There’s a vine in Missouri that’s as autumnal as turkey and pumpkins. This vine is a native, and it’s commonly known as “American bittersweet.”
American bittersweet is a member of the staff tree family – Celastraceae. Bittersweet is a trailing, woody vine that can reach 20 feet or more in length and is commonly found crawling through shrubs and fences.
Botanically referred to as Celastrus scandens, American bittersweet has been used in cultivation since the early 1700s. For many years, this vine has been used as an ornamental vine for covering trellises, trees, walls and rocks.
American bittersweet blooms in late spring, with male and female flowers that bloom in separate clusters. The flowers turn to fruit July through October and hang in clusters with six to 20 fruits, hanging two to four inches in length.
The fruit is the remarkable part of the bittersweet vine. The fruit ranges in color from bright orange to red and yellow skin. The seeds are small — about one-quarter inch in diameter — with one to two seeds per fruit.
As the fruit seeds mature, the color of the seeds also mature. At maturity, the seeds are bright red and very noticeable. The color of bittersweet fruits in fall is what makes the vine a quintessential part of autumnal decor whether using the actual bittersweet vine or an artificial lookalike.
Bittersweet is a vine that can be found for purchase from some nurseries, especially those that specialize in native plants. In its native habitat, bittersweet is found in woodlands, rocky slopes and bluff areas, glade borders and fence rows. It grows throughout the Midwest from Quebec to Louisiana and everywhere in between.
Of course, bittersweet fruit is a great benefit to wildlife. Fifteen species of native birds are known to eat bittersweet, including quail and grouse. Rabbits and squirrels also like to eat the fruit of bittersweet.
The fruit of bittersweet is poisonous to humans, but the bark of the vine has been used for medicine purposes.
As an ornamental plant, it is known to spread through seed distributed by birds that have ingested the fruit or when the roots send up suckers when located in favorable sites.
Questions or comments related to gardening? Contact Joleen at missourigardener@hotmail.com.