Porcelain Berry (EwA Guide to Common Invasive Species in Middlesex County (MA, US) )

Porcelain Berry

Ampelopsis glandulosa

Summary ⁷

Ampelopsis glandulosa, with common names creeper, porcelain berry, Amur peppervine, and wild grape, is an ornamental plant, native to temperate areas of Asia including China, Japan, India, Nepal, Myanmar, Vietnam, and the Philippines.
It is generally similar to, and potentially confused with, grape species (genus Vitis) and other Ampelopsis species.

Short Description ⁸

A vine that can curl up high in trees. Leaves are simple and alternate, with heart-shaped bases. They may be entire or deeply dissected, with 3 to 5 palmate lobes. The underside has tiny hairs. Flowers are greenish to white and inconspicuous; they form in wide, vertical curls. Fruits are hard berries with varied colors (white, green, lavender, pink, or blue).

Source: EwA Invasive Pocket Fieldguide | © Earthwise Aware

Description ⁷

Ampelopsis glandulosa is a deciduous, woody, perennial climbing vine with flowers and tendrils opposite the palmately lobed leaves, which have three to five more or less deep lobes and coarsely toothed margins (with a small apicle). Porcelain berry climbs via tendrils to a height of 4 to 6 metres (13 to 20 ft). The tendrils cling to the supports by non-adhesive tendrils similar to those of Vitis vines. The tendrils are opposite the leaves and have two or three branches.^{[citation needed]}

The inflorescence is a corymbiform cyme, attached opposite a leaf. Flowers are small, green-white, born in umbels opposite the leaves, and appear in June through August. Fruits are 4 to 8 millimetres (0.16 to 0.31 in) in diameter, circular, containing two to four seeds, and may be many colors including green, blue, purple, pink or yellow with black or brown speckles; many different colors are present on the same plant. The berries are produced in late summer and fall. The seeds are dispersed by birds.^{[citation needed]}

Porcelain berry can be confused with native grapes based on leaf shape but can be differentiated by cutting the stem and observing the pith. Grapes have brown or tan pith, but porcelain berries have white pith. Porcelainberry bark is also covered in lenticels and does not peel, unlike grape bark.

Distribution and habitat ⁷

Porcelainberry grows primarily in marginal habitats such as forest edges, pond margins, stream banks, thickets, and other areas of full sunlight to partial shade. It does not grow in permanently wet soils or heavily shaded areas, and is not typically found in the interiors of mature forests.

Porcelain berry is found natively in China, Korea, Japan and the Russian Far East. It was introduced in 1870s to the United States as a landscape plant. Its invasive range extends from Wisconsin and Iowa at its westernmost extent to the Atlantic coastline at the east, where it is found from New Hampshire to Georgia.

Invasiveness ⁹

It is a major invasive plant species in parts of the Eastern United States. It is invasive in urban settings as well as in more pastoral settings. Porcelain berry is often found in disturbed areas such as roadsides, old fields, and floodplains where sunlight is abundant. The traits that make it a popular garden plant, such as its ground coverage, climbing habit, pest resistance, and tolerance of adverse conditions, also make it a robust invasive species. Invasive porcelain berry tends to shade out and kill shrubs and younger trees, and larger growths will climb over larger plants, cover them, and potentially kill them by blocking sunlight. Birds consume the seeds of porcelain berry and act as a vectors to transport them. See zoochory.

⭕ Control Methods (EwA Content) ¹⁰

Porcelain berry vines grow quickly and reach up to 4.5 m (15 ft) per growing season, with seeds remaining viable for years (a). The optimal time for control is during early detection (b). Once established, they are challenging to manage, requiring continuous monitoring and treatment until seedbanks are depleted (c). Plants can be hand-pulled, depending on their size (b). Large plants can be shoveled or treated with herbicide through foliar or cut-stem herbicide application, focusing on treating vines before they seed (a, c).

Mechanical Treatment

Hand-pull plants before fruiting to prevent seed production and dispersal. If already fruiting, collect all fruits, bag them, and dispose of them in a landfill (a, b). Hand-pulling vines in fall or spring prevents flower bud formation in the following season (a). For larger vines, you may use shovels, ensuring complete root removal to prevent re-sprouting (b).

Chemical Treatment^⚠

For larger plants, use chemical treatment (systemic herbicides) and mechanical treatment combined (a). Foliar and basal bark treatments are both effective (b).

Foliar treatment → Applications of triclopyr formulation have shown to be more effective. Use a 2.5% triclopyr amine water-based solution, spraying leaves from summer to fall or cutting first in summer, allowing time for regrowth before applying (a, b). Smaller infestations can be, to some extent, controlled by glyphosate. Spot-apply glyphosate carefully to avoid harming desired plants. Cut vines in summer, allow them to resprout, then apply glyphosate or apply it to leaves in early autumn before senescence (a).

Basal bark treatment → Apply 20-30% triclopyr ester mix to 60- 91 cm (2-3 ft) long stem section near the base using a suitable oil carrier (a)

⚠ Disclaimers

Disclaimer #1: Harmless chemicals do not exist. Any chemical use is likely to harm non-target species and affect the soil. However, in some circumstances, chemicals might be the only way to succeed in removing an invasive species permanently. Researching and understanding the latest scientific literature before using a specific chemical or a mix of several is critical to reducing negative impact.

Disclaimer #2: Independently, several European countries recently announced future bans or massive restrictions on the use of glyphosate (e.g., Austria, Germany, France). The EU, at large, is expected to decide on the renewal of the approval of glyphosate Ultimo 2023 (More here).

Sources

[a] - Fact sheet: Porcelain-berry. Available in: https://rhodeislandwoods.uri.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/495/porcelain-berry.pdf
[b] - Invasives in your Woodland: Porcelain-berry. Available in:
https://extension.umd.edu/resource/invasives-your-woodland-porcelain-berry
[c] - Porcelain berry. Available in:
https://www.mda.state.mn.us/plants/pestmanagement/weedcontrol/noxiouslist/porcelainberry

Sources and Credits

(c) Joe MacIndewar, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Joe MacIndewar, https://www.inaturalist.org/people/joemac
(c) Claire O'Neill, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Claire O'Neill, https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/127748825
(c) Claire O'Neill, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Claire O'Neill, https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/91007403
(c) © Claire O'Neill, some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC), some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), uploaded by © Claire O'Neill, some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC), https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/100707719
(c) Bill MacIndewar, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Bill MacIndewar, https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/136842765
(c) Claire O'Neill, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Claire O'Neill, https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/142164705
(c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ampelopsis_glandulosa
(c) Claire O'Neill, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
Adapted by Claire O'Neill from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ampelopsis_glandulosa
Adapted by Esther Meirelles from a work by (c) Claire O'Neill, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

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Porcelain Berry

Summary 7

Short Description 8

Description 7

Distribution and habitat 7

Invasiveness 9

⭕ Control Methods (EwA Content) 10