Hi, While deciding what section of the yard to prune and weed I came across this vine. At first glance, I thought it was a saltbrush/saltbush shrub that took root and flowered. A little annoyed I went back the other day to get rid of it and I found it was no shrub, but a vine. I do not recognize the flowers nor the leaves and I seem to be lacking some sort of key words in my searches as I come up with "close" but not close enough. The flowers look like large white with pinkish tinges of a dandelion flower and the seeds to match - a long slender seed with a fluffy "umbrella" to carry gently on the wind. No fruit. The leaves are arrow shaped, as in pointy at the bottom and mildly toothed. The vine is a little woody and reminds me of mandevilla only without those hard bits at the leaf joints. Very technical, I know. It seems to grow quite long - over 8 - 10 feet and the stems are about 3mm wide. The flowers themselves are all of 1cm tall, if that. 2.5mm wide. Rather smallish. It smells sweet, again a bit like dandelion. The pics show a leaf, typical and fully representative, the active flower heads and seed heads. It is currently up between my crepe myrtle and guava and towers above me. I truly appreciate your help. If it is OK to keep, I'll move it but def deadhead it. The seeds detach like rats on a sinking ship. Thanks in advance!
Vine ID - Central FL Zone 9b
I know it is a milkweed just not postive as to which one. Hopefully someone with more knowledge will answer that question.
I saw that milkweed vine is supposed to exude a milky sap. I just checked, and there is no milky sap, or any to speak of. I broke a leaf apart, I broke the leaf off, I broke a node apart and then bent a vine - no sap at all. Nothing even milky.
Here is another picture, set on 1/4 inch graph paper. The flowers, seeds, node, leaves. Notice there is no sap. What caught my attention was a nice herbal type scent from the cut bits. Not quite basil or oregano - just herbal. Again, the flowers smell sweet and very much look and smell like dandelion.
I might just yank it because I do not like how freely it seeds.
Thank you in advance.
Ana, that vine grows wild here in the Panhandle, too, but no one seems to know what it is.
Finally found it! Climbing Hempweed (Climbing Boneset) Mikania scandens
Thanks, Ana - where did you find the i.d.?
It wasn't easy for me, I had to fine tune my keywords. And now I forget what they were. So sorry. But, as soon as I saw it here, I knew I had it: http://www.floridasnature.com/vines_gallery3.htm#climbing hempvine
Very pretty flowers! No wonder you said it smelled herbal being that is is a hempvine. I wonder how it would overwinter in a house....hmmm.
Grows all over up here too....keep an eye on it...it can get out of control. It disperses it's seed the same way Milkweed does...fine hairs blow off in the wind and carry the seeds with it. Plus it comes back from the roots.
Would love to have some seeds of this to try this spring. Thanks.
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