Mile-a-minute or asiatic tearthumb is a vine like annual weed in the Polygonaceae (buckwheat) family. It was brought over from Asia in the 1830's was spread through contamination of nursery stock and is now found growing in disturbed areas, roadsides, ditches, and streambanks in 11 states of the east coast and in Oregon. The common name "mile-a-minute" comes from its rapid growth rate reaching up to 20 feet long in one growing season. "Tearthumb" is a nod to the sharp barbs along the stem and the undersides of the leaves that can injure hands when pulling them up. It prefers bright sunny areas with moist, well-drained soils but it will invade dry shady areas as well. This fast growing vine has long trailing stems and distinct almost perfect equilateral triangle shaped leaves. The stems are pinkish red, jointed, and have curved prickles along them. It forms a dense mat of vegetation on the ground or scrambles up and over other plants blocking out light and killing them. The insignificant flowers lead to showy metallic blue fruits are enjoyed by birds but are also dispersed via waterways because they float. The roots are small and shallow making it easy to pull the plants up however the plants should be pulled before they go into fruit because the fruits shed very easily. If the plant already has fruits, remove them first and dispose of them in the trash and then pull the plant up. Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: It is a Class B noxious weed in North Carolina. See native alternatives to the left. Wear gloves when removing this vine to avoid injuries to the hands. Some positive results have been seen using weevils as a biological management strategy.
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist | Occasionally Dry
Growth rate
Rapid
Maintenance
High
Canopy layer
6 - Vine (vertical)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Dense; Spreading
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf shape
Deltoid
Leaf margin
Entire
Leaf size
1-3 inches long, 1-3 inches wide
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
Triangular thin alternate lime green leaves 1-3 inches long and wide with prickles on the undersurface along the midrib. Petioles are attached on the underside of the leaf in the middle.
Flower color
White
Flower form
Insignificant; Spike
Flower size
< 1 inch
Flower detail
Tiny white flowers, insignificant, lack any petals form around 1 inch long spikes in the axils of upper leaves or at the tips of stems.
Fruit color
Blue; Green; Purple/Lavender
Fruit detail
Immature fruits are green turning purple and then attractive metallic blue. They are self-pollinated, segmented and contain one glossy black or red-black seed. They appear in grape-like groups at stem tips mid-summer and last through the first frost. Fruits are buoyant so can float down waterways and are also transported by birds.
Stem color
Pink; Red/Burgundy
Stem detail
Slender pink to red stems have curved prickles along them. Stems are jointed at the nodes with rounded leaf-like stipules called ocrea.