February 2, 2005
Oriental Bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus)
Bittersweet berries persist far into winter, until one day a flock of hungry robins appears and devours them all. This is the bittersweet vine's way of dispersing its seeds. It has been a successful strategy: bittersweet is very widespread on the eastern seaboard. The plant was introduced from Asia in 1879. It is now considered invasive in Massachusetts, where it has replaced most of the native American bittersweet (C. scandens).