How to Identify Porcelain Berry Vine

It's all about the berries with the Porcelain berry vine. But this climbing woodland wonder can be invasive and many states have to work hard to keep it under control in their forest areas. But, would you know it if you saw it? Here are a few tips on how to identify this grape-like tree-grabber.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Analyze the type of plant you are identifying. If the plant requires support and has tendrils helping it to climb on a tree or wall or creep on the ground it's a vine. Porcelain berry is a deciduous vine in the grape family.

2. Inspect the area where the plant is growing. Porcelain berry grows well in full sun to partial shade in forests, river banks, and thickets. It can be a very invasive vine, growing thick mats of vine that shade young trees and shrubs and is usually not used as a landscape plant

3. Determine how the vine is attached to the tree or structure. Porcelain berry vine climbs 20 feet or more using nonadhesive tendrils that twine around the object of support.

4. Examine the leaves. Porcelain berry has 5 inch dark green coarsely toothed 3 or 5 lobed leaves.

5. Consider the time of year you are viewing the plant. From June through August small greenish-white flowers appear on the Porcelain berry. Berries emerge in summer starting out a cream, yellow or even pale lavender color. The colorful fruit turns to green, bright blue or black in late summer. Porcelain berry leaves have no fall color change.