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Fallopia convolvulus

black-bindweed

Polygonaceae

Europe, North Africa, and temperate Asia

Drought Tolerant

SunFull Sun – Part Shade

WaterLow · drought-tolerant

Overview

Fallopia convolvulus is an annual climbing or trailing plant with thin, twining stems 8-47 inches (20-120 cm) long that wind around other plants and supports. Stems are ridged, green to red-tinged, and branch from the base. Leaves are alternate, heart- to arrow-shaped, 0.8-2.4 inches (2-6 cm) long, with a pointed tip and a thin papery sheath around the stem at each node. Flowers are small, 0.1-0.2 inch (3-5 mm) across, greenish-white to pink-tinged, in loose clusters from the leaf axils, opening from June to October. The fruit is a dull black three-angled nut about 0.16 inch (4 mm) long, enclosed by the persistent flower segments. Where no support is present, the stems trail across the ground and form tangled mats. It germinates in spring, grows rapidly through summer, and dies after seeding in autumn. A single plant can set several hundred seeds, which stay viable in soil for years, making it a common weed of arable fields, gardens, and disturbed ground.

Native Range

Native across Europe, North Africa, and temperate Asia. Grows in arable fields, gardens, waste ground, roadsides, and other disturbed open soils, from lowlands to about 6,600 feet (2,000 m). Widely naturalized across North America and other temperate regions as an agricultural weed.

Suggested Uses

Not grown ornamentally; it occurs as a volunteer weed of cultivated and disturbed ground. Its seeds are eaten by farmland birds, and it is sometimes included in conservation seed mixes for arable field margins that support seed-eating birds. In gardens it is generally removed rather than retained.

How to Identify

Identified by twining annual stems, arrow-shaped leaves with a papery sheath at each node, and small greenish-white flowers in loose axillary clusters. The black three-angled nut is dull, not glossy, and the outer flower segments are keeled but not winged. Distinguished from Fallopia dumetorum, which has broadly winged fruiting segments, and from field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis), which has funnel-shaped white-to-pink petalled flowers.

Appearance

Size & Dimensions

Height8" - 3'11"

Width/Spread1' - 3'3"

Colors

Flower Colors

Foliage Colors

Bloom Information

Bloom Period

~18 weeks

Summer Fall

Flowers from June to October, with peak flowering in midsummer. Flowers are small, greenish-white to pink-tinged, and both insect-pollinated and self-pollinated. Seed ripens a few weeks after flowering, and the long flowering season produces seed from midsummer until the plant dies in autumn.

Detailed Descriptions

Flower Description

greenish-white to pink-tinged

Foliage Description

green, sometimes red-tinged

Growing Conditions

Sun Requirements

SunFull Sun SunPartial Shade

Requires 4-12 hours of direct sunlight daily

• Full Sun: 6+ hours of direct sunlight

• Partial Shade: 3-6 hours of direct sunlight

• Full Shade: Less than 3 hours of direct sunlight

Soil Requirements

pH Range5.0 - 7.5(Neutral)

357912

Soil Types

loam clay sand silt

Drainageaverage

Water & Climate

Water Needs

Low

Drought Tolerance

Drought tolerant when established

Care & Maintenance

Care Guide

Grows in full sun to light shade on most soils, including poor and compacted ground, completing its cycle in one season. Seed germinates in spring across a wide temperature range, and seedlings climb or trail rapidly once established. Tolerates drought once rooted and grows fastest on fertile, cultivated soil. In gardens and crops it climbs over and shades neighbouring plants, and clearing it before seed set limits its return because buried seed stays viable for years. Autumn frost kills the plants. No feeding is needed, since it grows readily on disturbed ground without care.

Pruning

Stems are pulled or hoed out through the growing season to stop them smothering other plants and to prevent seeding. Cutting at the base kills the annual stem, but plants regrow from ungerminated seed in following years. Plants left in place reseed heavily.