Tuesday, July 27, 2010

More invasive weeds

You may or may not remember our previous posts about invasive weeds, but I was kind of in the mood for another post about noxious weeds, so here they are(I apologize for the horrible pictures--they were taken at sunset):

Nipplewort (Lapsana Communis)
Nipplewort is native to Europe and southern Asia, and the young leaves are edible. It has a longish stalk, and little yellow flowers that look kind of like mini dandelion flowers.



English Ivy (Hedera helix)
We've posted about this before, but here is some more info on it. It is native to most of Europe, and western Asia, and climbs when possible, but if there are no vertical surfaces, grows as a ground cover.




Blackberries
There are four kinds of blackberries I know about in the pacific northwest:

  • Himalayan blackberries(Rubus armeniacus or Rubus discolor)

  • Evergreen blackberries(Rubus laciniatus)

  • Creeping blackberries(R. procumbens)

  • Cell phone blackberries(that was a joke)
Himalayan and Evergreen blackberries are invasive, and the picture below is one of the two (I'm not sure which), and both have sharp thorns. They also both have very sweet berries. Creeping blackberries are native, and, as the name states, creep. Their thorns are much less sharp than Himalayans and Evergreens. They also have berries that while still are delicious, have a much more delicate flavor than the other two.


Holly(Ilex aquifolium)
First an foremost, to anybody named Holly, I'm not talking about you. You have a very pretty name, and I really hope I don't offend you.
Though this plant is invasive, it is not an official noxious weed, as there is a board that has to say it is bad enough to be a noxious weed. My dad is actually trying to get it made official, because that way there is a lot more the county can do about getting rid of it.
Holly can only be killed effectively with an injection of herbicide, which makes it even worse.

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