These days there are 3 invasive species which land owners with forests are encouraged to be on the alert for:  garlic mustard, buckthorn and dog strangling vine.  The latter has always intrigued me because of its name; but I have never seen it “in the flesh” so to speak….until last week. 

When walking up our long driveway I saw beautiful glossy leaves beneath the cedars; when I went to look closer I saw long skinny pods on a leafy vine.   After checking descriptions in my various books I confirmed that it was it was the dreaded vine and I realized that I had caught it at a very fortuitous time as the pods had not yet burst spreading the seeds. 

This is truly a species to be rooted out. I)  It forms dense patches which will overwhelm other ground vegetation.   2) Butterflies will lay eggs on the leaves but the larvae will not survive on the species. 

Eradicating this from our property will be a multi- step process but given its potential impact we will complete the job! 

If you want some good photos of other invasive species Ministry of Natural Resources has a good inventory; click here.