Biology And Biological Control Of Knapweed: Fill & Download for Free

I’ll make a list. Everybody loves lists!Included are a few species that in addition to becoming widespread, or at least locally ubiquitous, have caused significant harm. There are plenty of other plants, but these are some of the ones that might actually be fun to read about.KudzuHarm: it grows over everything, chocking out shrubs, bushes, grasses, even trees and overly-stationary lawmowers.Notes: widely known and commonly cited as an example of an invasive plant, Kudzu is a leguminous vine from East Asia.[1] Given limited pressure from pests and disease, the vine does surprisingly well in dense mono-culture. Recent work has gone into finding an effective an appropriate biological control for the vine.[2] [3] One thing that seems quite interesting, on a geological timescale at least, kudzu, or a near relative, was native to North America in the Miocene period (though, the only citation I found was very old and may be outdated).[4] Generally an economic nuisance, it is occasionally used as livestock fodder and erosion control, which were the reasons it was brought to the US in the first place. The entire plant is edible, including the tuberous roots and the Grape Kool-Aid flavored flowers.Ailanthus“Tree of Heaven” or “Tree of Hell” or “Stink Tree”Harm: considered a weed tree. Difficult to eradicate. Smells terrible.Notes: a common urban tree growing in abandoned areas. It is the tree from A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.[5] Like kudzu, fossils of a near relative or possible ancestor have been found in North America. Indeed, the genus may have originated here.[6] It is a food tree for Samia cynthia, a silk moth of some significance from East Asia that has also become common in the United States.[7] Aside from its ornamental use, the tree has no economic impact in the US.Garlic MustardHarm: a very widespread weed of economic significance. Also smells bad.Notes: as there are closely related mustards growing native in the US, a variety of pests do prey on the plant, but the predation has not been demonstrated to be an effective control of the plant. It is known to be poisonous to some native insect species. Used as a fresh green in France and Italy.[8]Milk ThistleHarm: a weed of economic significance. Dangerous to livestock. Has lots of thorns.Notes: Painful AF. Sometimes cooked and eaten by Europeans and other hippies. It is harvested in some places as a raw material source for pharmaceutical companies. When eaten raw by livestock, it can block the transport of oxygen in red blood cells.[9]Cotton ThistleHarm: similar to milk thistle. Loved by the Scottish.Notes: it is apparently a major nectar source for numerous insects and supports a handful of caterpillars. It is the national emblem of Scotland, presumably because it is prickly and was introduced by accident into large parts of the British commonwealth.[10]Tumble knapweedHarm: a weed of economic significance. Lazy Hollywood writing.Notes: along with a close relative, this plant is also known as tumbleweed, of Hollywood fame. Despite being more common in Western films than John Wayne, the plant is originally from Eurasia.[11]Leafy SpurgeHarm: a weed of major economic significance. Looks stupid.Notes: it is a pretty boring plant. Originally from Eurasia, it is extremely widespread in North America and has proved extremely difficult to eradicate. It is a relative of cassava, which I guess is an interesting factoid. It is heavily studied.[12]Water HyacynthHarm: increases mosquito-breeding habitat. Damaging to pond and waterway ecology. Blamed for causing starvation in some poor regions and harming freshwater fisheries.[13]Notes: a very interesting plant. It is one of the fastest growing plants in the world and is capable of nitrogen-fixation. Surprisingly, it is also remarkably good at removing nitrogen, and other nutrients, and heavy metals, from water, and has been proposed as a tool for wastewater treatment.[14] The plant is sometimes used as a forage for livestock and even for human consumption is some localities. It has been used for fertilizer, fiber, and even paper production. There is a semi-aquatic grasshopper that eats the plant.[15] Other animals have also been noted for consuming the plant. Perhaps most interestingly, more than a hundred years ago, a unique solution to the water hyacinth infestation in the American Gulf Coast was seriously considered: farming hippos to eat the plants and provide meat. Yes, we nearly introduced hippos to the USA as an aquatic, water hyacinth munching, cowpig. Amazingly, a bill was brought to Congress, the American Hippo Bill, and only failed by a single vote! A single vote in Congress is all the stood between water hyacinth and the hungry hippos, and between the hippos and hungry Americans, for that matter (hippo meat is reputed to be quite tasty, and well marbled.)You can find the whole story here: American HippopotamusWhile I am sure the hippos would have presented their own problems, being the destructive, dangerous animals they are, the idea is still oddly appealing to me…Footnotes[1] Kudzu - Wikipedia[2] ScienceDirect[3] https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09583150120093031[4] The Miocene Seldovia Point Flora from the Kenai Group, Alaska[5] Ailanthus - Wikipedia[6] https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/386378[7] Samia cynthia - Wikipedia[8] Alliaria petiolata - Wikipedia[9] Silybum marianum - Wikipedia[10] Onopordum acanthium - Wikipedia[11] Centaurea diffusa - Wikipedia[12] Euphorbia virgata - Wikipedia[13] Eichhornia crassipes - Wikipedia[14] ScienceDirect[15] Cornops aquaticum - Wikipedia