Guest post by Jacqueline Hyman
Devil’s Tail (Persicaria perfoliata),
also known as Mile-A-Minute weed, is a fast-growing invasive that shrouds other
plants, preventing them from receiving important nutrients and sunlight.
The plant was introduced to Beltsville, MD, in
1937, as well as in other parts of the United States, according to Plant
Invaders of Mid-Atlantic Natural Areas. It was also introduced to a nursery
site in York County, PA, in the 1930s, which is likely the source of the
plant’s growth in the Mid-Atlantic and northeastern U.S., according to the
book.
University of Maryland
Extension Educator Charles Schuster said the plant thrives in many conditions,
including farmland, landscapes, and nurseries.
“I find it everywhere I
go,” said Schuster, who works in commercial horticulture. “There’s not an area
that I have not found it in my normal travels.”
Mile-A-Minute is an
annual trailing vine, with pale green triangular leaves. It also has what
Schuster calls a reverse-facing thorn.
“Instead of having a thorn
at a direct right angle to the stem facing toward the outside of the stem, this
has a thorn that as you grab the stem and start to pull and your hand slides a
little bit, it literally digs in,” Schuster said.
This thorn is one
way the plant spreads and repopulates, as it can dig into people and animals,
being dragged through different areas. Additionally, birds eat the seeds and
spread the plant that way, Schuster said.
Water is also an
“important mode of dispersal as fruits can remain buoyant for seven to nine
days,” according to Plant Invaders.
Schuster said the plant likes temperatures 70
degrees and above, and grows aggressively.
“In optimum conditions with adequate soil
moisture and appropriate temperature, Mile-A-Minute will take off, and it will
grow inches in a day,” he said. "It is very aggressive in that you have a
bare spot in a forest or a bare spot in a landscape … this is the type of
one that will aggressively take that spot, grow up into the shrubbery, up in
the trees."
Devil’s Tail is in competition with other
plants for moisture, and during dry times sucks up a lot of moisture that other
plants need, Schuster said. It also forms a canopy over other plants,
preventing them from getting the necessary sunlight, diminishing ability for
photosynthesis.
Many herbicides, including natural ones, will
kill Devil’s Tail, Schuster said.
"It’s an
easy-to-control weed from the aspect there’s a lot of chemicals that will knock
this out quickly and easily," he added. However, Plant Invaders recommends
biological control.
Schuster said in his own
garden, he simply puts on a pair of gloves and pulls the weed. Gloves are
important when dealing with this plant in order to avoid injury, he said, because
of its unique thorn.
“If I’m not to the point of where it’s having
berries, I’ll just pull and drop it and let it decay right there on sight,”
said Schuster. “It might not be the most beautiful way of doing it, but I’m
trying to recycle as much as I can right on the site on which it’s found.”
In order to prevent
spreading the plant, people should check to make sure they are not carrying it
when visiting forested areas or anywhere the plant might thrive. "If you see it catch
onto you, you should make sure you remove it so that you’re not taking it to a
new location, especially home," said Schuster.
The
"Invasive Species Spotlight" is a summer blog series focusing on a
different plant each week that is a problem for Mid-Atlantic home
gardeners.
About the author:
Jacqueline Hyman is a junior
journalism and English major at the University of Maryland. She is the
editor-in-chief of the Mitzpeh, an independent Jewish newspaper at UMD. In
addition, Jacqueline enjoys musical theater, and teaches piano and voice at
Guitar Center. She is excited to be interning this summer for the Washington
Gardener.
Image credit:
At top, Persicaria perfoliata (non-native) by Leslie J. Mehrhoff, wikipedia commons.
At middle, Mile-a-minute thorns by Dalgial, wikipedia commons.
At bottom, Mile-a-minute in flower/fruit
Washington Gardener Magazine.
