Oriental Bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus)

11/25/11 PL - The berry is covered with a hard yellow skin that splits open to reveal an orange/reddish berry. (see description) You can tell it apart from it's native American relative by the leaf. The invasive oriental has a rounder leaf (see pic above) and the American Bittersweet's leaves are generally more than twice as long as wide. Also, the berries of the invasive are clustered along the stem as in my picture above, whereas the berries of the American Bittersweet are clustered in terminal panicles of from a few to 50 or so berries. Maybe some day I'll get to take a picture of the American Bittersweet.