climbing false buckwheat

not listed

N5 - Secure

not listed

FACU - Facultative upland

FAC - Facultative

FAC - Facultative

Climbing false buckwheat is a native, weedy, herbaceous vine. It occurs in the United States from the East Coast to the Great Plains, in adjacent Canadian provinces, and in Mexico. It is common in Minnesota. It is found in thickets and open floodplain forests, at the edges of forests and woodlands, on river banks and fence rows, and in ditches and disturbed sites. It grows under partial sun in moist to moderately moist conditions in fertile, loamy soil. It usually climbs over adjacent vegetation, and can smother small shrubs. In open areas it sprawls on the ground and forms mats.

Climbing false buckwheat is a perennial vine that rises from fibrous roots and sometimes a taproot. The stem is freely branched, slender, and up to 17′ (5 m) long. It spirals around whatever it touches (twining), usually other vegetation. It may be round, angular, or slightly ridged; is slightly swollen at each node; and is often reddish where exposed to the sun. It may be hairless or sparsely to moderately covered with minute, downward curved hairs on the ridges.

The leaves are alternate, up to 5½″ (14 cm) long, and up to 2¾″ (7 cm) wide. Lower leaves are large and are on long stalks (petioles) that can be up to 4″ (10 cm) in length. Upper leaves are much smaller and on much shorter petioles. The petioles may be hairless or somewhat roughened with lines of short, stiff hairs. There is a small, tan to greenish-brown, membranous sheath (ocrea) that surrounds the stem at the base of each petiole. The ocrea does not have bristles or a fringe of hairs. The leaf blade is usually more or less heart-shaped, sometimes arrow-shaped with the basal lobes parallel or slightly spreading. The upper surface is hairless. The lower surface is minutely roughened and often powdery (mealy), never whitish and waxy (glaucous). The margins are untoothed and somewhat wavy.

The inflorescence is an unbranched, spike-like, ¾″ to 4″ long arrangement (raceme) of several clusters of 3 to 6 flowers each at the end of the stem and each branch, and also rising from the leaf axils. The racemes are usually held more or less erect, sometimes horizontally. The clusters are stalkless or on stalks (peduncles) up to 2¾″ long. The individual flowers are on ⅛″ to 5 ⁄16″ (3 to 8 mm) long stalks (pedicels). The pedicels are held erect while in bloom but droop downward as the fruit develops. The central axis of the inflorescence (rachis) is somewhat roughened with lines of short, stiff hairs.

The flowers are ⅛″ to 5⁄16″ (3.8 to 8 mm) long including the stipe-like base. There are 5 tepals, 8 stamens, and 3 styles. The tepals are white, greenish-white, or tinged pinkish, and ⅛″ to 3 ⁄16″ (3 to 5 mm) long when in bloom. They are in two whorls. The inner two tepals are shorter and elliptic. The outer three are inversely egg-shaped and are conspicuously winged. The stamens do not protrude beyond the tepals. The styles are very short and are fused for most of their length. The stigmas are cap-like.

The fruit is a smooth, shiny, dark brown to black, 3-angled, 1⁄16″ to ¼″ (2 to 6 mm) long, 1⁄32″ to ⅛″ (1.4 to 3.5 mm) wide, seed capsule (achene). It is entirely enclosed within 3 persistent, keeled and conspicuously winged tepals. The fruit is green at first and the wings are flat. At maturity, the fruit is brown and the wings are wavy or lacerated.

Vine: 40″ to 500″ (1 to 5 m) long

White, greenish-white, or pinkish

Black bindweed (Fallopia convolvulus) flowers and fruits are keeled but not winged. The achenes are dull, black, and rough.

Moist to moderately moist. Thickets, edges of woodlands and forests, open floodplain woodlands, river banks, fence rows, ditches, and disturbed sites.

August to September

Sources

2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 22, 24, 28, 29, 30.

Native

Common

Growing on the shore, wrapping itself around another tree.

Location: Fairview Twp., Cass County