Persicaria perfoliata (Non-native)

Notes: Mile-a-minute vine is an annual vine that smothers just about anything in its path. Its rapid growth rate – up to 6 inches a day – explains this invasive’s common name. It flowers and fruits continually from early summer until frost. A prolific seeder, it takes over an area within several years of its introduction. It’s also called devil’s tearthumb, an allusion to its tiny, sharp barbs, which can lacerate skin. It forms prickly, tangled thicket it that deters workers, hikers, and hunters and overruns native vegetation, thus destroying habitat for native plants, birds, and mammals.

Method of removal: Pull up by roots, ideally in April or May.