Field Bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis)

Status:

Listed Noxious Weed In Montana & North Dakota

History:

First Montana Specimen Collected 1

County:

Missoula

Year:

1891

“Field bindweed was introduced to eastern North America from Europe and Asia in the 18th Century. It rapidly spread westward and is now found throughout the United States.”. (Weaver, & Riley)

Habitat:

Plants grow in cultivated fields, waste areas, and often in the edges of forests.

Growth Habit:

Perennial vine, reproducing from seeds and roots.

Leaves:

Alternate, simple, arrowhead-shaped, rounded or blunt tipped.

Stem:

Prostrate, twining and mat-forming, up to 10 ft. long.

Flower:

Funnel-shaped, pale pink to white, up to 1 in. wide; two small scale-like bracts attached below flower on flower stem.

Roots:

Creeping rhizomes, extensive.

Seeds:

Four per capsule, dark gray to reddish brown, three sided.

Other Notes:

“Field bindweed is a hardy perennial found throughout Montana. It spreads from an
extensive rootstock as well as from seed. Most parts of the bindweed roots
and rhizomes can produce adventitious buds, which can create new roots and
shoots. Roots capable of budding are found to depths of 14 feet. Fragments
of vertical roots and rhizomes that are as short as 2 inches can form new
plants. Lateral roots serve another important function. At about 15 to 30
inches from the parent plant, a lateral often turns downward, becoming a
secondary vertical root, and sends out both roots and shoots from the
turning point. By this means a single field, bindweed plant can spread
radially more than 10 feet in a growing season. This extensive underground
network allows for overwintering without foliage, and it can persist for
many years in the soil.” (Unknown)