mile-a-minute vine, Asiatic tearthumb
(Persicaria perfoliata)
Overview
- Appearance
- Persicaria perfoliata is an herbaceous, annual vine that invades disturbed areas in Oregon and portions of the northeastern United States. The delicate stems are reddish, highly branched and covered with small, curved spines. Circular, leafy structures (ocreae) surround the stem at the base of the petioles.
- Foliage
- The alternate leaves are triangular, light green, 1-3 in. (2.5-7.6 cm) wide and barbed on the undersurface.
- Flowers
- Small, white, inconspicuous flowers arise from the ocreae.
- Fruit
- Fruit are present in mid-July through the first frost, are metallic blue and segmented with each segment containing a single black or reddish black seed.
- Ecological Threat
- Persicaria perfoliata invades open disturbed areas such as fields, forest edges, roadsides, ditches and stream banks. Its rapid growth allows it to cover existing vegetation and restrict light availability, potentially killing plants below. Dense mats of Persicaria perfoliata can also restrict establishment of new vegetation. It is native to Eastern Asia and the Philippines and was introduced several times into the United States from the late 1800s to the 1930s.
Resources
- Biological Control of Invasive Plants in the Eastern United States - USDA Forest Service
- Weeds Gone Wild: Alien Plant Invaders of Natural Areas - Plant Conservation Alliance
- Weed of the Week - USDA Forest Service
- Plant Invaders of Mid-Atlantic Natural Areas - National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Selected Images
Maps
EDDMapS Distribution - This map is incomplete and is based only on current site and county level reports made by experts, herbaria, and literature. For more information, visit www.eddmaps.org
State List - This map identifies those states that list this species on their invasive species list or law. For more information, visit Invasive.org
Invasive Listing Sources
- Alabama Noxious Weeds - Class A Noxious Weed
- City of Ann Arbor Michigan Parks and Recreation
- Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, 1994.
- Connecticut Invasive Plant List
- Connecticut Invasive Plant Working Group
- Connecticut Noxious Weeds
- Delaware Invasive Species Council
- Delaware Invasive Species Council Invasive Species List
- Hoffman, R. & K. Kearns, Eds. 1997. Wisconsin manual of control recommendations for ecologically invasive plants. Wisconsin Dept. Natural Resources, Bureau of Endangered Resources. Madison, Wisconsin. 102pp.
- Indiana Invasive Species Council - Invasive Plant List
- Indiana Terrestrial Plant Rule
- Invasive Plant Species of West Virginia
- Jil M. Swearingen, Survey of invasive plants occurring on National Park Service lands, 2000-2007
- Kentucky Exotic Pest Plant Council - Watch List
- Maine Invasive Plants
- Maryland Cooperative Extension Service. 2003. Invasive Plant Control in Maryland. Home and Garden Information Center, Home and Garden Mimeo HG88. 4 pp.
- Maryland Department of Natural Resources Policy: Restriction on Planting Exotic Invasive Plants
- Maryland Invasive Species Council - Invasive Species of Concern in Maryland
- Massachusetts Invasive Plants Advisory Group List
- Massachusetts Noxious Weeds
- Massachusetts Prohibited Plant List
- Michigan’s Invasive Species Watch List
- Mid-Atlantic Field Guide to Aquatic Invasive Species
- National Park Service, Mid-Atlantic Exotic Plant Management Team Invasive Plant List
- New Hampshire Prohibited Invasive Species
- New Invaders of the Southeast
- New Jersey Invasive Species Strike Team 2017 Invasive Species List
- New York Regulated and Prohibited Invasive Species - Prohibited
- Non-Native Invasive Plants of Arlington County, Virginia
- Non-Native Invasive Plants of the City of Alexandria, Virginia
- Nonnative Invasive Species in Southern Forest and Grassland Ecosystems
- Ohio Invasive Species Council
- Ohio Noxious Weeds
- Ontario’s Invading Species Awareness Program Tracked Species List
- Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Invasive Plants
- Pennsylvania Noxious Weeds
- Pennsylvania Regulations for Controlled Plants and Noxious Weeds
- Pennsylvania's Field Guide to Aquatic Invasive Species
- Plant Invaders of Mid-Atlantic Natural Areas
- Rhode Island Natural History Survey
- South Carolina Plant Pest List
- Tennessee Exotic Pest Plant Council
- Virginia Invasive Plant Species List
- Virginia Invasive Species Management Plan 2012
- Virginia Noxious Weeds
- WeedUS - Database of Plants Invading Natural Areas in the United States
- West Virginia Department of Agriculture Regulations Governing the Distribution of Plant Materials
- West Virginia Invasive Species Strategic Plan and Volunteer Guidelines 2014
- West Virginia Native Plant Society, Flora West Virginia Project, and West Virginia Curatorial Database System, September 3, 1999
- West Virginia Noxious Weeds
- Wisconsin Noxious Weeds
- Wisconsin's Invasive species rule – NR 40
Taxonomic Rank
| Kingdom: Plantae |
| Phylum: Magnoliophyta |
| Class: Magnoliopsida |
| Subclass: Caryophyllidae |
| Order: Polygonales |
| Family: Polygonaceae |
| Genus: Persicaria |
| Subject: Persicaria perfoliata (L.) H. Gross |
Synonyms and Other Names
Other Common Names:
Asiatic tearthumb
Related Scientific Names:
Ampelygonum perfoliatum L. (Synonym)
Polygonum perfoliatum L. (Synonym)