A Bittersweet Moment

Yes, it is fall in Gilmer County. The bittersweet in our yard is fruiting. It is always a showy display with its yellow and orange berries. I remember as a kid hiking on ridge tops in the fall and seeing the berries of bittersweet. The bittersweet that I saw as a kid was different from the plant we have in our yard. The indigenous bittersweet that I experienced as a young lad is Celastrus scandens , also called “American bittersweet” or “false bittersweet.”

The American bittersweet is an innocuous vine that has ovate leaves and a smooth stem. It has berries appearing at the tips of the vines only. I have not seen the American bittersweet for many years. Would that be because I do not hike the ridge tops anymore?

The bittersweet seen in the photos is the plant growing in our yard, and is Celastrus orbiculatus. This is the oriental bittersweet that has round leaves and a stem that bears blunt thorns. The berries of oriental bittersweet grow along the vine and not just at the tips.
But the biggest distinction between the two is in terms of their environmental impact. For, while oriental bittersweet vines are considered an environmental menace by many, the American bittersweet plant is becoming so rare in some areas that it is now a protected species. It is the oriental bittersweet vines that threaten to kill your trees; while American bittersweet plants are themselves threatened.

I guess that if I did continue to hike the ridge tops in the fall I would not encounter the American bittersweet due to its scarcity.