| Picture ©2001, Mike Hatch FBCP |
Hedge Bindweed - Calystegia (Convolvulus?) sepium
Also known as - Morning Glory
| |
|
Hedge Bindweed - Calystegia (Convolvulus?) sepium
Also known as - Morning Glory
A perennial vine growing to 3m (10ft) that twines itself around other plants and objects to assist it's progress. Found throughout the eastern United States, and Europe in woodland margins, hedgerows and wasteland. Widespread and common in the South but rarer in the North. Arrow or wedge shaped pointed alternate leaves (usually hairless) 10 - 12cm (4 - 5in) long with funnel shaped white or pink with white striped flowers 30 - 40mm (1.2 - 1.6in) across, appearing May to September fruit to a capsule containing 2-4 seeds. The solitary flowers are borne on long stalks 5 - 15cm (2 - 6in). Two leafy bracts are present at the base of the flower, with the petals being fused into a funnel-like structure. Classed as a weed plant it grows from an extensive and tough rhizome root structure that has to be removed in its entirety to remove the plant, as very small pieces of root are capable of regenerating the plant. The creamy white root structure 3 - 10mm (0.125 - 0.4in) in diameter will grow in very rough and deprived soils favouring brown field sites and waste ground. Often mistaken for Field Bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis), however field bindweed leaves are smaller, with a more rounded apex and bases that are pointed or rounded, but not cut off squarely across the top as in hedge bindweed.
Site design ©1999-2008 
- 