Side by side
Bittersweet or white bryony? How to tell them apart
Solanum dulcamara · Bryonia dioica
How to tell them apart – bittersweet: climbing or sprawling subshrub with small purple star-shaped flowers with a yellow cone in the centre, and oval, glossy red berries; white bryony: curly tendrils, palmately lobed leaves and round 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.
- White bryony
- Herbaceous climber with curly tendrils, palmately lobed, rough leaves and, in autumn, clusters of red berries.
- Compared with bittersweet: curly tendrils, palmately lobed leaves and round berries.
| Bittersweet | White bryony | |
|---|---|---|
| Leaves | Alternate, ovate to pointed heart-shaped, 4–10 cm, untoothed; often with 1–2 small ear-like lobes at the base. | Alternate, 5–10 cm, palmately 5-lobed and rough-hairy; a tendril next to each leaf. |
| Flowering | Purple flowers (1–1.5 cm) with swept-back lobes and a yellow cone of anthers, in loose clusters, June–September (June–August). | Dioecious: greenish-white flowers (1–2 cm) with green veins; male ones in long-stalked clusters, female ones smaller and short-stalked, May–September (June–August). |
| Fruit | Oval berries (1 cm), green at first, then orange and glossy red when ripe, often all colours in one cluster, August–October; poisonous. | Red berries (6–8 mm) in clusters on female plants, August–October; very poisonous. |
| 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. | Thin, rough-hairy stems that die back every year, growing from a thick, whitish, tuberous root. |
| Shape and height | Climber, 1–3 m | Climber, climbs to 2–4 m |
| Site | Sun to shade, any garden soil, moist to wet | Sun or partial shade, any garden soil, normal |
| Native to Belgium | Yes | Yes |
| Good for bees, butterflies and birds | – | – |
| Poisonous to people and pets | Yes, take care with children and pets | Yes, take care with children and pets |
| Pruning months | November–March | November–March |
What does it mean for your garden?
- Bittersweet is poisonous to people and pets: take care with children and animals.
- White bryony is poisonous to people and pets: take care with children and animals.
- Both are native and good for wildlife: choose what suits your soil, your light and the space you have.
Read on
- Plant profile: Bittersweet
- Plant profile: White bryony
- Bittersweet: when and how to prune
- White bryony: when and how to prune
- Identification key
Also looks like
Identify by feature
This comparison is compiled from the Bladwijzer species pages.