Joined: Aug 26, 2019 Last Active: Feb 26, 2021
Botany enthusiast. Ailurophile. Misanthrope.
Tit for Tat.
The most definitive means to distinguish between Celastrus scandens and Celastrus orbiculatus is to observe the position of the flowers/fruits on the plant. See: Michigan Flora Online & USGS & Minnesota Department of Agriculture
Del Tredici, P. 2014. Untangling the twisted tale of oriental bittersweet. Arnoldia 71: 2 –18. Links: pdf & html
Although rare, it is important to note that hybrids can occur between these two species of Celastrus. See the following paper:
Zaya, D. N, S. A. Leicht-Young, N. B. Pavlovic, K. A. Feldheim, & M. V. Ashley. 2015. Genetic characterization of hybridization between native and invasive bittersweet vines (Celastrus spp.). Biological Invasions 17: 2975 –2988. Link
BONAP U.S. County-Level Distributions for Celastrus spp: Link
There are about 40+ species of Celastrus worldwide, with a large number found in east Asia.
Celastrus species listed in Plants of the World Online
Celastrus in Flora of China @ efloras.org
There is nothing wrong in identifying a plant to just a family or genus. Diagnostic features for a species destination are not always present.
https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/how-to-fix-your-observation-with-photos-of-multiple-species/15096