Flora of New Zealand Series

great bindweed

Rhizomes extensive and far-creeping. Stems glabrous, vigorously twining, often tinged purple where exposed to sunlight. Petioles 3-11 cm long, usually glabrous, sometimes hairy. Lamina 5-18 × 3.5-15 cm, triangular-ovate, sagittate-ovate or hastate, usually glabrous; base deeply cordate with rounded sinus and 1-2 small lobes on each side; apex acute to acuminate. Fls solitary; peduncles 8-20-(30) cm long, usually narrowly winged. Bracts at anthesis imbricate, 2-3.4 × 1.8-3.6 cm, broad-ovate, slightly > calyx; base cordate; apex acute to mucronate. Sepals 1.5-1.8 cm long, ± ovate-lanceolate. Corolla 5.2-8 cm long and 5.5-8 cm diam. across limb, usually white, very rarely pale pink; lobes very shallow and inconspicuous; mid-petaline area of tube shining outside. Stamens c. 3 cm long; filaments with glandular hairs in lower 1/2. Ovary 1-locular. Style glabrous, = or slightly > stamens. Capsule 1-1.5 cm long, subglobose. Seeds 4-5 mm diam., ± triangular-ovoid with rounded outer surface and slightly concave inner faces, smooth, black.

N.; S.; St.: common to abundant in many localities, especially Canterbury.

S. Europe 1904

Hedges, forest and plantation margins close to settlements, also a troublesome weed in gardens.

FL Oct-May.

Great bindweed has often been confused with C. sepium in Europe as well as in N.Z. However, within N.Z., C. silvatica can usually be distinguished immediately from C. sepium by its white corolla and from white-flowered C. sepium by the greater size of its corolla.