I have several varieties of vines growing on my property, but this variant taking over my roses is the biggest pain. Does anyone know what it is? And also how to eradicate?
My friend this appears to be *Dolichandra unguis-cati* (fka *Macfadyena unguis-cati*) — damned if I know the common name, but considering its specific epithet (literally “cat’s claw”) I’m gonna go out on a limb and say it’s probably “cat claw vine” or “cat claw creeper” or something like that
It’s in the same family (Bignoniaceae) as that other beloved climber, trumpet creeper (*Campsis radicans*), but where trumpet creeper ascends by means of horrifying tentacles, *D. unguis-cati* has horrifying paired claws (visible in photo 3), perfectly arranged to suggest a kind of Lovecraftian bat-plant chimera
It’s definitely an exotic species, probably invasive to some extent — although really I’m not sure it’s beefy enough to be a serious threat — but I’ve never seen or heard of anyone attempting to control it (after all, what if it survived and came after you)
My plan A would be “undiluted glyphosate applied to cut stems” and my plan B would be “burn the house down and salt the earth”
I would do this sooner than later because I can practically hear it screaming “Here’s Johnny!” in the third photo
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My friend this appears to be *Dolichandra unguis-cati* (fka *Macfadyena unguis-cati*) — damned if I know the common name, but considering its specific epithet (literally “cat’s claw”) I’m gonna go out on a limb and say it’s probably “cat claw vine” or “cat claw creeper” or something like that
It’s in the same family (Bignoniaceae) as that other beloved climber, trumpet creeper (*Campsis radicans*), but where trumpet creeper ascends by means of horrifying tentacles, *D. unguis-cati* has horrifying paired claws (visible in photo 3), perfectly arranged to suggest a kind of Lovecraftian bat-plant chimera
It’s definitely an exotic species, probably invasive to some extent — although really I’m not sure it’s beefy enough to be a serious threat — but I’ve never seen or heard of anyone attempting to control it (after all, what if it survived and came after you)
My plan A would be “undiluted glyphosate applied to cut stems” and my plan B would be “burn the house down and salt the earth”
I would do this sooner than later because I can practically hear it screaming “Here’s Johnny!” in the third photo