That Outlaw! Homeria.

Mary Sue Ittner msittner@mcn.org
Tue, 23 Nov 2004 11:24:22 PST
Dear All,

>I was surprised to find it listed as a Noxious Weed in Minnesota, 
>Massachuesetts, Connecticut and Vermont. Is it really hardy enough to 
>escape cultivation and survive in undisturbed natural areas in these states?

No. I seriously doubt it would survive the cold in most of those places. I 
gave some to my parents in West Texas. Some years it survived and went on 
to bloom, but many years the cold temperatures wiped it out before it 
bloomed. After this happened a couple of times, it was gone much to my 
mother's dismay as she really liked it.

I suspect that the USDA is following the lead of Australia where it is a 
weed. Even in California, the state it is probably most likely to become a 
weed, it isn't there yet. As Diana says it does not reseed in all habitats. 
It did not reseed for me when I lived in Stockton either although each year 
more offsets were produced. But that was true of a lot of bulbs that I was 
growing. It does reseed for me in coastal Northern California if I don't 
watch it, but has not achieved pest status yet and is not in my neighbor's 
garden's either.

Out walking where I live now I have seen in wild habitats Amaryllis 
belladonna, Watsonia meriana and others, Chasmanthe floribunda, Allium 
triquetrum, Sparaxis sp. Ixia sp., Romulea rosea, Zantedeschia aethiopica, 
Oxalis pes-caprae and Oxalis corniculata, Crocosmia xcrocosmiiflora. In my 
garden Freesia alba and Ipheion uniflorum spread faster than Moraea 
(Homeria) so it wouldn't surprise me to see them as well some day. Many of 
these "weeds" are not replacing native plants, just appearing with them. 
The ones here that can take over are the mentioned Allium, Watsonia, 
Oxalis, and Crocosmia.

The Jepson Manual lists all the plants of California includes naturalized 
plants in its listings. All of those I mentioned above are there. There is 
no listing under Homeria or Moraea. The USDA is over reaching in this case.

Mary Sue


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