Mile-a-Minute Vine, Bittervine

Mikania micrantha

my-CANE-ee-ah  mi-CRAN-tha

Asteraceae

Native to: Tropical America

Florida Abundance and Distribution:  in southernmost Florida near Homestead (2011) but capable of rapid spreading.  Check the Internet for updated distribution data.

Recognition: This vine can grow an inch per day.  Thin leaves are heart shaped, in opposite pairs—from ½ to 5 inches long. Greenish-white flower heads are terminal in dense bunches. See also “Hempvines” in this guide.

Potentially confused species:  Mikania micrantha differs from the native M. cordifolia by having flower heads < 6 mm long.   Mikania micrantha differs from the native M. scandens by having pale (vs. darker) leaf coloration and no reddish foliar tints, white (vs. pinkish) flower heads, and phyllaries and inflorescence axes nearly hairless.

Other: American Army introduced it into the Pacific islands during WWII for camouflage.  It has spread to become one of the most noxious plants in parts of Tropical Asia, threatening to over-take acres where tea, rubber, and coconuts are in production.  It can be used as a source of animal fodder, and has localized medicinal uses as anti-infective, balm for insect bites and poison ivy.  This species is currently under study in the United States as a potential antibiotic.

Internet sources: http://www.freshfromflorida.com/pi/enpp/botany/mikania-micrantha.html

http://www.freshfromflorida.com/pi/pest_alerts/mikania-micrantha-pest-alert.html

Contributed by: Carolyn Hendry