Persicaria perfoliata
Ampelygonum perfoliatum (L.) Roberty & Vautier
Persicaria perfoliata (L.) H. Gross
Polygonum perfoliatum L. Asiatic tearthumb, devil’s tail, mile-a-minute vine, mile-a-minute weed, mile-a-minute knotweed
This Asian vine, introduced to North America in the 1930s, is spreading rapidly, and considered a serious invasive threat. I first encountered this vine on a rainy afternoon at my sister’s home in Phoenix, Maryland. It had engulfed nearly everything else, except for towering black walnut trees, in the wooded area behind her yard. It grows up to six inches per day, and is as effective as oriental bittersweet or kudzu at overwhelming and killing native plants. It occurs almost anywhere there are warm moist or wet open areas: woods, wetlands, roadsides, fields, stream banks, forest edges. Plants: Vines have reddish stems with backward-pointing hooks that allow it to clamber over other plants. Leaves: Mile-a-minute vine has leaves that are almost perfect triangles, small curved barbs along its stems, and saucer-shaped leaves (ocreas) at its stem nodes. Although ocreas are present in all Polygonums, they usually take the form of a fibrous sheath wrapped tightly around the plant stem. Flowers: Flowers and fruits emerge from the ocreas. Flowers are white, but inconspicuous. Fruits: Tightly packed clusters of 10-30 lobed metallic blue fruits, each about ⅛-¼" (3.2-6.3 mm) around. Each lobe or segment contains a single glossy, black or reddish black seed. Edibility: Fruits are edible, eaten fresh. Young leaves and shoots are edible either raw, as salad greens, or cooked. |
10/4/2010 · Susan and Raimond’s, Phoenix, Maryland 10/4/2010 · Susan and Raimond’s, Phoenix, Maryland 10/4/2010 · Susan and Raimond’s, Phoenix, Maryland |
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These similar species are most easily distinguished by leaf shape: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Polygonum arifolium |
Polygonum sagittatum |
You are here Polygonum perfoliatum |
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Plant | Vine has weak stems that are green, pink or red, with many tiny backward-pointing barbs, 24-48" (60-121 cm) long | Stems 3-6' (91-182 cm) long, green, pink, or red, hollow, vinelike, with squared edges and tiny, backward-pointing prickles. | Vines have reddish stems with backward-pointing hooks that allow it to clamber over other plants. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Flowers | Flowerheads are less than ⅜" (1 cm) in diameter, white to light pink, with 5-20 individual flowers at the end of a long stem | Flowerheads are less than ⅜" (1 cm) in diameter, white to pink in color. Each rounded flowerhead consists of 5-20 individual flowers at the end of a long stem. | Flowers and fruits emerge from the ocreas. Flowers are white, but inconspicuous. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Leaves | Leaves are shaped like arrowheads, except that the backward-pointing barbs point outward (technically, “hastate”). Leaves are hairy, 4-4½" (10-11 cm) long | Shaped like narrow arrowheads, attached via short ⅜" (1 cm) stems. The base of each leaf tends to wrap around the stem. Leaf edges also have tiny prickles. | Mile-a-minute vine has leaves that are almost perfect triangles, small curved barbs along its stems, and saucer-shaped leaves (ocreas) at its stem nodes. Although ocreas are present in all Polygonums, they usually take the form of a fibrous sheath wrapped tightly around the plant stem. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Fruit | Seeds are rounded reddish-brown nutlets about ⅛" (3.2 mm) around | Small nutlets, brown to black. | Tightly packed clusters of 10-30 lobed metallic blue fruits, each about ⅛-¼" (3.2-6.3 mm) around. Each lobe or segment contains a single glossy, black or reddish black seed. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Range/ Zones |
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Habitats | Marshes, swamps, wet meadows | Wet, marshy ground | Almost anywhere there are warm moist or wet open areas: woods, wetlands, roadsides, fields, stream banks, forest edges. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Type | Wild | Wild | Wild | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Occurrence | Common | Common | Invasive |
Online References:
Polygonum perfoliatum on Wikipedia
Polygonum perfoliatum at the Massachusetts Introduced Pests Outreach Project (or download this PDF)
Polygonum perfoliatum on the Plant Conservation Alliance’s Alien Plant Working Group Least Wanted List
Polygonum perfoliatum at the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service (PDF)
Polygonum perfoliatum on Wikimedia Commons
Polygonum perfoliatum on Forestry Images
Polygonum perfoliatum on eFloras
10/4/2010 · Susan and Raimond’s, Phoenix, Maryland
≈ 7 × 4½" (17 × 11 cm)
10/4/2010 · Susan and Raimond’s, Phoenix, Maryland
≈ 9 × 6" (22 × 14 cm)
Persicaria perfoliata
Ampelygonum perfoliatum (L.) Roberty & Vautier
Persicaria perfoliata (L.) H. Gross
Polygonum perfoliatum description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 6 Sep 2021.
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6/19/2009 · By Jacquelyn Boyt
Range: