Field Bindweed

Field Bindweed
Field Bindweed. Convolvulus arvensis.
Convolvulaceae, the morning-glory family.

Description:
Plant: Low, creeping or twining vine, to 4', with white or pinkish funnel-shaped flowers. Perennial.
Flowers: White, sometimes marked with pink, funnel-shaped, with five shallow lobes, about 1" across, borne singly on long stems in leaf axils.
Leaves: Alternate, oblong to triangular with two backwards-pointing lobes, 1"-2" long. The technical term for the arrowhead shape is sagittate.
Fruit: An ovoid capsule
Blooming: May-October
Habitat: Fields, waste and weedy areas.

Comments: This species, introduced from Europe, can be a noxious weed, climbing and twining about other plants and sometimes smothering them. It is a perennial, growing from deeply buried, fleshy, horizontal roots, and can be almost impossible to eradicate, as the plants will sprout from even a small root fragment. It prefers bright sun and loose soil, and is most troublesome under these conditions.

Where to find it: Growing in lawn areas near the entrance to the park, and in other locations.