I don't think that these invasives should be taken off the list.. But there does need to be an exception made,e. g. ,can't be sent to (areas noted). I'd love to get them to grow at all to some degree here in the Chicago area. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mary Sue Ittner" <msittner@mcn.org> To: <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org> Sent: Monday, March 15, 2010 3:03 PM Subject: [pbs] Legacy Plants or weeds > Not too long ago Kathleen Sayce started a thread on plants that you > find lasting with little care in the garden or in abandoned > homesteads. I posted some of the ones from my area of coastal > Northern California with the note that some of them had weed > potential. In the past we have also discussed the distinction between > plants that just persist and those that replace native plants. The > latter is far worse since not only do you lose diversity, but the new > plant may or may not have anything to offer wildlife. > > The quarterly newsletter of the California Invasive Plant Council in > its winter issue published a red alert for potentially new species > not previously considered invasive in California or species that have > been recognized but are expanding rapidly in their area or moving > into new areas. In the top ten are these: > Romulea rosea (the variety that is known as australis that is rampant > in Australia even though native to South Africa). I has been found on > dry sandy or hard-packed soils in the San Francisco Bay Area and > other sites along the central and north coast but is expanding from > disturbed areas and roads along the roast to coastal and interior > grasslands in Sonoma county. > > Watsonia meriana (var. bulbillifera) has been of concern to those of > us who live on the Mendocino Sonoma coast for some time as it forms > dense stands along Highway One replacing other plants. It is now > spreading south and north from these counties from roadsides and > waste areas to marshes, woodlands and grasslands adjacent to the > roadside. I asked NARGS to remove Watsonia meriana from their seed > exchange when I saw it listed and I don't think it should be on our > BX lists either. You could just not offer it to residents who live in > Mediterranean areas, but the easiest way would be not to offer it at all. > > Also making the list, but not in the top ten: > Crocosmia x crocosmiflora - Marin County > Iris foetidissima - East Bay (Alameda, Contra Costa? counties) > Kniphofia uvaria - Sonoma and Mendocino coast > > These new ones are all reported from Northern California and all but > one are South African plants. Since the Crocosmia is from a summer > rainfall area it needs some summer water to thrive, but not a lot. It > appears that there were more reported weeds in northern California > than in central or southern California. I don't know if that is just > because there are more people reporting in these areas or if the very > dry years we have had the last few years before this one in southern > California have helped prevent the weeds from expanding. > > Mary Sue > > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/