OF THE CAROLINAS & GEORGIA

Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Fabids: Celastrales

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Celastrus orbiculatus   FAMILY Celastraceae   Go to FSUS key



SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Celastrus orbiculatus   FAMILY Celastraceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America

Celastrus orbiculatus

SYNONYMOUS WITH (ORTHOGRAPHIC VARIANT) Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)

Celastrus orbiculata

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 113-01-002:

Celastrus orbiculatus   FAMILY Celastraceae

 

COMMON NAME:
Oriental Bittersweet


         To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.

image of Celastrus orbiculatus, Oriental Bittersweet

    jkm240213_7391

February    Greenville County    SC

Buds 6-scaled, often projecting at right angles from the twig, bud scales keeled and spine-tipped, per Woody Plants of Kentucky and Tennessee (Jones & Wofford, 2013).

image of Celastrus orbiculatus, Oriental Bittersweet

JK Marlow    jkm160426_572

April    Polk County    NC

Pearson's Falls

image of Celastrus orbiculatus, Oriental Bittersweet

JK Marlow    jkm110513_483

May    Greenville County    SC

Camp Old Indian

image of Celastrus orbiculatus, Oriental Bittersweet

JK Marlow    jkm140524_185b

May    Spartanburg County    SC

The outer surface of roots characteristically bright orange, per Connecticut Invasive Plant Working Group.

image of Celastrus orbiculatus, Oriental Bittersweet

Leslie J. Mehrhoff, University of Connecticut, Bugwood.org    bug_5487274

May?        

Flowers bloom in Spring in small clusters of 3-7 flowers in the leaf axils, per Invasive Plants, Guide to Identification, Impacts and Control (Kaufman & Kaufman, 2007).

image of Celastrus orbiculatus, Oriental Bittersweet

Leslie J. Mehrhoff, University of Connecticut, Bugwood.org    bug_5487384

June?        

image of Celastrus orbiculatus, Oriental Bittersweet

JK Marlow    jkm090725__014

July    Jackson County    NC

Western Carolina University

Leaves variable shaped, long-tapering tipped when young...

image of Celastrus orbiculatus, Oriental Bittersweet

JK Marlow    jkm090725_003

July    Jackson County    NC

Western Carolina University

... [leaves] becoming larger and round-tipped when mature, per A Field Guide for the Identification of Invasive Plants in Southern Forests (Miller, Chambliss, & Lowenstein, 2010).

image of Celastrus orbiculatus, Oriental Bittersweet

JK Marlow    jkm090725_008

July    Jackson County    NC

Western Carolina University

Capsules contain 3 sections, each with 2 white seeds, per Nonnative Invasive Plants of Southern Forests (Miller, 2003).

image of Celastrus orbiculatus, Oriental Bittersweet

JK Marlow    jkm090725_009

July    Jackson County    NC

Western Carolina University

image of Celastrus orbiculatus, Oriental Bittersweet

JK Marlow    jkm090725_012

July    Jackson County    NC

Western Carolina University

image of Celastrus orbiculatus, Oriental Bittersweet

JK Marlow    jkm190726_0314

July    Greenville County    SC

A noxious weed in much of our area, per Weakley's Flora (2012).

image of Celastrus orbiculatus, Oriental Bittersweet

JK Marlow    jkm190726_0315

July    Greenville County    SC

image of Celastrus orbiculatus, Oriental Bittersweet

JK Marlow    jkm160827_662

August    Henderson County    NC

Bearwallow Mountain

image of Celastrus orbiculatus, Oriental Bittersweet

JK Marlow    jkm190801_0469

August    Buncombe County    NC

Blue Ridge Parkway

image of Celastrus orbiculatus, Oriental Bittersweet

JK Marlow    jkm190801_0470

August    Buncombe County    NC

Blue Ridge Parkway

image of Celastrus orbiculatus, Oriental Bittersweet

JK Marlow    jkm150906_0020

September    Pickens County    SC

Cherokee Foothills Visitors Center

image of Celastrus orbiculatus, Oriental Bittersweet

JK Marlow    jkm150906_0022

September    Pickens County    SC

Cherokee Foothills Visitors Center

image of Celastrus orbiculatus, Oriental Bittersweet

James H. Miller, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org    bug_2307122

October?        

The tan lenticels look like little dashes on the brown twigs and branches, per Invasive Plants, Guide to Identification, Impacts and Control (Kaufman & Kaufman, 2007).

image of Celastrus orbiculatus, Oriental Bittersweet

JK Marlow    jkm081110_021

November    Buncombe County    NC

NC Arboretum

Capsule orangish, loculicidal, 3-valved, splitting and exposing seeds, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).

image of Celastrus orbiculatus, Oriental Bittersweet

JK Marlow    jkm081110_023

November    Buncombe County    NC

NC Arboretum

Fruits appear all along the stem in clusters of 3-7, per Invasive Plants, Weeds of the Global Garden (Randall & Marinelli, 1996).

image of Celastrus orbiculatus, Oriental Bittersweet

JK Marlow    jkm091114_016b

November    Henderson County    NC

Blue Ridge Parkway

Lenticels conspicuous, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).

image of Celastrus orbiculatus, Oriental Bittersweet

JK Marlow    jkm091114_029

November    Henderson County    NC

Blue Ridge Parkway

image of Celastrus orbiculatus, Oriental Bittersweet

JK Marlow    jkm221108_0611

November    Greenville County    SC

First reported here in the 60s, now more common than the native C. scandens, per Weakley's Flora (2012).

image of Celastrus orbiculatus, Oriental Bittersweet

Chris Evans, Illinois Wildlife Action Plan, Bugwood.org     bug_5476785

December?        

Vines can climb more than 60', twinging around trunks and branches, per Invasive Plants, Guide to Identification, Impacts and Control (Kaufman & Kaufman, 2007).

image of Celastrus orbiculatus, Oriental Bittersweet

Chris Evans, Illinois Wildlife Action Plan, Bugwood.org     bug_5427333

Month Unknown        

image of Celastrus orbiculatus, Oriental Bittersweet

Leslie J. Mehrhoff, University of Connecticut, Bugwood.org    bug_5501246

Month Unknown        

 

 

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Celastrus orbiculatus   FAMILY Celastraceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Celastrus orbiculatus   FAMILY Celastraceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Celastrus orbiculatus

SYNONYMOUS WITH (ORTHOGRAPHIC VARIANT) Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Celastrus orbiculata

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 113-01-002:
Celastrus orbiculatus   FAMILY Celastraceae

 

Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME:

293

Climbing woody vine (twining)
Perennial
Polygamo-dioecious [mostly dioecious, but with some bisexual flowers]

Habitat: Bottomland and riparian forests, mesic upland forests and bluffs, glade margins, disturbed areas, thickets, roadsides, forests, per Weakley's Flora

Non-native: Asia

Common in Mountains & NC Piedmont, uncommon in GA & SC Piedmont, rare in GA & SC Coastal Plain

map
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.


INVASIVE

This plant is causing problems in natural areas outside its native range, according to authorities such as:

 

IS THE PLANT "ARMED"?
Bud scales keeled and spine-tipped

LEAVES:
Deciduous
Simple
Alternate

FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Greenish to orange-yellow (inconspicuous)
Radially symmetrical
5 sepals
5 petals
5 stamens
Superior ovary

FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Orange/Orange-yellow
Capsule

 

TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!



 


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