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I'm in Massachusetts, and recently moved into a new house. We have a vine in the yard which I have been having trouble identifying so far, and I was hoping someone here might know.

It has not yet flowered, so I am unable to give any information on the flower.

When I pull the roots, they are long runners, and smell sweet.

It likes climbing things, as may be obvious from the photos, and I first noticed it because it was coming up in the lawn. It appears to like to be in similar places to a sweet pea vine and a (probably) bittersweet nightshade vine.

Basically, I'm not sure if it's something we want to be keeping, or trying to completely eradicate. (I don't actually think I can completely eradicate it unless I destroy the yard, mind you)

Thanks!

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3 Answers 3

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From the photos, and your description it sounds like Morning Glory. They can be cultivated as a flower, but they're most usually known as a troublesome weed that's very hard to eradicate. They will grow back from the smallest segment of root, so pulling them up means taking a lot of care not to leave little pieces behind. They can also smother other more desirable plants -- as I think you're finding out.

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  • Aka Bindweed! Not easy to eradicate...
    – Mancuniensis
    Jun 26, 2011 at 13:16
  • Part of why I wasn't sure if it was a Morning Glory is because I thought it was an annual in places with frost. I did notice that the wiki link you gave indicated that some are able to handle frost, though. Sigh... Thanks!
    – Suzanne Hillman
    Jun 27, 2011 at 2:31
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Looks like a Chinese yam! I have one tooo! http://na.fs.fed.us/spfo/invasiveplants/factsheets/pdf/chinese-yam.pdf

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Convolvulus is the common name in New Zealand... creeps thru everything and so hard to get rid of... dont throw it in your compost!!! Just keep digging it out as even the tiniest bit will regrow... basically you can only keep on top of it and sometimes never get rid of it!!

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  • Could you give some information as to why this is your identification? Thanks!
    – wax eagle
    May 21, 2014 at 14:13
  • @waxeagle convolvulus is the scientific genus name of morning glory group.
    – J. Musser
    May 22, 2014 at 2:49

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