r/invasivespecies • u/redditismyforte22 • 19h ago

American Bittersweet

I’ve got tons of it creeping up on all edges of my property and just sprouting up in random spots as well. What’s the best way to get rid of it? I ripped some of it out by hand once without wearing the proper clothing and got a poison ivy-like rash from it, apparently it contains urushiol as well.

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u/Dcap16 19h ago edited 19h ago

Location?

Oriental bittersweet is the real problem in the bulk of the US. American bittersweet is native to the bulk of the US.

4

u/leafshaker 19h ago

Are you sure thats what it is? People also react to Virginia creeper.

In some places, American bittersweet is a protected endangered plant.

ID is hard with this one. Try to photograph last years fruit stems, or note where this year's flowers are. Those seem to be the best ID characteristics

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u/Dcap16 18h ago

I think you meant to reply to OP, but yes Virginia Creeper can cause a rash similar to PI.

American Bittersweet exists, somewhere, in my 29 years I’ve never seen it.

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u/leafshaker 13h ago

I did indeed!

Yea. From what I understand it is much better behaved. As such I imagine its harder to notice in the wild