Fighting an Invasion, one Vine at a Time

Have you seen this vine?

Gene Barnett has, and he is guessing you have too, whether or not you realize it.

He says the vines, likely an invasive species called kudzu, are hiding in plain sight. 

From Patapsco Valley State Park in Elkridge to Rolling Road in Catonsville to his backyard in Arbutus, "If you casually glance left or right as you're driving around on pretty much any road and around Interstate 695, you see the blight from the vines everywhere."

Unlike other invasive species that enter an ecosystem as an escaped houseplant or a burr on a traveler’s pant leg, kudzu was planted intentionally, according to Debra Ricigliano, horticulture consultant with the University of Maryland Home and Garden Information Center.

Although she cannot be 100 percent sure from these pictures, she said kudzu is likely the vine that Barnett is after.

“It has a different history than other invasive species,” she said Tuesday, “It was actually planted many years ago in many areas to stabilize banks” she said, and it was planted by local, state and in some cases, federal authorities.

Ricigliano lives in western Howard County and said she sees kudzu on the banks of the Triadelphia Reservoir. “I watch it grow every year. I don’t see it spreading, like a lot of other invasive plants, but it is pretty impressive. It just climbs all the way up the trees.”

Once it engulfs trees, it can form “impenetrable masses,” and “completely envelop a tree, killing it by shutting out all light,” according to the University of Florida’s Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants.

The vine is listed as an “invasive species of concern” by the Maryland Invasive Species Council. It’s even listed as an example of an invasive species on the front page of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) website.

According to Jonathan McKnight, a biologist with DNR, Barnett can get advice from the state about how best to deal with the vines, but not hands on the ground. And he cannot "manage" the vines on anyone else's proeprty without permission from the owner. 

"Most of the work we do with invasive plants is on 'naturally significant' properties,'" he said. "Natural areas that have rare and endangered species," probably not back yards and suburban hiking paths. 

The task then falls to volunteer groups such as Tree Savers of Catonsville, who work with The Patapsco Heritage Greenway Inc.  And it falls to individuals such as Barnett and his 7-year-old daughter, who have taken to cutting down the vines on their hikes. 

“These trees seem to be coming down fast,” he said. “So logic says that if this isn’t addressed rapidly, we’re going to be living in some seriously nasty bleakness in our not too distant future.”

McKnight didn't mince words, either.

"Frankly, as far as we know with the technology we have today, kudzu is here to stay." 

Is kudzu or another invasive species ruining your property? Or just your view? Tell us in the comments and, if you have any, upload pictures by clicking "Upload Photos and Videos."