Persicaria perfoliata, commonly known as mile-a-minute vine or Asiatic tearthumb, is an invasive vine from Asia that poses a significant threat to the health of many preserves. This vine features small, triangular leaves and thorny stems. Removing the plant before it goes to seed is optimal and especially before the berries, each of which contains a single seed, mature. The time to act is when the berries turn from green to pink and blue and are easily knocked to the ground.

To mitigate next year’s growth, our dedicated team of volunteers worked this fall to remove the berries from the plants and bag them. This effort prevents the berries from entering the seed bank and germinating. Additionally, we place the bags in the sun in an attempt to heat up the contents and kill any remaining seeds before proper disposal, further reducing the risk of spread.

In September, a group of 20 students from the Grenville Baker Boys and Girls Club joined us to cut and bag berries in the Humes Preserve meadow. A week later, five AmeriCorps volunteers lent their support as well. Across our multiple meadows and with the help of many of our volunteers, we successfully removed and bagged over 40 contractor bags worth of mile-a-minute vine and its berries. Thanks to their hard work, we anticipate a lighter seed load next year.