Wednesday, July 16, 2014

I/Alphabe-Thursday

 Himalayan Balsam (Impatiens grandulifera)

I is for INVASIVE

So what is an invasive plant? It's a non-native species that competes with and replaces native plants in their natural habitat causing the natural vegetation to become endangered.

 Although Himalayan Balsam is an annual, each plant produces an incredible about of seeds (approx. 800 per plant), eventually creating dense stands that prevent native plants from growing. Also, because Himalayan Balsam produces is a prolific producer of nectar, pollinators gravitate to them rather than to native species.

 Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria)

Another plant that  grows in dense stands, is Purple Loosestrife,  which clogs  irrigation canals and reduces the forage value of pastures.

St. Johnswort (Hypericum perforatum)

In addition to crowding out native species, St. Johnswort  is toxic to livestock with light-coloured skin causing severe sunburn on normal sunny days.

I am linking to Jenny Matlock at Alphabe-Thursday HERE 

38 comments:

betty-NZ said...

What lovely flowers--and with names, too! We have many invasive plants that were brought here. I loved morning glories in the US but here, they grown EVERYWHERE and make me crazy trying to keep the flowerbeds weeded!

Revrunner said...

Sort of the illegal immigrants of the plant world.

The Cranky said...

We have a similar problem with purple loosestrife here, and morning glory (aka bindweed).

Carole M. said...

yes, often many of the non-indigenous and invasive species are actually 'attractive' - nice photos

Anonymous said...

Great series, and information!

MadSnapper said...

so much beauty so much damage... the are really pretty flowers...

Anvilcloud said...

This is highly informative with nice pictures.

tiptoethruphylsgarden.blogspot.com said...

I have a problem with jewelweed,I admit I don`t pull it all out because the hummingbirds just love it.The flowers on your plants are lovely,Phyllis

















Darla said...

What pretty flowers, too bad they are such problems where they grow.

Darla

William Kendall said...

Problematic though they might be, they are beautiful!

TexWisGirl said...

we have several invasives here, too. but they sure are pretty!

John @ Beans and I on the Loose said...

Nice looking plants. Too bad they don't play friendly.

Lisa Gordon said...

They are such pretty flowers, and it's unfortunate that they cause problems. We have some real serious problems with Loosestrife here. :-(

Tanya Breese said...

beautiful flowers!

RedPat said...

There seems to be a downside to a lot of pretty things.

cedarmerefarm said...

It's unfortunate that some invasive plants are so beautiful.

Ginny Hartzler said...

Oh my! such beautiful invaders! What a shame they are too abundant, to put it nicely! The Loosestrife is gorgeous!!! I have never seen any, I think there is none around here! So does your yard have any of these? In our yard, we fight with English Plantain. But there are plenty of others in nearby yards. Hedge Bindweed, Mouse Eared Hawkweed,Chickweed and Dandelions. The last two are beautiful and I consider them wildflowers, not weeds.

cieldequimper said...

Pretty isn't always good...

Stephanie said...

They are pretty flowers though.

Viola said...

Beautiful flowers! :)

Viola said...

Beautiful flowers! :)

Gail Dixon said...

Well, they are very pretty! I did not know that about St. John's Wort. Interesting stuff!

Ruth Hiebert said...

It is sad to think that so many beautiful flowers and plants are so invasive.

eileeninmd said...

They are pretty flowers, it is a shame they are invasive.. Lovely photos.

carol l mckenna said...

So many plants are invasive and beautiful ~ Lovely photography of florals for Alphabe ~ thanks, ^_^

artmusedog and carol (A Creative Harbor)

kayerj said...

It's hard to believe something so pretty is an annoying weed.

Judie said...

On the Georgia coast, we have water Hyacinth. It will take over just about anywhere there is standing water. Although it is pretty, it robs the water of oxygen, and kills off other native plants.

Anonymous said...

Some of those invasive species are such a pain. Luckily, my goats like to eat some of those invasive plants, and I'm starting to see some more native plants coming back in my pasture.

Jack said...

It sometime seems like I have every weed known to man, but I think I am free of those three. Though, I have seen a lot of loosestrife around, usually is places that have regular moisture, like marsh edges or drainage ditches.

Randy said...

Love these. I never knew what St. Johns looked like.

Jenn Jilks said...

We have these, I brought them in. Touch-me-nots, himilayan balsam. I did not know when I did it! sigh.
Yet, many of our elm trees are dying. I just odn't know what to make of it!

Stuart said...

Wonderful macros !

Cristina Pop said...

Beautiful flowers! It`s a shame that they`re too abundant.

Rose said...

Beautiful, even if we don't want them taking over.

Rocky Mountain Woman said...

One of my horses got into a noxious weed and it caused a photo reaction on his (white) legs. He was burned pretty badly. He's ok now, but it was bad for a while...

fredamans said...

Never seen any of those growing around here. Invasive or not, they are all pretty and I like the properties in the St. John's Wort.

Lmkazmierczak said...

I for Informative! Great post with terrific photos and info♪ http://lauriekazmierczak.com/imposing/

Jenny said...

We have a lot of invasive species around here, too, although most of ours are not very pretty.

There is an odd vine that seems to be taking over the desert with ugly little inedible melons.

Yours are much prettier.

They also have a big problem around with here the invasive mussels. It's almost scary to see how quickly things can multiply!

Thanks for an interesting link to the letter I.

A+++

Friends who encourage me

Blog Archive

About Me

My photo
East Gwillimbury is a rural town less than an hour north of Toronto, Canada's largest city. My family calls me CameraGirl because I take my camera with me wherever I go.