The Mile A Minute vine invades the Shoreline!

Even its name sounds threatening.

The Mile – A – Minute Vine (MAM), officially known as Polygonum perfoliatum, is notorious for its rapid growth and ability to climb up and over anything in its path.

Ever notice those long strangling vines literally engulfing the poor trees along the highway offramps? Throughout most of Connecticut, Mile – A – Minute has been “devouring” our native trees and landscape. And it is more than just an eye-sore, as it can cause major ecological problems as it grows upwards of 6 INCHES PER DAY. MAM overgrows and outcompetes all other nearby plants, shading out native vegetation while forming dense mats interfering with forest regeneration and seedling establishment.

MAM is one of Connecticut’s most common invasive plant species. An Invasive species is defined by CT Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (DEEP) as being “alien to the ecosystem that they have been introduced into and whose introduction causes harm to the environment or human health”.

CT takes invasive plant species so seriously, that they have legislative General Statutes creating an Invasive Plants Council determining the best measures to control these growing threats to our environment. In fact, the list of environmentally threatening plants is huge with over 80 plant species on a continuously expanding list.

Now back to the Mile A Minute vine. MAM is native to most of temperate and tropical eastern Asia, from eastern Russia and Japan down to the Philippines and India. It was first established in the USA somewhere between the late 1930s and 1946 from a nursery site in Stewartstown, York County, Pennsylvania. The largest populations are now in Oregon, MD, VA, PA, NY, RI, CT and MA.

MAM is one clever plant as it has numerous ways to spread. MAM is a prolific seeder, producing many seeds on a single plant. It can grow as much as 30 feet in a single season. Birds are the most common form of dispersal where they will leave seeds below utility lines, bird feeders, fence lines and other perching locations. Even chipmunks will get in on the act as they enjoy munching on the fruit of this vine. Water is also an important mode of dispersal. Its fruits can remain buoyant for 7–9 days, an important advantage for dispersing seed long distances in stream and along river environments.

CT residents can do their part in protecting the environment by identifying and removing the pesky beast. Wearing gloves to avoid any nearby poison ivy – and after a day of rain, grab the plant as close to the ground as possible and pull it out – roots and all. Besides this manual approach – herbicides and “Biological" means are being researched. In 2009, scientists at UCONN and The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station introduced approximately 18,000 biological control agents (aka weevils) in 10 CT towns for control of the vine. These “agents” have been found to be very host specific and only feed on MAM. Other scientific studies with these "good" insects in other states also show positive results in slowing the spread of the vine and may provide a sustainable solution to reducing MAM populations.

So, if you don’t have any of these super weevils to help – remember you can still grab them by the roots and place your freshly pulled weeds into a black trash bag and then dispose them in the municipal trash for landfill or incineration. Do not compost them! Composting will just allow any viable seeds to germinate.

There - you have just done your good deed for the day and for your local community!

Photo: Richard Gardner, UMES, Bugwood.org