Affection with an ulterior motive.
What could be better than a warm embrace on a cold afternoon? This twisty-turny vine wraps itself around the sleeping stem of a winter dogwood but not out of tender compassion. The best I could learn from my resources is that it’s an invasive noxious weed called black swallow-wort with the ominous nickname “dog strangle vine” that overtakes and suppresses other vegetation.
“Cauld is the blast upon my fair cheek, but caulder thy love for me, oh: The frost that freezes the life at my heart, Is nought to my pains frae thee, oh.”
Robert Burns
A member of the milkweed family, the swallow-wort can have a negative impact on monarch butterflies by displacing the common milkweed, the only food that nurtures them. From Main to Minnesota to Nebraska, this snuggly little vine grows quickly and spreads easily, sneaking up on shrubs, trees, even corn and soybean fields and grabbing hold before anyone notices.
Once established it is very difficult to eradicate this dog(wood) strangle vine.
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