Climbing Bittersweet (Celastrus scandens)

Family: Celastraceae | Edibility: Edible (2/5)

Bloom Color: Green, Yellow. Main Bloom Time: Mid summer. Form: Spreading or horizontal, Variable spread.

Edible Parts & Harvest Seasons

Edible Parts: Shoots

Harvest Seasons: Fall, Spring, Winter

Flavor & Culinary Uses

sweet and palatable after boiling. — Bark and twigs - they must be cooked.; The thickish bark is sweet and palatable after boiling.; Another report says that it is the inner bark that is used, and that it is a starvation food, only used when other foods are in short supply.; Some caution is advised in the use of this plant since there are suggestions of toxicity.

Habitat & North American Range

Rich soils in dense moist thickets, woods and along river banks. (Zone 3, Zone 4, Zone 5, Zone 6, Zone 7, Zone 8)