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Mile-A-Minute Weed, Asiatic Tearthumb
Family: Polygonaceae;
Genus: Polygonum;
Species: perfoliatum;
Synonyms:
Ampelygonum perfoliatum
Growth Form: Vine
General:
Annual, herbaceous, trailing vine.
Flowers:
Small, white and inconspicuous
Fruits and Seeds:
Attractive, metallic blue and segmented. Segments contain single glossy black or reddish-black seed.
Leaves:
Alternate, light green and shaped like equilateral (equal-sided) triangles with barbs on the undersurface.
Stems or Branches:
Reddish, delicate with downward pointing barbs; circular, cup-shaped leafy structures (ocrea) surrounding the stem at intervals, grows to 15 ft. tall.
Threatens:
Woodland edges, wetlands, riparian corridors, and grows in open, disturbed areas. Requires partial sun.
Look-Alikes:
Native Tear-Thumbs (P. saggitatum, P. arifolium) do not have circular, leafy ocrea.
Distribution:
Native to India, E Asia, Japan, and Philippines. Known from NE and NW.
Other Links:
http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/plants/mileminute.shtml
http://www.invasive.org/browse/subject.cfm?sub=3065
http://www.nps.gov/plants/ALIEN/fact/pepe1.htm
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Flowers inside cup-like leaf bracts
Jil M. Swearingen, USDI National Park Service
Leaves
Britt Slattery, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Infestation
Randy Westbrooks, U.S. Geological Survey
North American Distribution
USDA Plants DB 5.7.08
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