That Outlaw! Homeria.

Diane Whitehead voltaire@islandnet.com
Tue, 23 Nov 2004 12:20:48 PST
>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.


Are these spreading naturally or with human help?  It's hard to 
understand how some seeds can spread unless they are "shooters" like 
Amaryllis or Broom, air floaters like fireweed, or aquatic floaters 
like coconuts and water iris.

People dig up plants, like Crocosmia or bluebells, that have spread 
too much in their gardens and throw them onto a nearby area that no 
one owns.  It may be the last empty lot in a suburban area, or across 
the road in a rural one.  Sometimes the bulbs are not deliberately 
thrown away, but not noticed among the weeds being thrown onto the 
waste area.

There are also people who want to beautify the countryside and toss 
seeds and bulbs.  I heard of a man who was dying and had his daughter 
drive him around so he could toss foxglove seeds.

-- 
Diane Whitehead  Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
maritime zone 8
cool mediterranean climate (dry summer, rainy winter - 68 cm annually)
sandy soil


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