Side by side
Bittersweet or duke of Argyll’s teaplant? How to tell them apart
Solanum dulcamara · Lycium barbarum
How to tell them apart – bittersweet: a climber with purple flowers with a yellow cone of anthers and oval red berries in clusters, poisonous; duke of Argyll’s teaplant: shrub with long, arching, often thorny twigs, narrow greyish-green leaves, purple flowers and elongated orange-red berries.
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How do you recognise them?
- Bittersweet
- Climbing or sprawling subshrub with small purple star-shaped flowers with a yellow cone in the centre, and oval, glossy red berries.
- Compared with duke of Argyll’s teaplant: a climber with purple flowers with a yellow cone of anthers and oval red berries in clusters; poisonous.
- Duke of Argyll’s teaplant
- Shrub with long, arching, often thorny twigs, narrow greyish-green leaves, purple flowers and elongated orange-red berries.
| Bittersweet | Duke of Argyll’s teaplant | |
|---|---|---|
| Leaves | Alternate, ovate to pointed heart-shaped, 4–10 cm, untoothed; often with 1–2 small ear-like lobes at the base. | Alternate or in small bundles, lanceolate, 2–6 cm, untoothed, greyish-green and hairless. |
| Flowering | Purple flowers (1–1.5 cm) with swept-back lobes and a yellow cone of anthers, in loose clusters, June–September (June–August). | Purple, funnel-shaped flowers (1–1.5 cm) with 5 lobes, single or in pairs in the leaf axils, June–September (June–September). |
| Fruit | Oval berries (1 cm), green at first, then orange and glossy red when ripe, often all colours in one cluster, August–October; poisonous. | Elongated orange-red berries (1–2 cm), August–October: the goji berry. |
| Bark | Thin stems that are woody at the base and die back at the top every year; they lean on or twine through other plants. | Pale grey, long, arching twigs, often with short thorns; produces many suckers. |
| Shape and height | Climber, 1–3 m | Shrub, 1–3 m |
| Site | Sun to shade, any garden soil, moist to wet | Full sun, any garden soil, dry |
| Native to Belgium | Yes | No, naturalised |
| Good for bees, butterflies and birds | – | – |
| Poisonous to people and pets | Yes, take care with children and pets | Not known to be poisonous |
| Pruning months | November–March | February–March |
What does it mean for your garden?
- Bittersweet is poisonous to people and pets: take care with children and animals.
- Bittersweet is native: it feeds more insects and birds than a non-native species. If in doubt, choose this one.
Read on
- Plant profile: Bittersweet
- Plant profile: Duke of Argyll’s teaplant
- Bittersweet: when and how to prune
- Duke of Argyll’s teaplant: when and how to prune
- Identification key
Also looks like
Identify by feature
This comparison is compiled from the Bladwijzer species pages.