Golden creeper (Thladiantha dubia)

Synonyms: Thladiantha sparsiflora

Common Names: Red hailstone, Manchu tubergourd, wild potato

Description:

Golden creeper (Thladiantha dubia), also called red hailstone, is a fast-growing climbing vine in the cucumber family, native to eastern Asia [1][2]. It was brought to North America as an ornamental and has escaped into the wild, where it drapes over other plants and spreads underground by potato-like tubers [3][4]. MISIN tracks it because it can blanket shrubs and small trees and is very hard to remove once its tubers are in the soil [3][4].

Habit:

Golden creeper is a herbaceous (non-woody) climbing vine that can grow up to about 18 feet in a single season, scrambling over other plants with the help of long, unbranched tendrils [3]. The whole plant is hairy ? the stems carry a mix of long straight and short hooked hairs ? and the leaves are heart-shaped, 2 to 6 inches long, with small teeth along the edge and a single coiling tendril opposite each leaf [3]. From summer into fall it produces showy, bell-shaped, bright yellow flowers about an inch long, with five lobes that curl back [3].

It is easiest to spot in mid to late summer, when the yellow bell flowers open and the vine forms a blanket of leaves over shrubs, fences, and the forest edge [4]. Male and female flowers grow on separate plants; in much of North America only male plants have been found, so the plants rarely make fruit and instead spread by their roots [4].

At-a-glance cues:

1. Fast-growing hairy vine (to about 18 ft in a season) climbing by long, unbranched tendrils [3]
2. Heart-shaped, finely toothed leaves, 2 to 6 inches long, with a single tendril opposite each leaf [3]
3. Showy, bell-shaped, bright yellow flowers about 1 inch long with 5 curled-back lobes, summer to fall [3]
4. Small potato-like tubers on the roots; blankets shrubs and small trees [3][4]

Leaves:

1. Arrangement: alternate along the stem, with a single unbranched tendril opposite each leaf [3]
2. Shape: heart-shaped, 2 to 6 inches long and 1.5 to 4 inches wide, on a stalk up to about 2.5 inches long [3]
3. Margin: minutely toothed [3]
4. Surface: hairy [3]

Stems:

1. Habit: herbaceous, weakly angled climbing vine, light green [3]
2. Texture: covered with long straight and short hooked hairs [3]
3. Climbing: grasps supports with long, unbranched tendrils [3]
4. Roots: bears small, potato-like underground tubers [4]

Flowers:

1. Color: bright yellow (golden) [3]
2. Shape: bell-shaped, about 1 inch long, with 5 curled-back lobes [3]
3. Arrangement: single or a few on stalks from the leaf joints [3]
4. Sex: male and female flowers on separate plants; male flowers have 5 stamens, female flowers a 3-parted style [3]
5. Bloom time: summer into fall [4]

Fruit and seeds:

1. Fruit: a berry-like, oval fruit up to about 2 inches long, with a hairy rind that ripens green to red, holding many grey-to-black seeds [3]
2. Note: only female plants make fruit; where only male plants occur (much of North America), no fruit or seed forms [4]
3. Spread instead: mainly by underground tubers, which can even float and travel along waterways (see Reproduction) [4]

Habitat:

Golden creeper grows in disturbed, open, and edge habitats ? degraded land, cornfields and other croplands, eroded floodplain forests, and along railroads and roadsides ? where it climbs over other plants [3]. It is native to eastern Asia, from the Russian Far East through China and Korea [2]. It is not native to North America; it was introduced as an ornamental (and sometimes for herbal use) and has escaped into the wild, mainly in the upper Midwest and Northeast [1][4].

Reproduction:

Golden creeper spreads mostly by its roots, not by seed. Its underground stems bear small, potato-like tubers, and a broken-off tuber can grow into a whole new plant ? tubers can even float and drift downstream to start new patches along waterways [4]. Male and female flowers grow on separate plants, and in much of North America only male plants have been found, so the vines usually make no fruit or seed at all and rely almost entirely on this underground spread [4].

Because it comes back from tubers, control is difficult and slow. Cutting or pulling the vines is not enough ? every tuber has to be dug out, and any piece left in the soil, or moved in fill dirt, can restart the patch [3][4].

Impact and Damage:

Golden creeper is not toxic, but it is an aggressive vine that smothers other plants. For a homeowner, it climbs over shrubs, fences, and garden plants and forms a heavy blanket of leaves that shades out what is underneath, and it is very hard to dig out because of its potato-like tubers [3][4]. Where it escapes a yard, it can spread through nearby ground and along waterways from drifting tubers [4].

For natural areas, the concern is the same smothering habit at a larger scale: golden creeper drapes over shrubs and small trees along forest edges, floodplains, and disturbed ground, shading and outcompeting native plants [3]. It is an early-detection species in parts of the upper Midwest ? caught early, a patch can be dug out before its tubers spread it widely [3][4].

Similar species:

A few native climbing vines can be mistaken for golden creeper.

Wild cucumber (Echinocystis lobata) is a native vine in the same family, but its leaves are palmately lobed like a maple leaf rather than heart-shaped, its flowers are small and white in upright clusters, and its fruit is a spiny, inflated pod ? quite unlike golden creeper's yellow bells [3].

Bur cucumber (Sicyos angulatus) is another native cucumber-family vine with lobed leaves and small greenish-white flowers, and it climbs with branched tendrils and makes clusters of spiny burs ? golden creeper has heart-shaped leaves, single unbranched tendrils, and showy yellow flowers [3].

Wild yam (Dioscorea villosa) is a native vine whose heart-shaped leaves look similar, but it twines around supports without tendrils and has tiny greenish flowers, unlike golden creeper's grasping tendrils and bright yellow bells ? confirm the plant before removing it, since wild yam is native [3].

Monitoring and rapid response:

Signs to watch for:

1. A fast-growing, hairy vine with heart-shaped leaves and single coiling tendrils blanketing shrubs, fences, and forest edges [3]
2. Showy, bell-shaped, bright yellow flowers about an inch long in summer to fall [3]
3. Small potato-like tubers on the roots when you dig [3][4]

What you can do:

1. Dig out the plant and all of its potato-like tubers ? because it regrows from tubers, cutting or pulling the vine alone won't work; remove every tuber, and return to dig up any you missed [3][4]
2. Do it as early as possible, while the patch is small ? an established patch with many tubers is very hard to clear [4]
3. Bag and dispose of the vines and tubers in the trash; never compost them or leave tubers on the soil, and don't move soil or fill from an infested area, since tubers restart the plant [3][4]
4. Keep tubers out of water ? they can float and start new patches downstream [4]
5. Natural area crews should treat golden creeper as an early-detection target: find and dig new patches before the tubers spread, and monitor a site for several years [3][4]
6. Report sightings (below) ? this is a watch species, so early reports are valuable [3]

When to call a professional:

1. Large or well-established patches, or infestations along waterways or through valued plantings, where digging out every tuber isn't practical ? a land manager or licensed applicator can plan a multi-year approach [3][4]
2. 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 NRCS PLANTS Database. Thladiantha dubia Bunge (Manchu tubergourd). plants.usda.gov
2. Plants of the World Online (Kew). Thladiantha dubia Bunge. powo.science.kew.org
3. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Red hailstone (Thladiantha dubia). dnr.state.mn.us
4. University of Minnesota Extension. Red hailstone. extension.umn.edu

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