I have many "mystery" vines growing in the ivy of my new home. One of them is extremely pernicious, grasps onto anything, grows quickly, and has me stumped. The leaves are single from the central vine, alternating sides, and rounded with a top point, similar to a cottonwood tree leaf. It has grabbed hold of my mulberry to the point where it's difficult to see where the mulberry ends and the vine begins. It drags the branches down to the ground. My garden bench (that has been in the yard only since last August and it is only June, now) has already been overwhelmed. It likes sometimes to twine three vines in a braid. The vine itself is similar to a grape, though there are very few "curlicues"-- if any. The vines are greyish-brown, just like the bark of the mulberry branches, though the leaves and stems are always green. The vine is very flexible and I used it to tie together dead bamboo shoots to make a makeshift trellis PS-- thanks for one ID already: the Virginia Creeper that I was afraid was poison ivy is already on this forum. Now I don't have to take a second shower just in case after battling with it today
The third image may or may not be the same vine. It's difficult to say because the leaves are slightly different and I have about 3 more unidentified vines in the same area.
Looks like a Bittersweet to me. Personally I never let these grow in the garden. http://landscaping.about.com/cs/groundcovervines1/a/bittersweet.htm
You guys are probably right, but it looks like I have to wait for fall to make sure. Since it has no thorns, it must be American-- or false bittersweet-- but I find it very hard to believe that arborists consider this plant rare and endangered In my garden, it seems to be taking over. It originated in the neighbor's yard, it seems, and one rope on a tree is about 2 inches in diameter up a trunk. Looks like a snake! Do you agree that the American Bittersweet isn't a danger to the trees? It does grab hold quickly and drag branches down to the ground as it climbs, and it does seem to be pervasive. But if it causes no damage, and it ends up being that American version, I might cultivate it (cull the ones from the trees and build an arbor to encourage it to grow in a more aesthetic manner). Thanks for helping me ID this plant: it might be something I want to keep around, even though it's a nuisance in some areas. It's fairly easy to pull up, so once I have it under control, maintenance might not be so bad...
We have a lot of Bittersweet vines growing in a forest behind our property. In the fall when the berries on the Bittersweet are ripe, I cut down the vines and make woven wreaths out of them for Autumn displays. I know, I know, this bit of informations will not help you but the way I look at it is everything has a use and the wreaths are beautiful!
