Oriental Bittersweet Celastrus orbiculatus ThunbergNon-native  -  Invasive    Synonyms: Asian Bittersweet, Chinese Bittersweet.
Kingdom Plantae   >   Division Tracheophyta   >   Class Magnoliopsida   >   Order Celastrales   >   Family Celastraceae   >   Genus Celastrus   

Status:

Oriental Bittersweet is a deciduous, woody, climbing vine that occurs throughout our region. It is non-native and aggressively invasive. It winds around trees and shrubs, strangling or girdling, and often killing, them.

Description:

Fruit along the branches and not just on the ends confirms the invasive Oriental Bittersweet over our native American Bittersweet. Yellow fruit color instead of orange is also supportive.

There are 654 records in the project database.

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Oriental Bittersweet in Anne Arundel Co., Maryland (12/26/2014). Photo by Bill Hubick. (MBP list)

Oriental Bittersweet at Fort Smallwood Park, Maryland (9/13/2012). Photo by Bill Hubick. (MBP list)

Oriental Bittersweet in Allegany Co., Maryland (6/16/2015). Photo by Kimberly Booth. (MBP list)

Oriental Bittersweet in fruit in Patapsco Valley SP, Howard Co., Maryland (11/11/2014). Photo by Richard Orr. (MBP list)

Oriental Bittersweet in Somerset Co., Maryland (11/11/2014). Photo by Lance Biechele. (MBP list)

Oriental Bittersweet in Howard Co., Maryland (9/28/2014). Photo by Nancy Magnusson. (MBP list)

Oriental Bittersweet in Baltimore Co., Maryland (5/7/2017). Photo by Bill Harms. (MBP list)

Oriental Bittersweet blooming in Caroline Co., Maryland (5/11/2014). Photo by Wayne Longbottom. (MBP list)

Oriental Bittersweet in Howard Co., Maryland (5/1/2010). Photo by Bill Harms. (MBP list)

Oriental Bittersweet in Anne Arundel Co., Maryland (11/7/2012). Photo by Bill Harms. (MBP list)

Oriental Bittersweet in Queen Anne's Co., Maryland (10/30/2016). Photo by John Hall. (MBP list)

Oriental Bittersweet in Anne Arundel Co., Maryland (5/7/2011). Photo by Bill Harms. (MBP list)

Oriental Bittersweet in Howard Co., Maryland (6/2/2017). Photo by Bill Harms. (MBP list)

Oriental Bittersweet in Kent Co., Maryland (7/5/2016). Photo by Nancy Martin. (MBP list)

Oriental Bittersweet, upright vegetative stems "searching" for a vertical structure to climb, in Montgomery Co., Maryland (5/18/2020). Photo by Jane Hill. (MBP list)

Oriental Bittersweet, an invasive, non-native vine,strangling a young tree, in Montgomery Co., Maryland (2/28/2016). Photo by Jane Hill. (MBP list)

Oriental Bittersweet in Howard Co., Maryland (5/17/2010). Photo by Bill Harms. (MBP list)

Oriental Bittersweet in Montgomery Co., Maryland (12/14/2015). Photo by Mike Ostrowski. (MBP list)

An Oriental Bittersweet vine in Anne Arundel Co., Maryland (3/13/2013). Photo by Bill Hubick. (MBP list)

Oriental Bittersweet in Caroline Co., Maryland (5/11/2014). Photo by Wayne Longbottom. (MBP list)

Oriental Bittersweet in Baltimore Co., Maryland (11/16/2020). (c) Wayne Longbottom, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by Wayne Longbottom. (MBP list)

Oriental Bittersweet in Baltimore City, Maryland (5/3/2019). (c) spyingnaturalist, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by spyingnaturalist via iNaturalist. (MBP list)

Oriental Bittersweet in Caroline Co., Maryland (1/1/2018). (c) Wayne Longbottom, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by Wayne Longbottom. (MBP list)

Oriental Bittersweet in Anne Arundel Co., Maryland (10/26/2020). (c) Matthew Beziat, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by Matthew Beziat. (MBP list)

Oriental Bittersweet in Queen Anne's Co., Maryland (11/21/2020). (c) johnbotany, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by John Hall. (MBP list)

Oriental Bittersweet in Calvert Co., Maryland (4/29/2017). Photo by John Hall. (MBP list)

Oriental Bittersweet in Cecil Co., Maryland (9/30/2016). Photo by John Hall. (MBP list)


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MBP marks as "Invasive" any taxon listed in the Maryland Invasive Species Council (MISC) list of Invasive Species of Concern in Maryland. You can read their criteria and review the lists here: https://mdinvasives.org/species-of-concern/.

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