Danang forests threatened by dangerous bindweed

The United Nations Development Program in Vietnam reports that some 1,000 hectares of special use forest in Danang province “are severely overgrown by an unidentified invasive liana species.” The invading plants have been identified as two types of bindweed – Merremia boisiana and Ipomona eberhardtii. They have spread rapidly across pine and acacia forests since 1999, creating a dense canopy that kills trees and plants below because they are starved of sunlight; and increasing the risk of forest fires because of their large, thick leaves. (China Daily Dec. 23).

Correction: The above should read Quang Nam-Da Nang province, not Danang province.