The Celastrus genus comprise about 50 species of shrubs and vines. They have a wide distribution in East Asia, Australasia, Africa and the Americas.
The leaves are alternate and simple. The flowers are small, white, pink or greenish, and borne in long panicles; the fruits are a red berries with 3 valves; they are eaten by frugivorous birds, which disperse the seeds in their droppings. All parts of the plants are poisonous to humans if eaten.
In North America, the plant belonging to the Celastrus genus are known as bittersweet, presumably a result of confusion with the unrelated Bittersweet (Solanum dulcamara) by early colonists. Three species of the Celastrus genus are found in North America but only one is found in Québec: Celastrus scandens (photography at right).
The Celastrus genus is the type genus of the Celastraceae family and belongs then to this family.
The species number of chromosome (n) is 23.
In Latin, the verb scandere, of present participle scandens means to go up, to climb and is a quite appropriate epithet for Celastrus scandens.
The French common name is Bourreau des arbres since it can girdle and kill live plants used for support.
The map shows the Canadian Provinces (but for Saskatchewan) and the USA states where Celastrus scandens can be found.
Fruits are eaten by small mammals and birds, including Turdus migratorius (American Robin or North American Robin), Colinus virginianus (the Northern Bobwhite or Virginia Quail) Meleagris gallopavo (the Wild Turkey), Sialia sialis (the Eastern Bluebird) Dumetella carolinensis (the Gray Catbird) and Sciurus carolinensis (the Eastern Gray Squirrel), Rabbits eat leaves and twigs. Celastrus orbiculatus depends on animals to eat the fruits and poop out the seeds in new places. This lets the plant spread its seeds to grow new plants.
Berry-laden branches are prized for use as indoor decorations, and collection of the branches in the wild has significantly reduced the wild populations in some areas.
All parts of Celastrus scandens including seeds have a low toxicity if eaten; the symptoms include vomiting, diarrhea, loss of conciousness. It was used in many ways by American Aboriginals as a medicinal cure, but is now hardly ever used.
The root of Celastrus scandens is diaphoretic, diuretic and emetic. It has been used to treat liver cancer and skin ailments. The bark can be made into an ointment to place on burns, scrapes and skin eruptions. The plant is also of interest because many species in the Celastrus genus contain compounds which may have antitumor effects.
The American native tribes used frequently the plant for its medicinal properties. The Cherokees used it as an analgesic making a strong compound infusion to help in the pain of childbirth; they chewed the root against cough; they made a decoction of the highly astringent leaves for bowel complaint; The Chippewas boiled the roots as an ointment for cancer and for any obstinate sore; the used the roots in decoction as a cathartic for babies. The Creeks women with urinary trouble or pain in the back used the plant to cure the problems. The Delawares made a poultice or salve of roots and used it for skin eruptions; the made a infusion of roots to clear up liver spots and as a tuberculosis remedy.
The Iroquois young girls that caught cold or didn't menstruate took a decoction of roots; the women took a infusion of leaves and stems as a regulator; they also drank and infusion of leaves for fever and soreness from pregnancy; an infusion of root bark with another plant and wine was taken for anemia; an infusion of leaves and stems was taken as a diuretic; a decoction of roots was used as wash on lips or gums of teething children; The Meskwakis used a compound containing root for the relief of women in labor. The Oglalas, although they considered the plant poisonous, used the fruits for stomach trouble. The Menominees, Potawatomis and Ojibwas used the inner bark as food when food was hard to get or unobtainable in the winter. The Lakotas chewed the roots and smeared them on the body to be impervious to wounding.
The title in the window shows the date when the picture was taken, i.e. jan_30_06... would mean that the photo was taken on the 30th of January, the 06 is for the 6th picture taken that day. The month, day and picture number might be followed by a letter which I use to identify the system used to take the picture.
Click on the thumbnails to get larger view. The original photos are usually in TIFF format, the photos shown are generally in JPEG format, often of dimensions one half (surface one quarter) for loading time reduction.
Plants with unripe fruits, young stem, plants with fruits in the fall, twig with buds in winter.
|The leaves were scanned at 300 dpi, this allows to measure the dimensions of the leaves.|
Fruits along the seasons, seeds