I've looked at all the plants listed in the Invasive plant list at [HYPERLINK@www.nps.gov] and still cannot identify what seems to be an invasive vine growing on my Texas Liveoak. Unfortunately, I do not have a picture at this time. It has smooth, round green leaves. So, far I have not seen any flowering, though I just bought this house and have not been around for a full season. It looks like the vine has been there for over twenty years. The vine at the base of the tree is over 6 inches in diameter. The roots run all through the flowerbed for many feet. They fork into other roots often.
I will try to get you a picture the next time I go over to the house (I'm remodeling and have not moved in yet), but does anyone know of any common vines that grow on Texas Liveoaks? It runs all the way up the trunk and has vines and leaves in the branches even at the very top of the tree. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. :)
Invasive (?) Vine on my Texas Liveoak
The birds nest in the LO. They eat fruits, etc. that contain seeds. They defecate and the seeds are part of that. No telling how many years ago they did this. Could be anything that fruits such as grapes, etc. If it doesn't cover the leafed out branches of the oak it probably won't kill it but it could be that it just isn't good to have such a hearty vine growing in an oak. I would chop if down (the vine) every time it decides to grow if it were my oak. Lots of folks like things growing up their trees. I'm not one of the those folks. I can't see having vines in a tree. If it is a grape, lots of luck getting rid of it!!!
Ann
It actually does cover all the branches of the oak. It's hard to tell which leaves come from the oak and which come from the vine. I don't believe it produces any fruit. It is more of a runner vine. I have cut some of the major roots to reduce its water source and can see its leaves wilting at the very top of the LO, so I think it is working. I'm just curious as to what it is since I cannot identify it from any of the websites I've found. I will try and post a picture soon.
In a previous house, I inherited english ivy growing in a huge sweet gum tree. The house was very old and that ivy had been there for many years. It completely covered the tree and the "stems" were like tree trunks and about 6 inches in diameter. I had never seen english ivy get a woody stem that huge. We cut all the "trunks" all the way around the tree, being VERY careful not to cut into the tree bark on the sweet gum. The ivy died and the next year it was fairly easy to pull the dead runners off the tree, at least as high as we could reach. The rest fell out and got blown out over a period of time. I do think it would have killed the tree before many more years because it completely covered it. This gum tree was probably 5 feet in diameter too.