These are the vines of the noxious bindweed, native of Eurasia, originally brought to the U.S. by the early settlers of Virginia. Poisons don't kill it; the roots can extend 40 feet and the seeds remain viable for up to 50 years.
For $35, the Colorado Department of Agriculture, by way of the Palisade Insectary, delivered to my doorstep a small cooler full of bindweed vines infested with the bindweed mite, which feeds on the growing tips of the plants, and overwinters underground, feeding on the roots, to reemerge the following spring and continue its work.
The vine on the left shows the effect of the bindweed mite gall - it's kind of interesting to see the changes in my yard.
