This woody vine was introduced as an ornamental plant. Bittersweet has small green five-petaled flowers in spring and yellow seeds that mature in the fall to reveal bright red arils. They have simple, alternate leaves with toothed edges.

Asiatic bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus) has simple, alternate leaves with toothed edges.

Bittersweet has small green five-petaled flowers in spring and yellow seeds that mature in the fall to reveal bright red arils.

Asiatic bittersweet is woody vine that was introduced as an ornamental plant.

• Bittersweet can choke and overtop trees, shading out and killing vegetation below.
• It has a high germination rate and is quickly spread by birds.
• In 2023, Acadia’s Invasive Plant Management Team treated Asiatic bittersweet at 29 locations throughout the park.

Remove any time after leaf-out in late spring.

• Seedlings – Pull out by hand
• Larger plants – Cut large vines at both chest and ankle height with loppers or a hand saw. Consider treating cut stumps with herbicide according to the product label to prevent regrowth.

Dispose of plants responsibly.

• Leave vines to die in the canopy to prevent further damage.
• Let materials decompose in a brush pile (NOT compost) or burn them with a required burn permit.

Asiatic bittersweet is likely to re-sprout. Repeat the above methods as needed to eliminate plants from your property.
Consider replacing with native woody vines like river grape (Vitis riparia) or Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia)

Learn even more about Asiatic bittersweet on the maine.gov website: Asiatic bittersweet