| Description | Bindweed (Calystegia sepium) is an aggressively invasive plant that will completely cover other plants it climbs on. It is closely related to the ornamental Morning Glory. |
|---|---|
| Pronunciation | (kal-ih-STEE-jee-uh)(SEP-ee-um) |
| Plant Type | Weeds, Wild Flowers, Vines |
| Hardiness Zone | 4 |
| Sunlight | full sun |
| Moisture | average to dry |
| Soil & Site | average to dry, wet disturbed areas |
| Flowers | Large 2-4" funnel-shaped flowers. The white to pink colored flowers are made up of the five petals and sepals fused together. Two large bracts are found at the base. Flowers open in the morning and close at night. |
| Fruit | Seed capsules are less than ½ inches across and contain 2-4 dull brown-to-black seeds. Seeds are released when the capsule splits open. |
| Leaves | Leaves are simple, alternate, arrowhead-shaped, with an entire edge with a long petiole. |
| Stems | It is a rapid-growing herbaceous twining vine that coils counterclockwise around any object it encounters. |
| Dimensions | 3-10' long |
| Maintenance | To control pull out by the roots or paint the plant with a herbicide. |
| Propagation | seeds |
| Native Site | Native to Eurasia but is found throughout the continental United States. |
| Misc Facts | The plant is difficult to eradicate as it can regrow from any part of the rhizomes left in the ground and self-seeds. It is listed as a noxious weed in many areas. It is listed as a Calystegia, which is derived from the Greek meaning cup and cover, and septum means growing in a hedge. |
| Author's Notes | A friend of mine had a bad infestation of this weed, growing on her shrubs. She claimed that the "mother plant" was growing under her house and attacking her plants. |
| Notes & Reference | #14-Hedge Maids and Fairy Candles, #25-Wisconsin Wildflowers, 81 #Weeds of Northern US and Canada (Royer and Dickinson), #100-Wildflowers of Wisconsin and the Upper Midwest (Black and Judziewicz), #275-North Carolina Botanical Garden (https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/) |
Cart
