Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Nature Notes - Invaders!

I am sharing this post with Nature Notes over at Ramblingwoods.com. I will start this post by saying, "Oops!" I wanted to show you these flowering white bushes! The flowers smell really nice.

I took these pictures and then went onto the internet to identify them. It took no time at all for me to determine that they were a type of honeysuckle. But, there are a lot of types... I did some more reading, and found out that ALL of the bush types are invasives from Asia, while the vine-y types are native.

I got some pictures of the stems/trunks. These are definitely the bush type, not the vine type. So, they are invasive. The problem with these is that they leaf up sooner than our native species and they shade everything so that nothing can grow under them. Adding insult to injury, they release toxin into the soil to further keep other plants away. They bare these red berries that birds like, so the birds "drop" seeds everywhere, and these are spreading in the Midwest. It is actually illegal to plant and/or transport some varieties of honeysuckle in some states.
On the subject of annoying plants...look at the vine I found on a stump behind the garage. When I was IDing that oriental honeysuckle vine a few weeks ago, the articles said that the way to tell it from poison ivy was that poison ivy vines had hair-like roots all along their vines. Bingo. Gotta warn the kids...

16 comments:

  1. Beautiful yet invasive... reminds me of a Trojan horse.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I didn't realize that this type of honeysuckle releases a toxin in the soil. I've let honeysuckle get out of hand in my yard because I like the scent.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yea this was all news to me when I researched it. And now when I am driving, since I am aware of it, I see it everywhere!!

      Delete
  3. I presume that originally this honeysuckle was an escapee from someones garden? It sure has taken over though I never knew that about it's roots though I know of some others that do that.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's what I have read...that people planted it on purpose and then the birds have spread the seeds far and wide. Thank you for coming by!

      Delete
  4. Wow Libby..I didn't know that at all...My husband had a bad case of poison ivy after helping a friend clear out her yard of some brush so be careful..I guess this is why we have to be careful with non-natives getting away and being invasive..great post..Michelle

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think we will just avoid the area of the stump :) The honeysuckle thing is odd...ever since I found out about them, I am seeing them EVERYWHERE.

      Delete
  5. It's scary how ignorant many people are of the dangers of introducing invasive species into the environment and invasive plants can be as harmful as animals.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think this was innocently planted in yards decades ago before people knew anything about exotics, and the problem was that the birds spread it into forests and preserves. At least it's not kudzu! :)

      Delete
  6. How could something that smells so sweet be so toxic. I did not know. We have the honeysuckle all around our yard. Thanks for the heads up and great post.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, thanks! Yea, it is all over the place here too! I would have had no idea it was invasive if I had not looked it up because of those pics I took!

      Delete
  7. poison ivy in the garden don´t seem like a good i´déa. Can you get rid of it?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was going to look into burning it since it is on an old stump and there is just dirt around it. My area is really wet, so the fire would not get out of control... Not sure though what to do. For now, no one is going behind the garage!

      Thank you for asking though - very nice of you!

      Delete
  8. Yes, honeysuckle can be a real nuisance. It other name (esp. in England) is woodbine and it describes that choking and tying effect you mention in the trees it climbs over.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I didn't know it was also called woodbine! It has really over-run the area of the Midwest that I am in...

      Delete