Wednesday, November 2, 2022

A Not-So-Sweet Vine

If you come across bittersweet, look at it carefully. The oriental bittersweet (which is what we usually see) is a highly invasive intruder and should be cut down, bagged and sent to the incinerator. It covers and kills trees in the forest and around the edges of fields. It is illegal to sell items made of oriental bittersweet. The decorative wreath on your front door will be eaten by birds and then many bittersweet plants will invade your garden and your neighborhood for years to come. The difference between the nasty oriental and the friendly native bittersweet is remembering that on the native plant, the red berries hang in clumps while they are spaced along the vine on the oriental species.


 

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