I live in Massachusetts, which is plagued each fall by the invasive black swallow-wort (variously Cynanchum louiseae, Cynanchum nigrum, or Vincetoxicum nigrum). This year, I've been hoping to uproot the sprouts rather than waiting for their extremely prolific seed pods to mature. I've seen plenty of what I think are swallow-wort sprouts (this is the right time of year), but their appearance is fairly different from their mature form and I want to make sure before I go uprooting a bunch of them.
On the left is the plant I think is a black swallow-wort. On the right is a photo from a blog that the author identifies as a black swallow-wort.
Am I correct in thinking that the plant on the left is a young black swallow-wort?
BLACK SWALLOW-WORT (Cynanchum louiseae) Herbaceous, perennial vine twines 3 – 8 feet high. Leaves opposite, 2 – 5 inches long, toothless, narrowly to broadly oval, pointed tips, dark green and shiny. Flowers tiny, dark purple with 5 pointed, downy, triangular petals that are as long as wide. Seedpods milkweed-like, slender and tapered, 1.5 – 3 inches long. Seed on silky filaments. Threatens woodlands, forests, grasslands and savannas.