The biology of invasive alien plants in Canada. 14. Celastrus orbiculatus Thunb.

Abstract

Celastrus orbiculatus Thunb. is an invasive alien liana native to northern regions of Japan, Korea, China, and Russia. Since its intentional North American introduction in the 1870s, it is now found across eastern Canada and the United States. Through an extensive adventitious root system and twining growth habit, C. orbiculatus smothers and girdles surrounding vegetation, drastically altering the environment and ecosystem processes. C. orbiculatus continues to be distributed as an ornamental. In addition, birds and small mammals consume its prolific fruit and facilitate novel introductions. C. orbiculatus is susceptible to glyphosate and triclopyr. Once established, however, management intensity is compounded by its extensive root system and continual resprouting and root-suckering. The climatic requirements across eastern Canada, ease of dispersal, and rapid growth suggest that C. orbiculatus will continue to spread across its introduced range.