Invasive Species | Terrestrial Plants
Oriental Bittersweet
Oriental Bittersweet
(Celastrus orbiculatus)
French common name: Célastre asiatique
Oriental Bittersweet is a woody vine that is popular in gardens for its colourful berries that stay on through winter and its twining vines are often used for wreath making. It can overtake natural environments by shading and choking out native vegetation: even uprooting trees under the weight of its vines! It spreads easily from gardens to new environments through seed dispersal by birds.
Characteristics
Size/ Structure: Twining vines can grow up to 30m tall and are often climbing and wrapping around taller vegetation.
Leaves: Leaves are glossy, round to oval in shape, finely toothed, and have a pointed tip. They alternate along the vines.
Flowers: Tiny, yellow flowers with 5 petals grow in clusters. They bloom in late spring or early summer.
Berry/Seeds: Berries grow along the entire stem and are yellow/orange when mature. When the yellow outer covering dries back, it curls upwards to expose 3 red seed pods.
Nancy Loewenstein, Auburn University, Bugwood.org
Chris Evans, University of Illinois, Bugwood.org
Key ID Features
Richard Gardner, Bugwood.org
Woody twining vines with berries that grow all along the stems
Chris Evans, University of Illinois, Bugwood.org
Yellow/orange berries in fall that become red berries with little “hat” in winter
Richard Gardner, Bugwood.org
Bright orange roots
Common Look-a-Likes
Chris Evans, University of Illinois, Bugwood.org
American Bittersweet (Celastrus scandens)
Berries are only at the ends of the vines and the outer layer is more orange in color.
Leslie J. Mehrhoff, University of Connecticut, Bugwood.org
Dog-Strangling Vine (Cynanchum rossicum & Cynanchum louiseae)
Invasive
Leaves have smooth edges, flowers are clusters of small star-shaped flowers with 5 pink to dark-purple petals, and seed pods are bean-shaped.