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Celastrus scandens

Common name:	Climbing Bittersweet	Family:	Celastraceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	43, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	The fruit is poisonous[222]. All parts of the plant are potentially toxic[222].
Range:	Eastern N. America - Quebec, south to North Carolina and New Mexico..
Habitat:	Rich soils[235] in dense moist thickets, woods and along river banks[43, 268].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	American Bittersweet [H,P,E,B], Amerikaanse Bitterzoet [E], Amerikanische Bittersuss [E], Bittersweet [E,H], Bittersweet, American [S], Climbing Bitter-sweet [L], Douce Amer De L'Amerique [E], Falsa Dulcamara [E], False Bittersweet [H], Waxwork [E,L],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	scandens = climbing
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Celastrales. Bittersweet family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	France Germany Netherlands Spain Us

Physical Characteristics

A decidious climber growing to 8m. It is hardy to zone 2. It is in flower from July to August, and the seeds ripen in October. The flowers are dioecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but only one sex is to be found on any one plant so both male and female plants must be grown if seed is required) and are pollinated by Bees. The plant not is self-fertile. It is noted for attracting wildlife. We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid and neutral soils. It can grow in full shade (deep woodland) semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge, Deep Shade.

Edible Uses

Stem.

Bark and twigs - they must be cooked[105]. The thickish bark is sweet and palatable after boiling[2, 161, 177]. Another report says that it is the inner bark that is used, and that it is a starvation food, only used when other foods are in short supply[257]. Some caution is advised in the use of this plant since there are suggestions of toxicity.

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Analgesic Cancer Cardiac Diaphoretic Diuretic Emetic Skin.

Climbing bittersweet was employed medicinally by a number of native North American Indian tribes, though it is scarcely used in modern herbalism[257].
The root is diaphoretic, diuretic and emetic[222]. It is a folk remedy for chronic liver and skin ailments (including skin cancer), rheumatism, leucorrhoea, dysentery and suppressed menses[222]. A strong compound infusion, usually combined with raspberry leaf tea, has been used to reduce the pain of childbirth[257]. A poultice of the boiled root has been used to treat obstinate sores, skin eruptions etc[257].
Externally, the bark is used as an ointment on burns, scrapes and skin eruptions[222].
Extracts of the bark are thought to be cardioactive[222].
Many plants in this genus contain compounds of interest for their antitumour activity[218].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Prefers a deep loamy soil[11]. Dislikes chalky soils[108]. Succeeds in full or partial shade[188]. Requires a humus-rich soil if it is to be at its best[219].
A rampant climber, it requires ample space and is best grown into an old tree. It climbs by means of twining and also by prickles on the young stems[182]. Plants do not normally require pruning[219].
The foliage of some wild plants is variegated[235]. There are some named forms, selected for their ornamental value[200].
A good bee plant[108].
Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[200].
Plants are usually dioecious, in which case male and female plants must be grown if seed is required[182]. This species seldom fruits freely in Britain[182].

Propagation

Seed - gather when ripe, store in dry sand and sow February in a warm greenhouse[78]. Three months cold stratification leads to a higher germination rate[113]. Remove the flesh of the fruit since this inhibits germination[113]. Germination rates are usually good[78]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in a greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Layering in August of the current seasons growth. Takes 12 months[78].
Root cuttings, 6mm thick 25mm long in December. Plant horizontally in pots in a frame[78].

Cultivars

'': There are some named forms for this species, but these have been developed for their ornamental value and not for their other uses. Unless you particularly require the special characteristics of any of these cultivars, we would generally recommend that you grow the natural species for its useful properties. We have, therefore, not listed the cultivars in this database[K].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

PFAF Web Pages

This plant is mentioned in the following web pages

Web References

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[S] Illustration from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for the family Celastraceae.

To be included in the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[43] Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950
A bit dated but good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.

[78] Sheat. W. G. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. MacMillan and Co 1948
A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[108] International Bee Research Association. Garden Plants Valuable to Bees. International Bee Research Association. 1981
The title says it all.

[113] Dirr. M. A. and Heuser. M. W. The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. Athens Ga. Varsity Press 1987 ISBN 0942375009
A very detailed book on propagating trees. Not for the casual reader.

[161] Yanovsky. E. Food Plants of the N. American Indians. Publication no. 237. U.S. Depf of Agriculture.
A comprehensive but very terse guide. Not for the casual reader.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[182] Thomas. G. S. Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. Murray 1992 ISBN 0-7195-5043-2
Contains a wide range of plants with a brief description, mainly of their ornamental value but also usually of cultivation details and varieties.

[188] Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. 1990 ISBN 0-86318-386-7
Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[218] Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985 ISBN 0-917256-20-4
Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.

[219] Grey-Wilson. C. & Matthews. V. Gardening on Walls Collins 1983 ISBN 0-00-219220-0
A nice little book about plants for growing against walls and a small section on plants that can grow in walls.

[222] Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990 ISBN 0395467225
A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.

[235] Britton. N. L. Brown. A. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada Dover Publications. New York. 1970 ISBN 0-486-22642-5
Reprint of a 1913 Flora, but still a very useful book.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

[268] Stuart. M. (Editor) The Encyclopedia of Herbs and Herbalism Orbis Publishing. London. 1979 ISBN 0-85613-067-2
Excellent herbal with good concise information on over 400 herbs.

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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