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Oriental Bittersweet
Family: Celastracea;
Genus: Celastrus;
Species: orbiculatus;
Synonyms:
Growth Form: Vine
General:
Perennial, woody, climbing vine, plants are male or female, flower from May to June and fruit in the fall
Flowers:
May blooms, 5 petals, orange-yellow, tiny-branched clusters at leaf bases with 3-7 blooms.
Fruits and Seeds:
Fruits are greenish-yellow to dull-yellow/tan when ripe and grow on short stalks in groups of 2-3. Seeds are covered with a bright red, fleshy coating and are revealed after the coating splits open.
Leaves:
Leaves are grayish, hairy, deeply cut with narrow lobes.
Stems or Branches:
Woody vine to 4 inches (10 cm) diameter, twining and arbor forming, with many alternate drooping branches growing at angles and eventually becoming straight.
Threatens:
Most upland community types and well-drained floodplain and riparian corridors, open and shaded.
Look-Alikes:
American Bittersweet (C. scandens) which grow >3 fruits at ends of branches, leaves twice as long as wide. Oriental Bittersweet has been reported to hybridize with American Bittersweet.
Distribution:
Native to Japan, Korea, and N China. Presently distributed throughout NE and SE U.S., extending to the AR and IA.
Other Links:
http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/fact/ceor1.htm
http://www.invasive.org/browse/subject.cfm?sub=3012
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=CEOR7
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Leaves and vine twining on tree
James H. Miller, USDA Forest Service
Mature fruit
Leslie J. Mehrhoff, University of Connecticut
Infestation
Leslie J. Mehrhoff, University of Connecticut
North American Distribution
USDA PLANTS DB 5.7.08
Illinois Distribution
USDA Plants DB 5.7.08
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