''Celastrus scandens'', commonly called American bittersweet or bittersweet, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of ''

Celastrus ''Celastrus'', commonly known as staff vine, staff tree or bittersweet, is a genus in the family Celastraceae which comprises about 30-40 species of shrubs and vines. They have a wide distribution in East Asia, Australasia, Africa, and the Amer ...

'' that blooms mostly in June and is commonly found on rich, well-drained

soils Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former term ...

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...

s. It is a sturdy

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

vine A vine (Latin ''vīnea'' "grapevine", "vineyard", from ''vīnum'' "wine") is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themselv ...

that may have twining, woody stems that are or longer and an inch or more thick at the base. The stems are yellowish-green to brown and wind around other

vegetation Vegetation is an assemblage of plant species and the ground cover they provide. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular taxa, life forms, structure, spatial extent, or any other specific botanical or geographic character ...

, sometimes killing

sapling In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

s by restricting further growth. It has tiny, scentless

flowers A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

at the tips of the branches. It has colorful, orange

fruits In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particula ...

that are the size of a

pea The pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the flowering plant species ''Pisum sativum''. Each pod contains several peas, which can be green or yellow. Botanically, pea pods are fruit, since they contain seeds and d ...

. These fruits are poisonous to humans when ingested, but are favorites of birds. ''C. scandens'' roots were used by Native Americans and pioneers to induce

vomiting Vomiting (also known as emesis and throwing up) is the involuntary, forceful expulsion of the contents of one's stomach through the mouth and sometimes the Human nose, nose. Vomiting can be the result of ailments like Food-poisoning, foo ...

, to treat

venereal disease Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), also referred to as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and the older term venereal diseases, are infections that are spread by sexual activity, especially vaginal intercourse, anal sex, and oral se ...

, and to treat

symptoms Signs and symptoms are the observed or detectable signs, and experienced symptoms of an disease, illness, injury, or condition. A sign for example may be a higher or lower temperature than normal, raised or lowered blood pressure or an abnormali ...

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

. ''Celastrus scandens'' is native to central and eastern North America. It was given the name bittersweet by colonists in the 18th century because the fruits resembled the appearance of the fruits of common nightshade (''

Solanum dulcamara ''Solanum dulcamara'' is a species of vine in the genus ''Solanum'' (which also includes the potato and the tomato) of the family Solanaceae. Common names include bittersweet, bittersweet nightshade, bitter nightshade, blue bindweed, Amara Dulci ...

''), which was also called bittersweet. Today, American bittersweet is the accepted common name of ''C. scandens'' in large part to distinguish it from an invasive relative, '' C. orbiculatus'' (Oriental bittersweet), from Asia. Hybrids of ''C. orbiculatus'' and ''C. scandens'', entirely produced from ''C. scandens'' seed and ''C. orbicularis'' pollen, showed reduced seed set and small, infertile pollen.Zaya, D.N., S. A. Leicht-Young, N. B. Pavlovic, K. A. Feldheim and M. V. Ashley. 2015. Genetic characterization of hybridization between native and invasive bittersweet vines (''Celastrus'' spp.). ''Biological Invasions'' 17(10): 2975-2988. .

References

Celastraceae Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Vines {{Celastraceae-stub