Japanese false bindweed (Calystegia hederacea)

Other names ivy-leaved false bindweed

At a glance

Lifecycle: Perennial (hardy)
Exposure: Full sun
Frost limit: −28.9 °C

Cultivation

Easily grown in ordinary garden soil in a sunny position, but plants are apt to become invasive. Nearly all taxa in Calystegia intergrade geographically into neighboring taxa with the exception of the widespread coastal species, C. soldanella (Linnaeus) R. Brown. It is impossible to draw clearly defined specific limits, and intermediate forms are always found where two taxa approximate geographically.

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in a cold frame in a free draining compost and only just cover. The seed usually germinates in 1 - 3 months at 15°c. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in a cold frame for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Division in early spring whilst dormant.

Edible uses

Root - cooked. Young shoots - cooked.

Medicinal uses

The seed is simmered in water as a diuretic to stimulate kidney secretions.

Habitat

Sunny grassy places and thickets in lowland and hills of C. and S. Japan.

Native range

E. Asia - Japan, Korea, Manchuria.