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Oriental bittersweet
NATIVE RANGE:
Eastern Asia, Korea, China and Japan
Leaves of oriental bittersweet are glossy, rounded, finely toothed and arranged alternately along the stem. Clusters of small greenish flowers emerge from leaf axils, allowing each plant to produce large numbers of seeds.
At maturity, globular, green to yellow fruits split open to reveal three red-orange, fleshy arils that contain the seeds. These showy fruits have made oriental bittersweet very popular for use in floral arrangements. Since this plant is easily confused with our native climbing bittersweet vine (Celastrus scandens), which flowers at the tips rather than along the stems, it is imperative that correct identification be made before controls are attempted. ECOLOGICAL THREAT: Oriental bittersweet is an aggressive invader that threatens all vegetation levels of forested and open areas. It grows over other vegetation, completely covering it, and kills other plants by preventing photosynthesis, girdling, and uprooting by force of its massive weight. In the northeastern U.S., exotic Oriental bittersweet appears to be displacing the native climbing bittersweet, Celastrus scandens, which occurs in similar habitats, through competition and hybridization. DISTRIBUTION IN THE UNITED STATES: Oriental bittersweet currently occurs from New York to North Carolina, and westward to Illinois. Click here to see a distribution map. HABITAT IN THE UNITED STATES: Oriental bittersweet infests forest edges, woodlands, early successional fields, hedgerows, coastal areas and salt marsh edges, particularly those suffering some form of land disturbance. While often found in more open, sunny sites, its tolerance for shade allows oriental bittersweet to invade forested areas. BACKGROUND: Introduced into the U.S. in the 1860s as an ornamental plant, oriental bittersweet is often associated with old homesites, from which it has escaped into surrounding natural areas. Oriental bittersweet is still widely planted and maintained as an ornamental vine, further promoting its spread. BIOLOGY & SPREAD: Oriental bittersweet reproduces prolifically by seed, which is readily dispersed to new areas by many species of birds. Its seeds germinate in late spring in partial to dense shade. It also expands vegetatively by stolons (above-ground stems), and rhizomes (underground stems), and through root suckering, the ability to send shoots up from the roots. For more information
on Oriental bittersweet, please contact: SUGGESTED ALTERNATIVE PLANTS:Several attractive native vines are available that provide nectar, seed and host plant material for butterflies, hummingbirds, and other wildlife. These include common, or climbing, bittersweet (Celastrus scandens) which is native to the eastern U.S., trumpet creeper (Campsis radicans), passionflower vine (Passiflora lutea), pipevine or Dutchman's pipe (Aristolochia macrophylla) and native wisteria* (Wisteria frutescens). *If you wish to plant wisteria, make certain that it is the native species. Two commonly planted ornamental wisterias, Chinese wisteria (Wisteria sinensis) and Japanese wisteria (Wisteria floribunda), are exotic and aggressive invaders. AUTHORS: REFERENCES: Plant Conservation Alliance, Alien Plant Working Group. |
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