Oriental Bittersweet – Plant Anaconda Snake

An Invasive Species

Oriental Bittersweet is the Anaconda snake of the plant world. Few plants are as destructive of native vegetation. It is awful.

Like many invasive species, Oriental Bittersweet was deliberately introduced to the United States in 1879 as an ornamental plant and for erosion control. It failed in both roles and is one of our most ecologically destructive plants.

How It Thrives

This sun-loving plant gets its dose of solar energy by twining up trees and spreading its branches over their crowns. Vines can be four inches thick near the ground as they wind around a tree. Anaconda snakes wrap around their prey to suffocate it. Oriental bittersweet circles a tree as it grows upward, effectively girdling it.

Cousin

The plant has a native cousin, the American Bittersweet, whose berries were once brought into wintery homes to encourage romance. It’s ecologically benign but has become much less common than the destructive import from across the Pacific Ocean.

How Winding Pathways Manages

Oriental bittersweet is an uninvited guest in our woods at Winding Pathways. We let it know it is unwelcome. Rich cruises our woods a couple of times each week, armed with clippers and lopping shears. He snips off even the tiniest bittersweet sprouts. We rarely use herbicides, but sometimes spray Oriental Bittersweet.

Here’s our advice for protecting native plants from this invasive species:

Woods With Established Big Vines

In woodlands where Oriental Bittersweet has been climbing trees for years, cut off the vines at ground level. For one-inch diameter or smaller vines, a sturdy pair of lopping shears works well. For bigger stems, a bow saw or even a small chainsaw makes the work easier. Treating the cut-off stem on the ground side with an herbicide will help prevent regrowth.  Also, clip off baby vines just starting to climb.

Woods Just Getting Invaded

It’s easier to kill bittersweet in the early stages of a woodland invasion.  Clip off the young vines. They quickly regrow, so repeated clippings are needed as the season progresses. Herbicides also work, but often it’s difficult to keep the spray off nearby desirable plants.

About a year ago, we bought a battery-operated clipper. It makes snipping off Oriental Bittersweet vines easier and faster than with muscle-powered tools and is also helpful in pruning fruit trees.

Keep Oriental Bittersweet Out!

Oriental Bittersweet is one plant we don’t want around our home or in woodlands anywhere. We work hard to keep it from climbing our oaks, hickories, hackberries, and other trees, but we wish it had never been brought to North America in the first place.