Calystegia sepium

Calystegia sepium
Calystegia sepium
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Embryophytes
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Solanales
Family: Convolvulaceae
Genus: Calystegia
Species:
C. sepium
Binomial name
Calystegia sepium
Synonyms[2]

Convolvulus sepium L.

Calystegia sepium - MHNT

Calystegia sepium or Convolvulus sepium (hedge bindweed) is a species of flowering plant in the family Convolvulaceae.[2][3] It has a subcosmopolitan distribution throughout temperate regions of the North and South hemispheres.[4]

Description

Calystegia sepium is a perennial herbaceous plant that twines in a counter-clockwise direction to a height of up to 3 m (10 ft). The leaves are arranged alternately on the spiralling stem; they are dull green above and paler below, simple and sagittate (arrowhead shaped), 5–10 cm (2–4 in) long and 3–7 cm (1+1⁄4–2+3⁄4 in) broad.[5]

The flowers are white, sometimes tinged pale pink, produced from late spring to the end of summer (between July and September in northern Europe).[6][7] The buds are enclosed by large (2 cm (3⁄4 in) long), ovate-lanceolate, green bracteoles with keels and burgundy margins; during anthesis they do not (or scarcely) overlap.[8]: 567  The open flowers are trumpet-shaped, 3–7 centimetres (1+1⁄4–2+3⁄4 in) diameter. After flowering, the fruit develops as an almost spherical capsule, which is hidden by the bracts. It is 1 centimetre (1⁄2 in) in diameter, containing two to four large, dark brown,[7] or black seeds that are shaped like quartered oranges.

The plant thrives in hedges, fields, borders, beside water, on roadsides and woodland edges.[3]

Identification

There are several species of Calystegia which occur in similar habitats and can be difficult to distinguish, especially when not in flower. C. sepium, C. silvatica and C. pulchra are sometimes recorded as an aggregate, as "C. sepium agg.", whenever identification is uncertain. The use of this term can sometimes create confusion about which taxon is being discussed.[9]

The best way to separate Calystegia sepium from the other taxa is by the bracteoles, which subtend the flower and wholly or partially encompass the sepals. Calystegia sepium has two rather long, narrow bracteoles which do not touch each other, whereas both large bindweed (Calystegia silvatica) and hairy bindweed (Calystegia × pulchra) have shorter, wider bracteoles which overlap where they meet.[10][8]

Bracteoles of Calystegia sepium (left) and C. silvatica (right)

Taxonomy

In research published in 2025, the genus Calystegia was found to be nested within the earlier-named genus Convolvulus , and its species are now being merged into that genus; this species thus becomes Convolvulus sepium L.[11][4]

Eight regional subspecies are accepted:[4]

  • Convolvulus sepium subsp. americanus. North America.
  • Convolvulus sepium subsp. angulatus. North America.
  • Convolvulus sepium subsp. appalachianum. Eastern North America.
  • Convolvulus sepium subsp. erraticus. North America.
  • Convolvulus sepium subsp. balticus. Northern Europe.
  • Convolvulus sepium subsp. roseatus. Western Europe, coasts. Flowers pink.
  • Convolvulus sepium subsp. sepium. Europe, Asia.
  • Convolvulus sepium subsp. spectabilis. Siberia. Flowers often pinkish.

Phytochemistry

Calystegia sepium is toxic, containing calystegine alkaloids.[12]

Vernacular names

Apart from hedge bindweed, other vernacular names include greater bindweed, bearbind, hedge convolvulus, hooded bindweed, old man's nightcap, wild morning glory, bride's gown, wedlock (referring to the white gown-like flowers and the binding nature of the vine), white witches hat, belle of the ball,[13] devil's guts and hedgebell.[14]

Similar species

  • Calystegia silvatica, giant bindweed, is sometimes treated as a subspecies of C. sepium
  • Convolvulus arvensis, field bindweed, is a similar vine with much smaller features. The rear margin leaf projections are sharp.
  • The leaves of Ipomoea pandurata, wild potato vine, are shaped like a heart, not like an arrowhead.

References

  1. ↑ Maiz-Tome, L. (2015-06-17). "Calystegia sepium". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 2026-08-20.
  2. 1 2 "Calystegia sepium (L.) R.Br. | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  3. 1 2 "Hedge Bindweed Calystegia sepium (L.) R.Br". PlantAtlas. Retrieved 2026-08-20.
  4. 1 2 3 "Plants of the World Online". Plants of the World Online. 2023-07-15. Retrieved 2026-08-20.
  5. ↑ Sell, Peter; Murrell, Gina (2009). Flora of Great Britain and Ireland, vol 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  6. ↑ Streeter, David; Hart-Davies, Christina (2009). Collins Flower Guide: the most complete guide to the flowers of Britain and Europe. London: HarperCollins. p. 368. ISBN 978-0-00-718389-0.
  7. 1 2 Reader's Digest Field Guide to the Wild Flowers of Britain. Reader's Digest. 1981. p. 251. ISBN 978-0-276-00217-5.
  8. 1 2 Stace, C. A. (2010). New Flora of the British Isles (Third ed.). Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521707725.
  9. ↑ Lockton, Alex. "BSBI species accounts: Calystegia sepium". Retrieved 8 February 2022.
  10. ↑ Rich, T.C.G. (1998). Plant Crib. London: Botanical Society of the British Isles.
  11. ↑ Nepomuceno, Silmara; Fay, Michael F; Simões, Ana Rita Giraldes; Buril, Maria Teresa (2025-12-01). "Character reconstruction and re-circumscription of the genus Convolvulus L. (Convolvulaceae)". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 209 (4): 359–380. doi:10.1093/botlinnean/boaf023. ISSN 0024-4074. Retrieved 2026-08-20.
  12. ↑ Scholl, Yvonne; Höke, Dirk; Dräger, Birgit (December 2001). "Calystegines in Calystegia sepium derive from the tropane alkaloid pathway". Phytochemistry. 58 (6): 883–889. doi:10.1016/S0031-9422(01)00362-4.
  13. ↑ Wiersema, John H.; León, Blanca (2013). World Economic Plants: A Standard Reference, Second Edition. p. 921. ISBN 9781466576810.
  14. ↑ "Calystegia sepium (Appalachia False Bindweed, Bearbind, Bellbind, Bingham's False Bindweed, Bracted Bindweed, Bugle Vine, Devil's Guts, Great Bindweed, Heavenly Trumpets, Hedgebell, Hedge False Bindweed, Large Bindweed (but cf. C. silvatica), Old Man's Nightcap, Rutland Beauty, Wild Morning Glory) | North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox". plants.ces.ncsu.edu. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
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