Identity of Invasive Vine
 

I have been trying to identify a vine, which has been growing wild on my property for several years. It is rather invasive and can climb as much as ten feet up a tree. It has lavender (mauve) flowers, which look like small pine cones, are about 1–2 inches in diameter and bloom in August. They have a rather unpleasant fragrance, which tends to permeate the whole area when in bloom. The leaves are elongated, with smooth edges and grow in five to seven clusters along the stem.

Can anyone help me put a name to this stuff?

Creeping socialism, its a Massachusetts plant

Crown Vetch.....extremely invasive. All you can do is keep pulling it out (I make a game of seeing how long I can pull the "entrails" before the vine breaks).

NichNH, crown vetch is generally a non-climbing ground cover. It can be used along the roadsides for eroision control. The vine that is being described may be mile-a-minute, trumpet vine, oriental bittersweet (not likely based on the leaf description),
some others may be nightshade or marijuana. (just kidding on the last choice)

Pictures please.

I don’t believe it is Crown Vetch. I found a photo and information on the web, which shows Crown Vetch as having compound leaves with 15 – 25 leaflets on each. The leaflets are rounded at the ends and are only about three-quarters to an inch in length.

What I have has compound leaves of five or seven to each stem and each leaflet is three to four inches in length. The leaves come to a point at the ends. The flowers are a rather dark mauve (perhaps more on the dark pink or maroon side) with some white on them. I was thinking it might be wild sweet pea vines, but I haven’t found it to be that either. I pull it out every year and it always returns. I may be gaining ground, however, as there isn't as much of it this year as in previous years.

Coolbreeze -
It isn't Trumpet Vine, Nightshade or Oriental Bittersweet. I'm really stumped on this.

Sorry I can't provide photos.

Without pictures, ID is difficult - if not darned near impossible (even with pics it can be tough - I belong to a tree-related forum and we get all sorts of what kind of tree is this posts)

On my property, I'm at war with Black swallow wort. It's a fast growing vine with purpley flowers. Thrives in the rich soiled shady environment of a back north facing slope adjacent to a brook.

Just as tenacious as bittersweet (at least it's not a woody vine). Root system gets a good hold on the ground. They're white and tendril-like.

Lots of info here:

http://www.nysgextension.org/glhabit...wallowwort.pdf

Closeup of flower (leaf shot not very good, however)
http://www.nps.gov/plants/ALIEN/fact/img/cylo1a.jpg

Better shot of leaves, with seed pod
http://www.nps.gov/plants/ALIEN/fact/img/cylo1b.jpg

Groundnut perhaps? Google 'apios americana' for some pictures and info.

It's Groundnut!
 

Carole: That’s it - Groundnut or apios americana. A Google search provided photos and a wealth of information about it. Without a doubt it is what is growing in my backyard.

I learned that it produces underground tubers, which are edible and has the potential for becoming a common food source in the future. Who would have known? It apparently can be substituted for potatoes, but has more protein. Henceforth I will treat it with reverence and may even give up my yearly crusade to eradicate it from my property.

Here is one of the sites I found most enlightening:
http://www.bio.umass.edu/biology/con.../groundnt.html

Thanks, Carole and those who took the time to post replies. I really do appreciate it. The mystery is finally solved.

Invasives
 

[I don't know that you could call groundnut an invasive. Been here a long time...the Pilgrims depended on them as a food source.
But there is a problem with invasive species everywhere. The little lake I live on in northern Ct. was recently treated for invasive aquatic plants. Expensive.
I was up this week and saw much more milfoil in the harbor in Meredith as well as stray loosestrife here and there. Japanese knowtweed by the roadside is everywhere.