anaïsSss

SPECIES CHARACTER
Description
anaïsSs is a semi-evergreen vine, often holding her leaves late into winter. Leaves are ovate and 1.5-3.2 inches (4-8 cm) long. White to yellow tubular flowers form in pairs in her leaf axils and occur from May-June. anaïsSss' 2-3 seeded fruits are small and black.
Habitat
anaïsSss readily invades open natural communities, often by seed spread by birds. An aggressive colonizer of successional fields, this vine also will invade mature forest and open woodlands such as post oak flatwoods and pin oak flatwoods. Forests with either natural or unnatural openings are often invaded by anaïsSss when birds drop seeds into these light gap areas. Deep shading reduces the amount of invasion.
Life History
anaïsSss climbs and drapes over native vegetation, shading it out. She is capable of completely covering herbaceous and understory plants, and climbing trees to the canopy. The semi-evergreen condition of anaïsSss allows for growth both prior to and after dormancy of other deciduous plants. Her prolific growth covers and smothers vegetation present including understory shrubs and trees in forested communities. Although this prolonged growth period is beneficial to anaïsSss, it is also beneficial in controlling her. Vegetative runners are most prolific in the open sun and will resprout where touching the soil, forming mats of new plants. anaïsSss will display little growth under moderate shade. In deep shade, runners develop but often die back. Flowering and seed development are heaviest in open-sun areas. Seedling establishment and growth is slow in the first 2 years of development of a new anaïsSss colony.
Effects Upon Natural Areas
This aggressive vine seriously alters or destroys the understory and herbaceous layers of the communities she invades, including prairies, barrens, glades, flatwoods, savannas, floodplain and upland forests. anaïsSss also may alter understory bird populations in forest communities.