This description covers characteristics that may be relevant to fire ecology and is not meant for identification. Keys for identification are available (e.g., [60,65,66]).
As its common name suggests, stinkvine is a bad-smelling climber. It produces slender stems that may reach 30 feet (9 m) long. Stems are woody only at the base and twine to the right when supported [25,28,42,60]. Growth form and vine appearance are variable [36,40]. Leaves are evergreen in southern Florida but deciduous in central and northern Florida [36]. Stinkvines may grow prostrate or twine on other vegetation or supports. Ground-creeping vines form adventitious roots at the nodes [46,62]. Stinkvine generally produces opposite, heart-shaped leaves with pointed tips, entire margins, and long petioles [44]. Leaves are also possible in whorls of 3 [28]. Petioles commonly measure up to 2 inches (6 cm) long, and leaf blades are typically 2 to 5.5 inches (5-14 cm) long and up to 2 inches (5 cm) wide [60,62]. Sulfur compounds in the leaves and stems give stinkvine its smelly odor [25,37]. Stinkvine flowers occur in cymes that may form terminal panicles up to 12 inches (30 cm) long [60]. Flowers at the terminal end of the inflorescence open first. Flowers are short-lived, and stigmas are generally receptive for 2 days or less (see Pollination and breeding system) [41]. Stinkvine fruits are round, about the size of a large pea. The outer fruit covering becomes papery and falls away when seeds are mature [46,60]. Fruits contain 1 or 2 wingless seeds that are up to 5.5 mm long [26,62,66].
Stinkvine appears similar to sewer vine (P. cruddasiana) another nonnative vine that occurs in Florida, which can be distinguished from stinkvine by its oval fruits and winged seeds [25].
Stinkvine occurs as a nonnative species in Hawaii and the southeastern United States [62]. Its native Asian range extends from Japan through China to eastern India and south to the Philipines, Malaysia, and Indonesia [40]. In the United States, stinkvine has been reported outside of cultivation in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Texas, and Hawaii. Stinkvine occurs on the Hawaiian islands of Kauai, Oahu, Maui, and Hawaii [36]. In Florida, stinkvine populations occur from the northern counties of Suwannee and Gadsden south to Broward County [24]. Stinkvine is particularly abundant in Florida's Hernando and Pasco counties [11]. The current (2009) distribution and extent of stinkvine in Texas, Louisiana, Georgia, and the Carolinas is not well documented (review by [10]). Stinkvine populations are suspected in Mississippi and Alabama [36], although there were no reports of stinkvine in these states as of 2009. Plants Database provides a distribution map of stinkvine.
Introductions and local distribution changes: There were several stinkvine introductions made to the United States. It was first reported in Oahu, Hawaii, in 1854 [60]. The purpose of this introduction is unknown. Before 1897, stinkvine was introduced by the USDA as a potential fiber plant in Florida [25,32]. Based on early records and stinkvine's current distribution in Florida, the initial introduction site was likely a field station in Brooksville in west-central Florida [11,36]. Stinkvine was introduced in Florida again in 1916 and in 1932. The reasons for and fate of these introductions are unknown [32,36]. By 1903, stinkvine was collected from Seminole County, Florida [48], and before the second introduction of stinkvine in 1916, populations at Florida's Brooksville field station were considered "troublesome" [32]. By 1933, stinkvine was reported in thickets and fencerows in peninsular Florida (review by [25]). In 1968, stinkvine was spreading from a cultivation site in Darlington County, South Carolina [44]. It is likely that stinkvine was planted as an ornamental following its introduction to the United States [15], but reports and direct evidence of this are lacking. Stinkvine was first reported in Louisiana in 1983, when Thomas and McCoy [54] found large populations in the Jungle Botanical Gardens on Avery Island and also found plants growing over shrubs on the University of southwestern Louisiana campus in Lafayette Parish. In 1989 stinkvine was reported in Harris County, Texas [6], and an "extensive plant" was reported in Zoological Park in Randolph County, North Carolina, in 1998 [8].
Although not common at the most northern and southern portions of its US range [8,46], the extension of stinkvine's range into North Carolina and southern Florida is recent and suggests some long-distance dispersal mechanism. As of 1999, stinkvine's distribution in the Carolinas had not changed considerably [8]. On the Coastal Plain, stinkvine is generally limited to disturbed sites. Spread from cultivated sites has been limited (Radford and Weakly 1998 cited in [8]). In Florida, however, some reports indicate recent and fairly rapid southward spread. As of 1982, stinkvine was reported only as far south as Hillsborough County [65], but by 1996, stinkvine was reported as far south as Broward County, Florida [38]. Although surveys conducted in 1991 and 1995 in Broward County's Long Key Park did not report stinkvine, in a 1996 survey, it occupied over 6,810 feet² (633 m²) of the Park (Dehring 1999 cited in [38]).
Stinkvine occurs in a variety of habitats (see Habitat Types and Plant Communities). Changes in the fire frequency or fire severity in plant communities invaded by stinkvine were not described in the available literature (2009). However, because stinkvine often grows into tree canopies (reviews by [10,50,62]) the chance of crown fires could increase in areas with stinkvine, altering the fire behavior in areas adapted to primarily surface fires. In sandhills vegetation in Hernando County, Florida, researchers reported that prescribed fires laddered into tree canopies because of nonnative vines. Researchers reported that of the monitored trees with nonnative vines, 13 hardwoods and 1 longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) died on the burned plots, while just 2 hardwoods died on the unburned plots [13].
Stinkvine in Camden County, Georgia, observed by an adjacent property owner for 3 to 5 years prior to the photo date.The abundance of intertwining stems on sites infested with stinkvine could reduce the quantity and size of natural canopy gaps and support increased fire spread. Through severe shading or excessive weight (review by [10]), stinkvine may increase the abundance of fuels by causing stem breakage or mortality in shrub and tree populations. An increase in the abundance of dead material on a site could lead to an increase in the fire frequency, intensity, or severity on an invaded site. Although these changes in FIRE REGIMES and behavior are speculative, they highlight the need for more information about how stinkvine may affect the fire ecology of invaded habitats.
For more information on the aggressive growth of stinkvine and its effect on associated vegetation, see Impacts. See the Fire Regime Table for more information on FIRE REGIMES in plant communities where stinkvine may occur. Find further fire regime information for the plant communities in which this species may occur by entering the species name in the FEIS home page under "Find FIRE REGIMES".
Wide tolerance of climatic, hydrologic, and edaphic conditions is implied by the broad range of native and nonnative habitats occupied by stinkvine (see Habitat Types and Plant Communities) [24,36]. In its native and nonnative habitats, sites occupied by stinkvine may be disturbed or undisturbed, sunny or shady, dry or wet, and saline or salt free [15,24,40,66].
Climate: In the United States, stinkvine is most common in areas with tropical or subtropical climates, but based on its distribution in Japan, stinkvine could survive as far north as Delaware. In Japan, stinkvine reaches its northern limit in the Tohoku Region, where minimum temperatures generally range from -4 to 14 °F (-20 to -10 °C), which approximate the minimum temperatures just north of Delaware, Maryland, and the Virginias [37].
Climatic conditions for several native stinkvine habitats are provided as a potential guide for future US distributions. In Meghalaya, northeastern India, the climate is monsoonal with distinct wet-warm and cool-dry seasons. Annual precipitation averages 98 inches (2,500 mm), and average monthly temperatures are 37 to 72 °F (3-22 °C) [31]. On Miyakejima Island in the Pacific Ocean's western rim, the climate is warm temperate, and annual precipitation averages 110 inches (2,871 mm) [20]. In the Hitachi National Forest in central Japan, stinkvine occupies sites where the low monthly temperature averages 39 °F (3.8 °C); the high monthly temperature averages 77 °F (25 °C); and annual precipitation averages 59 inches (1,500 mm) [14].
By 1998, stinkvine populations in Florida had established above the frost line (Greger and Burks personal observations cited in [25]). In Hillsborough County, where stinkvine is most common, summers are warm, humid, and rainy, and winters are cool and dry. Annual precipitation averages 48 inches (1,219 mm), but over a 30-year period, precipitation averages ranged from 31 inches (799 mm) to 68 inches (1,720 mm). In August, the average maximum temperature is 90.3 °F (32.4 °C). Freezing temperatures are rare [33].
Elevation: In Asia, stinkvine is reported from sea level to 9,800 feet (3,000 m) [40], and in Hawaii, stinkvine occurs from sea level to 6,000 feet (1,830 m) [60]. Elevation ranges for stinkvine in the continental United States were not reported in the available literature (2009).
Soils: The variety of native and nonnative habitats and plant communities occupied by stinkvine suggests a wide tolerance of soil types and conditions, but detailed studies on the characteristics of invaded soils in the United States are lacking. In a subtropical forest in Meghalaya, northeastern India, stinkvine occurs in soils that are highly leached, nutrient poor, and acidic (pH 5-5.7) [31]. Stinkvine is abundant in hydric hammocks in Hillsborough County, Florida, where the sandy soils are poorly drained. While soils are typically saturated, rarely are they flooded for prolonged periods [33]. In flooding experiments, stinkvine "vigor" decreased with flooding, and researchers reported "little healthy plant tissue" after 63 days of flooding. However, some pots contained live plant tissue after 192 days of flooding [52].
Impacts: Although quantitative studies on the ecological and economic impacts of stinkvine on invaded habitats are lacking, anecdotal and visual evidence of stinkvine's impact on native plants and vegetation structure is abundant. As of 2005, the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council listed stinkvine as a Category 1 invasive species based on documented ecological damage. In Florida, stinkvine has altered native plant communities by displacing native species and/or by changing community structure or ecological functions [9]. In Mead Gardens Park in Winter Park, Florida, stinkvine had been established for years, but in 1992, park officials reported that in several months of rainy weather it increased in size and came to occupy 6 acres (2.4 ha) of the 55-acre (22 ha) Park [35].
Stinkvine growing in Keaukaha, HawaiiStinkvine has invaded many habitat types and is not restricted to disturbed areas [24]. As of 1996, stinkvine was reported in natural areas of Florida's Hillsborough, Hernando, Pasco, Citrus, Marion, Sumter, Lake, Orange, and Polk counties (Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council 1996 cited in [25]). There have also been recent expansions of stinkvine's nonnative range to the north and south (see Local distibution changes).
Dense shading by extensive stinkvine clones as well as the weight of multiple climbing stems can eventually damage or kill herbaceous vegetation, shrubs, and trees, creating canopy gaps. In these gaps, stinkvine establishment and growth can be rapid, limiting the recruitment of shrub and tree seedlings and saplings and preventing normal forest regeneration (reviews by [10,62]). In the Jungle Botanical Gardens in Iberia Parish, Louisiana, Thomas and McCoy [54] found large stinkvine populations and likened their growth to that of Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) and Japanese climbing fern (Lygodium japonicum), two other nonnative species that have negatively impacted wildland habitats. Near Asheville, North Carolina, a recently discovered stinkvine clone was climbing over shrubs, into low tree branches, and along the ground for lengths of up to 13 feet (4 m). The clone had established beneath an American beech (Fagus grandifolia) planted about 6 years earlier. The researcher speculated that stinkvine seed was a contaminant in the tree's root ball or was dispersed by a migratory bird [8]. In Florida, observations suggest that dense stinkvine growth has reduced the density and cover of native herbaceous species [13], and stinkvine has smothered and killed portions of one of the few remaining populations of Cooley's water willow (Justicia cooleyi), a federal endangered species (Bowman and Martin 1995 personal communiciations cited in [25]). In wet disturbed lowland sites of Hilo, Hawaii, and on the island of Maui, stinkvine growth is dense and often forms blankets over other vegetation. On Maui, stinkvine reaches at least 33 feet (10 m) into tree canopies [50].
In Hawaii, stinkvine is linked to economic impacts in ornamental plant nurseries. When stinkvine invades fields used to propagate ornamental plants, control is difficult. Because nontarget effects must be minimized, the number of potential control methods is reduced and often the labor and economic costs associated with control are increased [36].
Control: Control of nonnative invasive species is most effective when it employs a long-term, ecosystem-wide strategy rather than a tactical approach focused on an individual species [29]. When targeting a nonnative species for control, the potential for other invasive species to fill their void must be considered, regardless of the control method used [5].
Fire: For information on the use of prescribed fire to control this species, see Fire Management Considerations.
Prevention: It is commonly argued that the most cost-efficient and effective method of managing invasive species is by preventing their establishment and spread through the maintenance of "healthy" natural communities [29,47,56] and by continual monitoring [19]. Maintaining the integrity of the native plant community and mitigating the factors that enhance ecosystem invasibility are likely to be more effective than managing solely to control the invader [17].
Weed prevention and control can be incorporated into many types of management plans, including those for logging and site preparation, grazing allotments, recreation management, research projects, road building and maintenance, and fire management [57]. See the Guide to noxious weed prevention practices [57] for specific guidelines in preventing the spread of weed seeds and propagules under different management conditions.
Physical or mechanical control: Hand-pulling and cutting the stems of established stinkvines rarely provides effective control [24]. Seedlings and small plants may be easily pulled by hand, but cutting and pulling established stems promotes sprouting (review by [62]). In Florida, stinkvine was sprouting 2 weeks after hand-pulling [52]. Stems within a stinkvine clone found near Asheboro, North Carolina, were pulled or cut in October 1998. Stinkvine sprouts occurred by mid-April 1999 [8]. Researchers recommend careful disposal of cut or pulled stems to limit the number of fruits, seeds, and stem fragments left on the treated site [24]. During seed bank studies conducted in Florida, a fraction of skunkvinve seeds remained viable for at least 3 years, suggesting that treated sites should be monitored for seedlings for at least 4 years [26].
Biological control: There has been testing on a Japanese flea beetle (Trachyaphthona sordida) that appears to be a skunkvinve specialist [37]. As of 2009, no biological controls had been released.
Many factors must be considered and evaluated before biological controls are released. Refer to these sources: [59,64] and the Weed control methods handbook [55] for background information and important considerations for developing and implementing biological control programs.
Chemical control: Sprouting is common after herbicide treatments on stinkvine [28]. A single herbicide application does not control stinkvine [24]. When stinkvine is growing over or in desirable native vegetation, vines should be pulled off of this vegetation before herbicides are applied. Herbicides are considered most effective if applied while stinkvine is actively growing in the spring or summer [28].
A review recommends cutting stinkvine stems and then applying herbicides to cut bases and prostrate stems. This method should increase the effectivness of herbicides and minimize nontarget effects [10], but treated sites should probably be monitored for seedling establishment for at least 4 years [26].
While herbicides are effective in gaining initial control of a new invasion or a severe infestation, rarely do they provide a complete or long-term weed management solution [7]. See the Weed control methods handbook [55] for considerations on the use of herbicides in natural areas and detailed information on specific chemicals.
Integrated management: No information is available on this topic.
Pollination and breeding system: Stinkvine flowers are perfect, protandrous, and self incompatible [26,41,46]. In the greenhouse, stinkvine flowers protected from insects failed to produce fruit. When researchers artificially cross pollinated flowers, about 70% set fruit [41]. At field sites in Florida, no bagged flowers produced fruits, but more than 20% of unprotected flowers produced fruits [27].
Flowers are insect pollinated. Honeybees and other bees pollinated stinkvine flowers in Ogasawara Islands, Japan [1]. Butterflies were common pollinators in China, Malaysia, and Indonesia [41]. In Florida, 15 insect species visited stinkvine flowers; all insects were native to Florida, except European honey bees (Apis mellifera), which were most common on stinkvine flowers in an open field. Halictid bees were the most common visitors in the swamp forest and at a successional site where trees and shrubs were establishing. The number of insect visits/watch was significantly greater in the swamp forest than at the successional site (P<0.05). Stinkvine flowers produced up to 0.4 mm of nectar by volume, and sugar concentrations ranged from 20% to 35% [27].
Individual stinkvine flowers are short lived, and stigmas are receptive for a short period of time. However, stinkvine may produce many inflorescences each with multiple flowers, so plants may have open, receptive flowers for 6 weeks or more [41]. In Florida, stinkvine plants had multiple open flowers each day. Flowers generally opened before or at dawn and dropped petals by the next morning [27]. Once petals fall, stigmas are no longer receptive [41]. In Ogasawara Islands, Japan, stinkvine produced 11 to 100 flowers/inflorescence and 101 to 1,000 inflorescences/plant [1].
Wind and animal dispersal of stinkvine seeds are likely in the United States. From experiments and calculations, researchers estimated that stinkvine seeds falling from 16 feet (5 m) above ground when horizontal winds were 5.9 feet (1.8 m)/s could travel 8.9 feet (2.7 m). Distances increased to 36 feet (10.9 m) and 72 feet (21.8 m) in winds of 23 feet (7 m)/s and 46 feet (14 m)/s, respectively [43].
Although direct evidence of animals dispersing stinkvine seeds in the United States is lacking, several sources indicate that animal dispersal is suspected ([3,28], review by [10]). Field studies in Japanese black pine stands in Japan showed that birds removed an average of 66.9 stinkvine fruits/plant. Brown-eared bulbuls, pale thrushes, dusky thrushes, and Japanese white-eyes were the most common dispersers. These birds consumed whole fruits but also dropped many fruits. During the study, there were 95 stinkvine seeds dropped beneath stinkvine plants, 71 beneath Japanese callicarpa (Callicarpa japonica), 35 beneath linden arrowwood (Viburnum dilatatum), and 32 beneath Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica). Researchers collected both fruits and exposed seeds. Exposed seeds were likely the result of defecation or regurgitation. Seed viability was not tested [53].
In the United States, reports of stinkvine seed production are variable. As of 2003, stinkvine fruits had not been observed in Maui, Hawaii [50]. This lack of fruit production was likely the result of few and/or untimely observations and not environmental or pollinator issues [49]. As of 1976, reports and observations of stinkvine fruit or seed production in Florida were lacking [32]; however, in a study published in 2008, stinkvine plants in Florida produced ten or more fruit clusters, and each fruit cluster contained hundreds of berries (personal observation cited in [26]). An "extensive" stinkvine plant growing near Asheville, North Carolina, produced 24 panicles but just 2 berries [8].
In a Japanese black pine (Pinus thunbergii) stand on coastal sand dunes in central Japan, stinkvine averaged 114.9 fruits/plant, 1,900 fruits/ha, and 3,800 seeds/ha. On average, birds removed 66.9 fruits/plant [53].
Studies highlighting conditions most suitable for stinkvine seedling establishment and growth are lacking. A study along the Arakawa River floodplain near Urawa City, Japan, suggests that stinkvine seedlings establish on disturbed sites. There were 0.3 stinkvine seedlings/m² in moist tall grasslands that were burned each winter for 30 years. There were 1.8 stinkvine seedlings/m² on sites that were "cleared" in the winter for the last 6 years. Methods for clearing vegetation were not described. No stinkvine seeds were trapped on the burned site, but 16.7 stinkvine seed/m² were trapped on the cleared site [30].
During a recent expansion of stinkvine in Mead Gardens Park, Winter Park, Florida, park officials estimated that stems grew 2 to 3 inches (5-7.5 cm) per day. stinkvine had almost completely covered 60-foot (18 m) magnolia (Magnolia spp.) trees. Rapid growth coincided with rainy weather [35].
Paederia foetida is a species of plant, with common names that are variations of skunkvine, stinkvine, or Chinese fever vine.[3] It is native to temperate, and tropical Asia; and has become naturalized in the Mascarenes, Melanesia, Polynesia, and the Hawaiian Islands, also found in North America by recent studies.[2]
Paederia foetida is known for the strong, sulphurous odour exuded when its leaves or stems are crushed or bruised.[4] This is because the oil responsible for the smell, and found primarily within the leaves, contains sulphur compounds, including largely dimethyl disulphide.[5]
P. foetida is native to Bangladesh and southern Bhutan; Cambodia; Taiwan and China (in Hong Kong and Macau, and the provinces of Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Xizang, Yunnan, Zhejiang); India (in Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Sikkim, Telangana, in the northern part of West Bengal, and the Andaman and Nicobar islands); Indonesia; Japan (in Honshu, Kyushu, Shikoku prefectures, as well as in the Ryukyu Islands); Laos; Malaysia; Myanmar; Nepal; the Philippines; Singapore; South Korea; Thailand; and Vietnam.[2]
It is sometimes planted as an ornamental, and has virtue in folk medicine.[2][6] It is also used as a culinary spice in some traditional cooking in North Eastern and Eastern India. In Hainanese cuisine, the leaves are ground into flour and mixed with rice to form noodles used in a sweet soup.[7]
The caterpillars of four hawkmoth species are recorded to feed on P. foetida: Neogurelca hyas, Macroglossum corythus, M. pyrrhosticta and M. sitiene.[8]
Paederia foetida is a species of plant, with common names that are variations of skunkvine, stinkvine, or Chinese fever vine. It is native to temperate, and tropical Asia; and has become naturalized in the Mascarenes, Melanesia, Polynesia, and the Hawaiian Islands, also found in North America by recent studies.
Paederia foetida is known for the strong, sulphurous odour exuded when its leaves or stems are crushed or bruised. This is because the oil responsible for the smell, and found primarily within the leaves, contains sulphur compounds, including largely dimethyl disulphide.
