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Porcelain-berry
NATIVE RANGE:
Northeast Asia - China, Korea, Japan, and Russian Far East
It twines with the help of non-adhesive tendrils that occur opposite the leaves and closely resembles native grapes in the genus Vitis. The stem pith of porcelain-berry is white (grape is brown) and continuous across the nodes (grape is not), the bark has lenticels (grape does not), and the bark does not peel (grape bark peels or shreds). The Ieaves are alternate, broadly ovate with a heart-shaped base, palmately 3-5 lobed or more deeply dissected, and have coarsely toothed margins. The inconspicuous, greenish-white flowers with "free" petals occur in cymes opposite the leaves from June through August (in contrast to grape species that have flowers with petals that touch at tips and occur in panicles. The fruits appear in September-October and are colorful, changing from pale lilac, to green, to a bright blue. Porcelain-berry is often confused with species of grape (Vitis) and may be confused with several native species of Ampelopsis -- Ampelopsis arborea and Ampelopsis cordata. ECOLOGICAL THREAT: Porcelain-berry is a vigorous invader of open and wooded habitats. It grows and spreads quickly in areas with high to moderate light. As it spreads, it climbs over shrubs and other vegetation, shading out native plants and consuming habitat.
DISTRIBUTION IN THE UNITED STATES: Porcelain-berry is found from New England to North Carolina and west to Michigan (click here for USDA Plants map) and is reported to be invasive in twelve states in the Northeast: Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Washington D.C., West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Click here to see a distribution map. HABITAT IN THE UNITED STATES: Porcelain-berry grows well in most soils, especially forest edges, pond margins, stream banks, thickets, and waste places, where there is full sunlight to partial shade, and where it is not permanently wet. Porcelain-berry appears to be less tolerant of heavily shaded areas, such as that found in mature forest interiors. BACKGROUND: Porcelain-berry was originally cultivated around the 1870s as a bedding and landscape plant. In spite of its aggressiveness in some areas, it is still used in the horticultural trade (for example, the ornamental A. brevipedunculata 'Elegans' is often recommended as a landscape plant with a cautionary note that "care must be taken to keep it from overtaking and shading out small plants"). The same characteristics that make porcelain-berry a desirable plant for the garden -- its colorful berries, good ground coverage, trellis-climbing vines, pest-resistance, and tolerance of adverse conditions -- are responsible for its presence in the United States as an undesirable invader. BIOLOGY & SPREAD: Porcelain-berry spreads by seed and through vegetative means. The colorful fruits, each with two to four seeds, attract birds and other small animals that eat the berries and disperse the seeds in their droppings. The seeds of porcelain-berry germinate readily to start new infestations. Porcelain-berry is often found growing in riparian areas downstream from established patches, suggesting they may be dispersed by water also. The taproot of porcelain-berry is large and vigorous. Resprouting will occur in response to cutting of above-ground portions. For more information
on Porcelainberry, please contact: SUGGESTED ALTERNATIVE PLANTS: Many lovely non-invasive vines are available. Some native substitutes to consider include trumpet honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens), trumpet creeper (Campsis radicans), American wisteria (Wisteria frutescens)*, Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia), and goldflame honeysuckle (Lonicera heckrottii). In the southeast, several species of native Ampelopsis occur and should be considered if the habitat is appropriate. Please consult the native plant society in your state for more suggestions and information on sources of native plants. * If you wish to plant wisteria, make certain that it is the native species. Two commonly planted ornamental wisterias, Chinese wisteria (Wisteria sinensis) and Japanese wisteria (Wisteria floribunda), are exotic and aggressive invaders. AUTHOR: Jamie
Young, National Research Council, Washington, DC.
Plant Conservation Alliance, Alien Plant Working Group. |
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