{"id":926,"date":"2010-07-29T10:03:21","date_gmt":"2010-07-29T14:03:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/flora\/?p=926"},"modified":"2011-01-30T10:10:53","modified_gmt":"2011-01-30T15:10:53","slug":"more-reflection-on-exotic-invasives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/flora\/2010\/07\/more-reflection-on-exotic-invasives\/","title":{"rendered":"More reflection on exotic invasives"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_11717\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-11717\" src=\"http:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/Chaste-tree.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"Chaste-tree\" width=\"300\" height=\"400\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11717\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-11717\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">PHOTO BY KEN MOORE. Self-seeding chaste tree, sometimes called hemp tree (see the\u00c2 leaves), attracts pollinating bees and wasps but has nothing else to add to the local natural ecosystem.<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>By Ken Moore<br \/>\n<em>Flora Columnist<\/em><br \/>\n<\/strong><br \/>\nI\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve targeted chaste tree, <em>Vitex agnus-castus<\/em>, (above) and crape myrtle, <em>Lagerstroemia indica<\/em>, (back page) to be chopped out of my landscape. You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll not be happy to read on for the reasoning.<\/p>\n<p>Mention of one\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s position on exotic invasives usually initiates heated discussions among gardeners. While many such plants cause multi-million-dollar disruption to agriculture and natural areas, others are objects of pride in private and public gardens. <\/p>\n<p>It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s good to pause and recognize that no individual or organization introduced exotic plants to America intending to create the environmental\/economic disasters we now have. Exotic plants date back to the pioneers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 cherished herbs and medicinals from their homelands. Thomas Jefferson and other colonial horticulturists introduced exotics of beauty and culinary appeal. Some invasive plants were accidental stowaways.<\/p>\n<p>Rather than feel guilty for exotic species, we can simply appreciate where we are and how to proceed.<\/p>\n<p>As described in the July 8 issue of <em>The Citizen<\/em> , our town has taken a bold step. New developments are not allowed to include plant species that appear on the Invasive Exotic Species List, Rank 1-Severe Threat, of the N.C. Native Plant Society (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.ncwildflower.org\/\">ncwildflower.org<\/a>). Not surprisingly, that list includes plants like tree of heaven, mimosa and Chinese wisteria, already so ubiquitous that few would dare plant more, though some still plant Chinese wisteria. <\/p>\n<p>I am bewildered by the absence of Bradford pear on that list. Though it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s listed on Rank 2 of the society\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s list, it is allowed for new plantings in Carrboro. That is unbelievable (see past Floras featuring the Bradford pear). Observing the flowering of trees along the N.C. 54 bypass around Carrboro, I have noted that at least 50 percent of the forest edge is filled with Bradford pear, tree of heaven, princess tree and mimosa.<\/p>\n<p>Federal, state and conservation organizations have compiled numerous lists of undesirable exotics. To view those lists and understand more about exotic invasives, visit the N.C. Botanical Garden website (<a href=\"http:\/\/ncbg.unc.edu\/\">ncbg.unc.edu<\/a>). Under \u00e2\u20ac\u0153conservation\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Invasive Exotic Plants: Publications and Resources.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Among other references, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll discover the N.C. Department of Transportation has a sizeable publication with identification guides, historical notes and eradication recommendations. Amazingly, Bradford pear is not considered a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Threat\u00e2\u20ac\u009d or \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Moderate Threat.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Rather, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s included on its \u00e2\u20ac\u0153watch\u00e2\u20ac\u009d list <\/p>\n<p>Why do we have to wait until plants have successfully invaded hundreds and hundreds of acres of landscape before we declare them pests to avoid?<\/p>\n<p>Tree of heaven was introduced to Philadelphia in 1784. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s taken 200 years for it to reach the current level of disturbance. In contrast, the cultivar Bradford pear was introduced in the 1960s; within 40 years, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s displacing natives from local fields and roadsides. <\/p>\n<p>My chaste tree, a gift from a friend, is now seeding around like a weed in less than 10 years. During that same period, my beautiful so-called dwarf cultivar of crape myrtle, now higher than 20 feet, has been reseeding for six years. Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know how long I can keep it confined to my yard. <\/p>\n<p>The botanical garden has a list of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Plants to Avoid in the Southeastern United States.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I recommend that as the list for folks to adopt as a guide. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not perfect, because it doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t include my chaste tree or crape myrtle, nor do any other lists.<\/p>\n<p>So I am developing my own list of plants to exclude from my garden. Whatever one chooses to retain and\/or introduce in a private garden is whatever one chooses. The real damage to larger landscapes is from large-scale plantings on public landscapes of exotics that eventually escape to adjoining public and private lands. <\/p>\n<p>To be truly responsible, all roadways, parks and residential and commercial developments should be landscaped only with plant species indigenous to the region. Indigenous species are the natural components that thread together a healthy regional ecology (environment).<\/p>\n<p>The native plant society welcomes feedback, so I hope they will bring Bradford pear up to the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Severe Threat\u00e2\u20ac\u009d list soon. I hope the Town of Carrboro will take a truly bold step and require all new landscapes to reflect only the native flora of our region.<\/p>\n<p><em>Email Ken Moore at flora@carrborocitizen.com.<br \/>\n<\/em><br \/>\n<div id=\"attachment_11716\" style=\"width: 510px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-11716\" src=\"http:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/Crape-myrtle-parking-lot.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"Crape-myrtle-parking-lot\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11716\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-11716\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">PHOTO BY KEN MOORE. Inappropriate annual pruning never allows crape myrtles, approved to meet the town\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s parking lot shade-tree requirement, to become shade trees.<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Ken Moore Flora Columnist I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve targeted chaste tree, Vitex agnus-castus, (above) and crape myrtle, Lagerstroemia indica, (back page) to be chopped out of my landscape. You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll not be happy to read on for the reasoning. Mention of one\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s position on exotic invasives usually initiates heated discussions among gardeners. While many such plants cause multi-million-dollar [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,22],"tags":[10,697,698,699,86,700,306,91,696],"class_list":["post-926","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ken-moores-flora","category-summer","tag-bradford-pear","tag-chaste-tree","tag-crape-myrtle","tag-lagerstroemia-indica","tag-mimosa","tag-n-c-native-plant-society","tag-princess-tree","tag-tree-of-heaven","tag-vitex-agnus-castus"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/flora\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/926","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/flora\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/flora\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/flora\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/flora\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=926"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/flora\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/926\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":927,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/flora\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/926\/revisions\/927"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/flora\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=926"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/flora\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=926"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/flora\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=926"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}