Oriental Bittersweet Traditional Cache

Oriental Bittersweet is the beautiful, invasive one, that threatens to obliterate the native kind.

Oriental Bittersweet

Celastrus orbiculatus is a woody vine of the Celastraceae family. It is commonly called Oriental bittersweet. Other common names include Chinese bittersweet, Asian bittersweet, Round-leaved bittersweet, and Asiatic bittersweet. Celastrus orbiculatus was introduced into North America in 1879, and is considered to be an invasive species in eastern North America. It closely resembles the native North American species, Celastrus scandens, with which it will readily hybridize.

Description

The defining characteristic of the plant is its vines: they are thin, spindly, and have silver to reddish brown bark. They are generally between 1 and 4 cm (0.4 and 1.6 in) in diameter. When Celastrus orbiculatus grows by itself, it forms thickets; when it is near a tree or shrub, the vines twist themselves around the trunk. The encircling vines have been known to strangle the host tree to death, which is also true of the American species, C. scandens. The leaves are round and glossy, 2–12 cm (0.8–4.7 in) long, have toothed margins and grow in alternate patterns along the vines. Small green flowers produce distinctive red seeds which are encased in yellow pods that break open during autumn. All parts of the plant are poisonous.

Range and habitat

Due to systematic disturbances to eastern forests for wood production and recreation, Oriental bittersweet has naturalized to landscapes, roadsides, and woodlands of eastern North America. In the United States it can be found as far south as Louisiana, as far north as Maine, and as far west as the Rocky Mountains. It prefers mesic woods, where it has been known to eclipse native plants.

Celastrus orbiculatus as an invasive species

Oriental bittersweet is a strong competitor in its environment, and its dispersal has endangered the survival of several other species. One attribute that contributes to the success of this species is having attractively colored fruit. As a result, it is eaten by mammals and birds, which excrete the seeds to different locations.

The introduction of Oriental bittersweet into new areas threatens the local flora because the native plants then have a strong competitor in the vicinity. The species is native to Eastern Asia, but was introduced to the US for aesthetic purposes.It has been used in floral arrangements, and because of improper disposal the plant has been recklessly introduced into areas, affecting the ecology of over 33 states from Georgia to Wisconsin, and parts of the Appalachians. The organism grows primarily in the perimeter of highly vegetative areas, allowing it to readily access the frontier of resources. Oriental bittersweet’s ability to grow in a variety of environments has proven to be detrimental to many plant species along the Appalachian mountains and is moving more towards the West as time progresses.

Oriental bittersweet employs multiple invasive and dispersal strategies allowing it to outcompete the surrounding plant species in non-native regions. This is a strong reason why the control of the species presents difficulties to manage. The plant’s invasion has created diverse ecological, managerial, and agricultural complications making it a focus of environmental conservation efforts.

Oriental bittersweet can be found in a variety of habitats, from roadsides to interior forests and sand dunes. It has the ability to girdle and overtop adjacent vegetation – often to the detriment of native species.

One of Oriental bittersweet’s invasive characteristics is its effective utilization of energy to increase plant height, thus giving it a competitive advantage over similar plants. 

Additionally, studies have suggested that Oriental bittersweet is capable of siphoning away nutrients from surrounding plants.

Hybridization

Another major threat posed by Oriental bittersweet is hybridization with American bittersweet. Hybridization occurs readily between American bittersweet females and Oriental bittersweet males, though the opposite is known to occur to a lesser extent. The resulting hybrid species is fully capable of reproduction. In theory, if the Oriental bittersweet invasion continues to worsen, widespread hybridization could genetically disrupt the entire American bittersweet population, possibly rendering it extinct.

The cache is a tied in, camoed,"micro" pill bottle, the push hard to open and close kind. It holds only a rolled log with a rubber band and a plastic zip lock bag to keep everything dry. Please BYOP and make sure the rubber band is no longer on your finger when you seal the bag, before putting it all back in the cache.