Invasive Oriental Bittersweet Urtica/Flickr creative commons
Every week, we discuss one of the “Most Hated” plants, plants that are so invasive and damaging to ecosystems that they should never be planted, let alone sold. Many of these plants were introduced into this country as ornamentals by the horticultural industry and have since escaped the garden and are running rampant through native ecosystems and leaving a trail of destruction in their wake.
Our pick this week: Oriental Bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus), a particularly noxious invader, but also used in holiday decorations by influential folks such as Martha Stewart because of its pretty berries and ability to be shaped into wreaths. This was discussed on NPR over the weekend in Berry Bad: Threat to Trees Lurks on Holiday Tables.
The trouble with using bittersweet vine in holiday decorating comes from the berries, which each contain a seed just waiting for a patch of soil in which to germinate. When the holidays are over, the wreaths are often thrown onto compost piles or into the woods, where the seeds germinate and begin their destructive growth.
Oriental Bittersweet. native to China, Japan, and Korea, was introduced as an ornamental for the horticultural trade in 1860.
Ways Oriental Bittersweet damages ecosystems:
- vines grow rapidly, claiming all available sunlight, overtopping trees and shading out everything below
- Often referred to as the “kudzu of the north” Oriental Bittersweet has extended its range to be considered invasive from Ontario south to Louisiana and Georgia and west to Iowa.
- the vines strangle their host tree support, eventually killing it.
- Birds love the berries, so the seeds get spread far and wide in their poop
Because birds eat the berries, this plant is often recommended by nurseries and garden writers eager to cash in on the popularity of habitat gardening for birds. You may have noticed that although there are many books available on the subject of creating bird gardens, I have not recommended them here. I will not recommend any book that chooses to advocate the planting of invasive species.
You must learn to recognize which plants are invasive. Do not allow the nursery trade or book publishers to dictate plants until you have done your own homework. At the very least, please check with your state native plant society for a list of appropriate plants, and check with your local Extension Office to see what species are invasive in your area.
There is a native Bittersweet, American Bittersweet (Celastrus scandens), but this relatively rare native plant has been found to hybridize with invasive Oriental Bittersweet, which will weaken the genetic strain of the DNA of the native plant.
What’s your most hated plant? Tell us which plants you struggle to remove every year in your garden.
© 2009 – 2010, Carole Brown. All rights reserved.
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Funny, I just came across this plant last week while researching and trying to identify a vining plant I’ve seen growing in the Kansas woods. I think it’s American Bittersweet I’m seeing, but I’m not 100% sure until I can check it out again live. I sure hope it’s not this nasty invasive, or a hybrid.
Here was I just about to suggest that we could make clearing invasives more economical if there were a market to sell them to as home decorations. Axe that idea unless we can sterilize the seeds somehow!
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Kudos to you CB, and to NPR, for spreading the word about this horrible vine. Anyone who has ever tried to eradicate it will NEVER want to look at it as holiday decoration!
Here’s my vote for most hated: Bishop Weed. An evil vine that has the tenacity to survive the most vigorous digging out of its roots. Sold as “vigorous ground cover” and planted along with English ivy all over our property long, long ago. Not sure if its native or not…but I sure do hate it on our front hillside garden, where I fear I am losing my battle with it!
Where to start?
When I lived in Vermont, I did my best to tear down a stand of Oriental Bittersweet and some hybridized plants. I’ll also add my vote for Bishop Weed. A terrible plant that’s consuming entire hillsides in Vermont and elsewhere. A real pain to get rid of because it seeds heavily and spreads through rhizomes.
Now I live in California. So much to hate here.
Palm trees. Large invasive trees that provide little to the ecosystem.
Oleander. A highly poisonous and generally boring shrub that also provides little to the ecosystem.
Ivy. Invasive rat habitat. Combined with morning glory. These are the plants I’m constantly trying to keep out of our yard on the west coast.
Thanks, Brian, next week I think it’s time to look at California invasives. Aside from Hawii, California and Florida are the worst hit by invasives.
What are the other plants included in this ‘hit list’? Curious to know.
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