New York Metropolitan Flora

Genus: Celastrus

Celastrus scandens
Celastrus scandens L.

Photo © by Peter Nelson.
Taken near Juda, WI, 1984.

By Steven Clemants

Not peer reviewed

Last Modified 01/13/2012

Back to Celastraceae

Nomenclature

Celastrus L., Sp. Pl. 196. 1753. Gen. Pl. 91. 1754. Evonimoides Duhamel du Monceau, TraitÈ Arbres Arbust. 1: 223. 1755 (also spelled “Euonymoides”), nom. illeg. (Art. 52.1). LECTOTYPE: Celastrus scandens L. Britton & Brown (1913).

Key to the species of Celastrus

 1. Flowers and fruits in short axillary clusters...Celastrus orbiculatus
1. Flowers and fruits in terminal clusters...Celastrus scandens

List of Celastrus Species

Celastrus gemmata Celastrus orbiculatus Celastrus scandens

References to Celastrus

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  • Berkeley, E. 1953. Morphological studies in the Celastraceae. J. Elisha Mitchell Sci. Soc. 69: 185-208.
  • Bowden, W. M. 1940. Diploidy, polyploidy, and winter hardiness relationships in the flowering plants. Amer. J. Bot. 27: 357-71.
  • Brizicky, George K. 1964. The genera of Celastrales in the southeastern United States. J. Arnold Arbor. 45: 206-234.
  • Cromer, J. A. 1974. American bittersweet, Celastrus scandens L. In: Shrubs and vines for northeastern wildlife. USDA Forest Serv. Gen. Tech. Rep. NE-9. USDA. , 10-1 pages.
  • Cusick, A. W. 1992. Noteworthey collections, West Virginia. Castanea 57: 148-9.
  • Davis, J. D.; Evert, R. F. 1970. Seasonal cycle of phloem development in woody vines. Bot. Gaz. 131(2): 128-38.
  • Dillingham, F. T. 1907. The staff tree, Celastrus scandens, as a former food supply of starving Indians. Amer. Naturalist 41: 391-3.
  • Dreyer, G. D.; Baird, L. M.; Fickler, C. 1987. Celastrus scandens and Celastrus orbiculatus: Comparisons of reproducive potential between a native and an introduced woody vine. Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 114: 260-4.
  • Ellsworth, J. W.; Harrington, R. A.; Fownes, J. H. 2004. Survival, growth and gas exchange of Celastrus orbiculatus seedlings in sun and shade. Amer. Midl. Naturalist 151: 233-240.
  • Fike, J.; Niering, William A. 1999. Four decades of old field vegetation development and the role of Celastrus orbiculatus in the northeastern United States. J. Veg. Sci. 10: 483-492.
  • Fleming, P.; Kanal, R. 1992. Newly documented species of vascular plants in the District of Columbia. Castanea 57: 132-46.
  • Foderaro, L. W. 2004. Taking offensive in Westchester against the vines of wrath. New York Times 153: B1, B6. (Celastrus orbiculatus & Ampelopsis brevipedunculata)
  • Fogg, J. M. Jr. 1966. The silent travelers. Brooklyn Bot. Gard. Rec. 22: 4-7. (New Series)
  • Gorchov, D. L. 1987. Sequence of fruit ripening in bird-dispersed plants: consistency among years. Ecology 68: 223-5.
  • Greenberg, C. H. 2001. Fruit fate, seed germination, and growth of an invasive vine: an experimental test of "sit and wait" strategy. Biological Invasions 3: 363-372.
  • Hall, B. A. 1947. The floral anatomy of the Aceraceae and some related families. Ph.D. Dissertation Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY25 plates + 82 p.
  • Harris, J. A. 1909. Correlation in the inflorescence of Celastrus scandens. Annual Rep. Missouri Bot. Gard. 20: 116-22.
  • Hart, H. T. 1928. Delayed germination in seeds of Peltandra virginica and Celastrus scandens. Publ. Puget Sound Biol. Sta. 6: 255-61.
  • Hitchcock, A. S. 1893. The opening of the buds of some woody plants. Trans. St. Louis Acad. Sci. 6(5): 133-41.
  • Hou, D. 1955. A revision of the genus Celastrus. Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 42: 215-302.
  • Huebner, C. D. 2003. Vulnerability of oak-dominated forests in West Virginia to invasive exotic plants: temporal and spatial patterns of nine exotic species using herbarium records and land classification data. Castanea 68: 1-14.
  • Johnson, R. A.; Willson, M. F.; Thompson, J. N.; Bertin, R. I. 1985. Nutritional values of wild fruits and consumption by migrant frugivorous birds. Ecology 66: 819-27.
  • Joseph, H. C. 1928. Growing bittersweet (Celastrus scandens) from seed. Florists' Exch. & Hort. Trade World 68: 499.
  • Kline, V. 1983. Native American bittersweet. Arbor. News Univ. Wisconsin 32(4): 8-9.
  • LaFleur, N. et.al. 2009. Does frugivory by European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) facilitate germination in invasive plants? J. Torrey Bot. Soc. 136: 332-341.
  • Ladwig, L. M.; Meiners, S. J. 2010. Liana host preference and implications for deciduous forest regeneration. J. Torrey Bot. Soc. 137: 103-112.
  • Leicht, S. A.; Silander, J. A. 2006. Differential responses of invasive Celastrus orbiculatus (Celastraceae) and native C. scandens to changes in light quality. Amer. J. Bot. 93: 972-977.
  • Leicht-Young, S. A. et.al. 2007. Comparative performance of invasive and native Celastrus species across environmental gradients. Oecologia 154: 273-282.
  • Leicht-Young, S. A. et.al. 2007. Distinguishing native (Celastrus scandens L.) and invasive (C. Orbiculatus Thunb.) bittersweet species using morphological characteristics. J. Torrey Bot. Soc. 134: 441-450.
  • Leicht-Young, S. A. et.al. 2009. Effects of an invasive plant species, Celastrus orbiculatus, on soil composition and processes. Amer. Midl. Naturalist 161: 219-231.
  • Lett, C. N. et.al. 2011. Mycorrhizae and soil phosphorus affect growth of Celastrus orbiculatus. Biological Invasions 13: 2339-2350.
  • Loesener, T. 1902. Ubersicht uber die bis jetzt bekannten chinesischen Celastraceen. Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 30: 446-474. (In German)
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  • Lundgren, M. R. 2004. Influence of land use and site characteristics on invasive plant abundance in the Quinebaug Highlands of southern New England. Northeastern Naturalist 11: 313-332.
  • Lutz, H. J. 1943. Injuries to trees caused by Celastrus and Vitis. Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 70: 436-9.
  • McNab, W. H. 1987. Oriental bittersweet: a growing threat to hardwood silviculture in the Appalachians. Northern J. Applied Forestry
  • Mehrhoff, L. J. 1986. Notes on the Connecticut Flora-IV. The genus Celastrus (Celastraceae) in Connecticut. Newsletter Conn. Bot. Soc. 14: 4-5.
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  • Nuzzo, V. A.; McClain, W.; Strole, T. 1996. Fire impact on groundlayer flora in a sand forest. Amer. Midl. Naturalist 136: 207-21.
  • Paclt, J. 1998. (1378) Proposal to conserve the name Celastrus (Celastraceae) as being of feminine gender. Taxon 47: 879-880.
  • Pande, A. et.al. 2007. Using map algebra to determine the mesoscale distribution in invasive plants: the case of Celastrus orbiculatus in southern Illinois, USA. Biological Invasions 9: 419-431.
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  • Patterson, D. T. 1975. Photosynthetic acclimation to irradiance in Celastrus orbiculatus Thunb. Photosynthetica 9: 140-4.
  • Patterson, D. T. 1973. Distribution of oriental bittersweet in the United States. J. Elisha Mitchell Sci. Soc. 89(4): 245.
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  • Stoll, R. J. et.al. 1980. Foods of ruffed grouse Bonasa umbellus in Ohio USA. Ohio Fish Wildlife Rep. 1980: 1-18.
  • Tibbetts, T. J.; Ewers, F. W. 2000. Root pressure and specific conductivity in temperate lianas: exotic Celastrus orbiculatus (Celastraceae) vs. native Vitis riparia (Vitaceae). Amer. J. Bot. 87: 1272-1278.
  • Trelease, W. 1892. Revision of North American Illicineae and Celastraceae. Trans. St. Louis Acad. Sci. 5: 343-57.
  • Webster, C. R. et.al. 2007. Invasion biology and control of invasive woody plants in eastern forests. Native Plants J. 8: 97-106.
  • White, O. E.; Bowden, W. M. 1947. Oriental and American bittersweet hybrids. J. Heredity 38: 125-7.
  • Wyman, D. 1950. Fruiting habits of certain ornamental plants. Arnoldia (Jamaica Plain) 10: 81-5.