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, MD. It had engulfed nearly everything else, except for tall 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.
Plants: Low, climbing annual vines with reddish stems containing small curved barbs that grasp other vegetation.
Leaves: Almost perfect triangles ⅜–3″ (1–8 cm) long, and saucer-shaped leaves (ocreas) at its stem nodes.
Flowers: Tiny white flowers lack petals.
Fruits: Tightly packed clusters of 10-30 lobed blue fruits, each about ⅛–3/16″ (4–6 mm) around. The fruits are metallic-looking and rather attractive. Each fruit has segments, each containing a glossy black or reddish-black seed.
Habitats: Almost anywhere there are warm moist or wet open areas: woods, wetlands, roadsides, fields, stream banks, forest edges.
Online References:
The Massachusetts Introduced Pests Outreach Project (or download this PDF)
Ampelygonum perfoliatum (L.) Roberty & Vautier
Persicaria perfoliata (L.) H. Gross
Persicaria perfoliata (L.) H. Gross
10/4/2010 · Susan and Raimond’s, Phoenix, Maryland · ≈ 5 × 8″ (13 × 19 cm) 
10/4/2010 · Susan and Raimond’s, Phoenix, Maryland · ≈ 5 × 8″ (13 × 19 cm) 
10/4/2010 · Susan and Raimond’s, Phoenix, Maryland · ≈ 4½ × 4½″ (11 × 11 cm) 
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) 
6/19/2009 · By Jacquelyn Boyt 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients |
| Division | Magnoliophyta | Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms |
| Class | Magnoliopsida | Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves |
| Subclass | Caryophyllidae | Cacti, many other succulents, carnivorous plants, and leadworts |
| Order | Caryophyllales | Includes cacti, carnations, amaranths, ice plants, and many carnivorous plants |
| Family | Polygonaceae | Knotweed or smartweed family |
| Genus | Polygonum | Greek poly, “many,” and gonu, “knee,” for the swollen jointed stems |
| Species | perfoliatum | “Perforated,” because the stem “perforates” the leaves |
Polygonum perfoliatum description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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