Mile-A Minute Weed

Persicaria Perfoliata
previously known as Polygonum perfoliatum L.

Leslie J. Mehrhoff, University of Connecticut, Bugwood.org

The dreaded Mile a Minute Weed/Vine...so glad that everything doesn't grow as fast as this vine does or we would end up strangled and suffocated underneath vegetation.  It seems that as fast as you pull it out, it reseeds itself and spreads.  It needs at least 60% sun so you see it along the road, on the edges of woods and wetlands.  It will also occur in wet areas with poor soil structure.

It is invasive and when it shows itself in one's garden it reeks havoc.  It grows over top of vegetation, deflecting light from the plants underneath its mass and causing stress and ultimately decay of those underlying plants.  According to the National Park Service's website, mile a minute vine has  spread from a nursery in York County to locations as far as 300 miles away.

However, I had never seen the mature fruits of this weed.  I thought they were beautiful....especially since they were NOT in my garden.