Honeyvine Milkweed (Cynanchum laeve)

Honey vine milkweed is also known as bluevine, climbing milkweed, dog's-collar, Enslen's-vine, honeyvine, honeyvine swallwort, peavine, sandvine, smooth anglepod, smooth swallow-wort.

If you are reading this listing, you are probably either a novice or an expert  in gardening – there’s no “in between” with this plant.  On one hand, the vine is considered an invasive pest, that may need systemic herbicides to eradicate it, and on the other hand, some want to grow it (controlled) to aid in the preservation of bees and butterflies. As a milkweed, it is a source of food for monarch butterflies. Native bees also use it as a source of pollen.

Honeyvine milkweed is North American native species, currently distributed throughout the eastern half of the U.S.   The “weed”  is usually found in cultivated fields, fencerows, thickets, low moist woods, along riverbanks, and other disturbed habitats. It prefers fertile, moist soil.

Honeyvine milkweed is a perennial vine that can grow 12 feet or more in a season, and as much as 3 feet in a week. The root system consists of a deep vertical taproot and many lateral roots. Roots are fleshy and brittle, which is why it considered hard to control. 

Seed pods are 3 to 6 inches long, smooth, green, and usually paired. Pods split open along one side when mature releasing numerous seeds. Seeds are brown, oval, flattened, horseshoe-shaped, and have a tuft of silky-white hair attached to one end.  The pods and seeds are similar to common milkweed in size and color.  The main difference is the smoothness of the outside pod  (similar to the smooth texture of leather dress shoes.) 

In Ohio, it flowers between June and September. Each honeyvine milkweed plant can produce up to 50 pods. 

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