Field bindweed or Hedge bindweed: how to tell them apart?
Field bindweed and Hedge bindweed look alike and are often mixed up. Here is how to tell them apart, feature by feature, with their photos and the details to look for.
⚡ The quick answer
Field bindweed
Convolvulus arvensis
Hedge bindweed
Calystegia sepium
Hedge bindweed has much larger leaves and white flowers twice as wide as field bindweed, whose leaves are small and whose flowers are often tinged with pink.
🍃 Leaves
Arrow-shaped, alternate, on climbing or creeping stems
Large, arrow-shaped, with a deeply notched base
🌸 Flowers
Small white-pink trumpets, coiling in a spiral at night
Large white trumpets, much wider than field bindweed
🍎 Fruits
Small capsule with two seeds
Small capsule with black seeds
🪵 Bark
Twining stems coiling around any support
Vigorous twining stems climbing high into hedges
📏 Size
20 cm to 1 m long (creeping or climbing)
1 to 3 m long (climbing)
🗺️ Habitat
Crops, wasteland, banks, path edges
Hedges, damp wasteland, climbing over shrubs
⚠️ Toxicity
No known toxicity to humans; mild purgative effect if a large quantity is ingested
No known toxicity to humans; mild purgative effect in large quantity
🔎 And from the Hedge bindweed side
Hedge bindweed has much larger leaves and white flowers twice as wide as field bindweed, whose leaves are small and whose flowers are often tinged with pink.
🌿 Go further
Want to practise spotting these details on real photos? Floraneo offers profiles and quizzes for dozens of look-alike species.
ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.