Invasive plant??

[Pawildman]

Guess I could have posted this with my prior post, but you know how it goes... We have noticed a ground vine or something that looks **** a strawberry plant around our camp for the past several years, and it seems to be taking over and strangling out the blueberry bushes. It has a small white flower in the spring?early summer similar to the strawberry plant, with leaves that look similar also. It produces a small raspberry type fruit about 1/4 the sixe of a black raspberry. It is getting totally out of control in our area ( Moshannon S.F.) in NC PA. It just really makes me sick to see the old blueberry plants being taken over by this thing.
Anyone know what this is, and what can be done about it? A shame to see such a varied use crop such as the blueberries be wiped out by this stuff............

[GR8atta2d]

I remember from my days in NC a vine like thing called Kudzo (sp?) it took over everything down there..I don't remember any berries though??

[Matt / PA]

http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/wildplant/invasive.aspx

[R.S.B.]

What you are describing probably isn"™t an invasive species and sounds more like natural and native dew berry.

Dew berry grows in a leafy vine that trails across the ground. It gets a white blossom that looks about like a black berry blossom. It will get black fruit on it later in the summer that looks like a smaller black berry but grows close to the ground. The berries are good to eat and both people (at least Game Wardens) and many wildlife species do eat them.

The dew berry vines are also browsed by deer so most people didn"™t notice them until during the past few years of lower deer numbers allowing the dew berry to once again become more common and noticeable.

If it is dew berry you are seeing, don"™t worry about it since it is a good thing and will not harm the blue berries or even the wild huckleberries.

R.S. Bodenhorn

[Pawildman]

R.S.B..... Thanks for the info...It just may be dewberry we are seeing. We'll keep an eye on the blueberry situation this year, and see if they actually are being strangled out by this vine.