to 4 inches long with a long pointed tip. They have a yellow pubescence below. A slight green to yellow-tinged fall color
Fall color
Gold/Yellow; Insignificant
Flower color
White
Flower value
Showy
Flower form
Solitary
Flower shape
Cross
Flower size
1-3 inches
Flower detail
Flowers are white, solitary on the end of stems, 4-petaled, and 2 inches wide. They appear from May to June.
Bloom time
Spring; Summer
Fruit color
Black; Red/Burgundy
Fruit type
Drupe
Fruit value
Showy
Fruit size
< 1 inch long, < 1 inch wide
Fruit detail
The fruits are shiny red turning black bead-like 0.3-inch drupe in clusters of 3 to 4 with 4 spreading sepals below. They appear in October and last throughout the winter.
Bark color
Light Gray
Bark detail
Thin gray and smooth
Stem color
Brown/Copper; Green; Red/Burgundy
Stem detail
Stems are green or brown and can become reddish. The winter buds have three or more scales that overlap each other with one edge exposed and one covered.
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Non-native
Origin
North-Central and Southeast China, Japan, Korea, and Manchuria
Distribution
Native to China North-Central, China Southeast, Japan, Korea, and Manchuria: Introduced: United States--AL, CT, DE, DC, GA, IL, IN, KS, KY, MA, MI, MS, MO, NE, NH, NJ, NY, NC, OH, PA, SC, TN, VT, VA, WV, and WI; Uzbekistan
Food & Medicine
Harvest time
Fall; Winter
Fruit type
Drupe
Landscape Use
Garden tags
#deciduous #flowers late spring #flowers early summer #showy fruits #showy flowers #clay soils tolerant #black fruits #white flowers #urban conditions tolerant #poisonous #aggressive #high maintenance #weedy
Problems & Resistance
Problems
Poisonous to Humans; Weedy
Resistant to
Urban Conditions
Poison severity
High
Poison parts
Fruits
Poison symptoms
Difficult breathing, weakness, excitement, pupil dilation, abdominal pains, vomiting, spasms, convulsions, coma, respiratory failure. Highly toxic, may be fatal if eaten.