Field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis)

Synonyms: Strophocaulos arvensis

Common Names: Field morning-glory, morning glory, small bindweed, devil's guts

Description:

Field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis) is a trailing, twining vine from Europe and Asia that arrived in North America as a contaminant in farm and garden seed, reaching the Atlantic seaboard from Virginia to Maine by the early 1800s [1]. It's considered one of the most persistent and economically damaging weeds in North American agriculture, thanks to a root system that can run many feet deep and survive almost any attempt at removal [1]. MISIN tracks it because, once established, it's exceptionally difficult to eliminate and can spread well beyond the garden bed or field where it started.

Habit:

Field bindweed is a perennial vine with slender, trailing or twining stems 8 to 79 inches long, arrow-shaped leaves, and funnel-shaped flowers about 1 to 2 inches across, usually white or pale pink [1][2]. It's easiest to notice from late spring through summer, when it's actively climbing fences, other plants, and structures and producing its morning-glory-like flowers, which open for only a single day each [1]. Its real identifying feature, though, is underground: a deep, cord-like taproot that can extend several feet down, with lateral roots spreading widely just below the surface ? which is why pulling the visible vine rarely removes the whole plant [1].

At-a-glance cues:

1. Slender, trailing or twining vine with arrow-shaped leaves [1][2]
2. Funnel-shaped flowers about 1 to 2 inches across, white to pale pink, each lasting only a single day [1][2]
3. Small leafy bracts set about an inch below the flower, not touching or hiding its base [2]
4. A deep, persistent, cord-like taproot that regrows even after the vine is pulled or cut [1]

Leaves:

1. Arrangement: alternate, on stalks (petioles) 0.2 to 1.6 inches (5 to 40 mm) long [1]
2. Shape: variable, generally arrow-shaped, 0.4 to 4 inches long and 0.1 to 2.4 inches wide [1]
3. Surface: smooth to lightly hairy, depending on the individual plant [1]

Stems:

1. Habit: slender, trailing to twining perennial vine, branched, 8 to 79 inches long [1]
2. Root system: a deep, persistent, cord-like taproot reaching several feet down, with fleshy lateral roots spreading mainly in the top foot of soil [1]

Flowers:

1. Color: white to pale pink [2]
2. Shape: broadly funnel-shaped, 0.6 to 1.2 inches long and 0.9 to 1.4 inches across [1]
3. Arrangement: 1 to several flowers on stalks (peduncles) 0.2 to 2.4 inches long, arising from the leaf axils [1]
4. Bloom time: late spring through summer; each individual flower lasts only one day [1]

Fruit and seeds:

1. Fruit type: a small capsule holding 1 to 4 seeds [1]
2. Seed size: about 3 to 4 mm long [1]
3. Dispersal: carried by water, in the digestive tracts of animals that eat the plant, on vehicles and equipment, and in contaminated crop seed [1]
4. Seed longevity: seeds have a hard, water-resistant coat and can remain viable in the soil for 20 to 50 years, with some studies finding seeds still viable after 50 years of burial [1]

Habitat:

Field bindweed is native to Europe and Asia and has spread across nearly all of the United States and southern Canada, with the notable exception of the extreme Southeast and parts of the desert Southwest [1]. It grows in cultivated fields, gardens, lawns, roadsides, and railroad rights-of-way, tolerating dry or moderately moist soils and surviving long droughts thanks to its deep root system, though it grows most vigorously on rich, fertile ground [1].

Reproduction:

Field bindweed spreads two ways, and both matter for a homeowner. Its seeds travel in water, in the droppings of animals that have eaten the plant, on vehicles and equipment, and in contaminated crop or garden seed ? so a new patch can show up on a property with no help from the gardener at all [1]. Once established, it also spreads underground: buds on its roots grow into new shoots and rhizomes, and a single plant's root system can send up a new shoot nearly 10 feet from the original plant within about a year and a half [1]. Even a small root fragment left in the soil after pulling or tilling can regrow into a whole new plant [1].

A single plant can produce anywhere from about a dozen to several hundred seeds, and dense infestations can drop tens of millions of seeds per acre [1]. Because those seeds can stay viable in the soil for decades, a property can keep producing new field bindweed plants long after any visible vines have been removed ? which is why repeated, multi-year effort (rather than a single cleanup) is central to any real control plan [1].

Impact and Damage:

Field bindweed isn't known to be toxic or hazardous to people or pets, but it's one of the most economically damaging weeds in North American agriculture and one of the hardest to get rid of in a home garden. A landmark analysis of crop losses across the ten most heavily infested U.S. states put the annual cost of field bindweed at more than $377 million a year in reduced crop value and increased production costs [3]. Dense infestations have been shown to cause 20% to 50% yield loss in cereal crops and 50% to 80% yield loss in row crops [3]. In a home garden or lawn, that same competitive ability plays out as a vine that climbs and smothers other plants, robbing them of light, water, and nutrients.

For natural areas, field bindweed can invade disturbed ground, formerly cultivated land, and riparian areas, where it outcompetes native grasses and other vegetation, especially during drought when its deep root system gives it an edge over shallower-rooted natives [1]. A 2018 meta-analysis of dozens of published bindweed studies found that most management research focuses on short-term control (within 2 years of treatment) and that herbicide use dominates the published literature, with far fewer studies measuring actual long-term crop-yield recovery ? a reminder that knocking bindweed back is easier than actually eliminating it [4].

Similar species:

Hedge bindweed (Calystegia sepium) is field bindweed's closest and most common look-alike, and the two are frequently confused in gardens and along field edges. The clearest way to tell them apart is the pair of bracts just below the flower: field bindweed's bracts are small and set roughly an inch below the flower, not touching its base, while hedge bindweed has large, leafy bracts that press against and partly hide the base of the flower. Flower size is another reliable clue ? field bindweed's blooms run about 1 to 2 inches across, while hedge bindweed's are typically larger than 2 inches. Leaf shape differs too: field bindweed's leaves are arrow-shaped with a fairly flat base, while hedge bindweed's leaves are more triangular with a deeply lobed base.

Monitoring and rapid response:

Signs to watch for:

1. A trailing or twining vine with arrow-shaped leaves climbing fences, other plants, or structures from late spring through summer [1]
2. White to pale pink, funnel-shaped flowers about 1 to 2 inches across, each open for only a single day [1][2]
3. A vine that keeps coming back in the same spot after pulling ? a sign of its deep, persistent root system [1]

What you can do:

1. Hand-pull or hoe new seedlings as soon as they appear, before the root system has a chance to establish ? this is far easier in the first year than once the plant is mature
2. For established patches, repeated removal of the above-ground vine ? cutting it back every couple of weeks through the growing season ? gradually drains the root system's stored energy, though full exhaustion can take one to several years [1]
3. Smothering a patch with a thick layer of mulch, cardboard, or heavy landscape fabric for at least a full growing season can help suppress regrowth by blocking light
4. Bag and trash pulled vines that already have seed capsules, rather than composting them, since seeds can survive for decades in the soil [1]
5. Natural-area crews: prioritize small, newly established patches for eradication before they build a deep root system, and consider that shading a site (about 50% shade or more, sustained for several years) can help suppress an established infestation over time [1]

When to call a professional:

1. Large or long-established infestations across a field, pasture, or natural area, where hand removal alone won't keep pace with the root system's spread
2. Sites where field bindweed is competing with valuable crops or native plantings and a coordinated, multi-year management plan is needed
3. For chemical control options, contact a licensed applicator or your local cooperative extension office.

Report sightings to MISIN. Help track this species' spread by submitting observations through the MISIN web site or the MISIN mobile app (Android, iOS, Windows, and macOS). Photos at multiple angles paired with a precise GPS location are the most valuable data for confirming new occurrences and triggering rapid-response review.

Credits:

1. USDA Forest Service, Fire Effects Information System (FEIS). Convolvulus arvensis, field bindweed. fs.usda.gov
2. Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Bindweed Identification. cals.cornell.edu
3. Boldt PE, Rosenthal SS, Srinivasan R (1998). "Distribution of Field Bindweed and Hedge Bindweed in the USA." Journal of Production Agriculture 11(3):377?381. semanticscholar.org
4. Davis S, Mangold J, Menalled F, Orloff N, Miller Z, Lehnhoff E (2018). "A Meta-Analysis of Field Bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis) Management in Annual and Perennial Systems." Weed Science 66(4):540?547. semanticscholar.org

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