Invasive beauties; Choice species

Bright, long lasting, colorful ornamental species occupy a front line salient in the ongoing battle of invasive species stakeholders. The urge to select for color when deciding which plants to encourage in our landscapes is a primary decision which motivates immediate choice. Color is easy to understand; it is a basic design fundamental that even non gardeners understand immediately. The role of invasive species is not a primary design consideration. Color helps give order to the comprehensibility of diversity to those, who have, neither the inclination o learn nor the landscape literacy to comprehend, nor the literacy to understand the complications of diversity. Color simplifies understanding.

This is the power of Lythrum salicaria and L. virgatum in North America, and Jacaranda mimosifolia or J. cuspidifolia in Africa. “Travis Lyle a.k.a hedmekanik (33) is a writer, event promoter, DJ, and standalone whisky filter” in his own words, and writes eloquently and poetically on the pull of color in our gardens and our landscapes, and the need to consider surfacve beauty choices. I take this opportunity to point you in his direction: Tuesday, August 14, 2007; Lovely Tree, The Jacaranda. Beautiful Plumage...

Pictures from: http://trees.stanford.edu/images/Bign/Jacaranda.jpg; http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/ottawa/forest_management/botany/invasive_folder/tnails/images/Lythrum%20salicaria_575_JPG.jpg

Japanese barberry: Invasive Species?

When discussing invasive species, the wicked inconvenience of cultivars will quickly arise, especially when focused on the genus Berberis. One species, Berberis thunbergii, has established itself as a poster child for garden favorite gone wild. And yet there is some suggestion from professional gardeners and horticulturists that suggests that there are cultivars and varieties which are not invasive. Berberis thunbergii 'Aurea', Berberis thunbergii 'Bonanza Gold', and Berberis thunbergii 'Gold Nugget' are but a few of the ornamental cultivars in the horticultural trade.[1] And these cultivars along with others raise questions which go to the heart of the invasive species controversy.

“Japanese barberry was introduced to the United States as an ornamental in 1875. Seeds were sent from Russia to the Arnold Arboretum in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1896, it was planted at the New York Botanic Garden. It was eventually promoted as a substitute for Berberis vulgaris, an exotic plant introduced and used by early settlers from Europe for hedgerows, dyes and jams, and later found to be a host for the black stem rust of wheat.” [2] “In the United States, Japanese barberry occurs throughout much of New England and the Northeast, south to North Carolina and west to Michigan and Missouri. Barberry forms dense stands in a variety of habitats, including closed canopy forests and open woodlands, wetlands, pastures, meadows and wastelands. This highly shade-tolerant exotic shrub displaces a variety of native herb and shrub species in areas where it is well established. [3] Japanese barberry forms dense stands in natural habitats including canopy forests, open woodlands, wetlands, pastures, and meadows and alters soil pH, nitrogen levels, and biological activity in the soil. Once established, barberry displaces native plants and reduces wildlife habitat and forage. White-tailed deer apparently avoid browsing barberry, preferring to feed on native plants, giving barberry a competitive advantage. In New Jersey, Japanese barberry has been found to raise soil pH (i.e., make it more basic) and reduce the depth of the litter layer in forests.” [4] This last piece of information may be shown to work in conjunction with non native earthworms to allow adventitious exotic species to more easily displace native plants, and allow the creation of biological deserts, or mono-cultures.

It is important to keep in mind the distinction between variety and cultivar. “Variety names are given when the mutation occurs in nature. (Eg a mutation occurs in a wild arid land) B. The abbreviation var. is used to signify that the mutation is a variety. var. is placed after the specific epithet and is not underlined or italicized.”, whereas “Cultivar names are given when the mutation occurs due to human influence. Examples: a mutation occurs in a green house. B. The abbreviation cv. is used to signify that the mutation is a cultivar. cv. is placed after the specific epithet and is not underlined or italicized.” [5]

Berberis thunbergii var. atropurpurea 'Angel Wings', Berberis thunbergii var. atropurpurea 'Crimson Giant', Berberis thunbergii var. atropurpurea 'Crimson Pygmy', Berberis thunbergii var. atropurpurea 'Crimson Velvet', and Berberis thunbergii var. atropurpurea 'Rosy Glow'[6] are important varieties in the garden industry. These cultivars and varieties have important uses as described, interestingly enough, by work done at the University of Connecticut: “Landscape Use, such as for: borders and hedges; Groupings (sic) and mass plantings; in urban areas. difficult sites; yellow, red and variegated foliage forms to add color to a landscape.”[7] In addition, barberry is used to counter the ravages of deer in the eastern United States. “Begin with a selection of deer resistant plants such as: Abies, Amelanchier, Berberis, Buxus, Cornus vars., Ilex glabra, Magnolias, Picea abies, glauca & Pungens, Pieris japonica, Pinus mugo & nigra, Spirea & Syringa to name a few. Plant these plants in front of favored plants…”[8]

Farming interests are concerned about barberry as a host plant for rust. ”Black stem rust is one of the most destructive plant diseases that is known to exist in the United States. The disease is caused by a fungus that reduces the quality of and yield of infected wheat, oat, barley, and rye crops by robbing host plants of food and water. In addition to infecting small grains, the fungus lives on a variety of alternate host plants that are species of the genera Berberis, Mahoberberis, and Mahonia. The fungus is spread from host to host by windborne spores.”[9]

A common sentiment is expressed in the following web log from Pugent Sound: “In some parts of the country Barbarries(sic) have become invasive but this hybrid (Berberis thunbergii 'Aurea') doesn't really set any seed and my clump of 3 plants has only reached two feet high and four feet across. Not bad for almost 5 years in the ground. It's a wonderful plant that really requires no special care. Certainly a keeper.”[10] As I have noted before in my postings, Monday, January 15, 2007; Invasive: thoughts and threads, it is quite possible that the plants in the garden do not produce many seeds, however, the possibility of cross pollination with species already “naturalized” is not addressed.

There is work under way to find a truly sterile Japanese barberry. “Mark Brand, a professor of plant science, and Yi Li, an associate professor of plant science, are experimenting with two different approaches to developing a sterile form of the plant that would have its desirable features, without producing seeds.”[11]

I have included a sample of the genus Berberis which is by no means complete or exhaustive. I also have tried to find state or university citations of barberry as invasive species in a sample of eastern and mid western states. I would be appreciative of any additional information or links which I will add to this list and give credit to the submitting source. Any additional from states not listed would be included gladly. Any corrections are encouraged.

Species list citation except when otherwise foot noted[12]

Berberis aggregata C. K. Schneid. -- salmon barberry : China[13]
Berberis canadensis P. Mill. -- American barberry, Allegheny barberry: North America[14]
Berberis bergmanniae – Chinese barberry; China (Szechuan; Hupeh)[15]
Berberis buxifolia Lam. -- Magellan barberry; southern Chile, Argentina[16]
Berberis x chenaultii qv. Berberis x hybridogagnepainii 'Chenaultii' Ahrendt[17] -- ornamental only[18]
Berberis darwinii Hook. -- Darwin's barberry, Argentina; Chile (invasive)[19]
Berberis fendleri Gray -- Colorado barberry; Colorado, Itah, New Mexico[20]
Berberis (x) gladwynensis – William Penn barberry; A hybrid of B. verruculosa and B. gagnepainii [21]
Berberis harrisoniana Kearney & Peebles -- Harrison's barberry; Sonoran desert: southwestern Arizona[22]
Berberis haematocarpa -- Red Barberry, Desert Barberry; North America, Colorado,
New Mexico, Texas, Arizona, California , Nevada, Mexico - Sonora[23]
Berberis julianae Schneid. -- wintergreen barberry, Julian’s barberry; China - Guizhou, Hubei, Sichuan[24]
Berberis koreana Palib. -- Korea, South - Kyonggi[25]
Berberis ×mentorensis L. M. Ames -- Mentor barberry; ornamental only[26]
Berberis ×ottawensis Schneid.; ornamental only[27]
Berberis sargentiana C. K. Snied. -- Sargent's barberry; China[28]
Berberis ×stenophylla Lindl. = Berberis darwinii × B. empetrifolia; ornamental only[29]
Berberis thunbergii DC. -- Japanese barberry; Japan (invasive CT, MA)[30]
Berberis vulgaris L. -- common or European barberry; Western Asia: Turkey. Caucasus: Russian Federation; Austria; Belgium; Czechoslovakia; Germany; Hungary; Netherlands; Poland; Switzerland; Belarus; Ukraine [incl. Krym]; Albania; Bulgaria; Greece; Italy; Romania; Yugoslavia; France [incl. Corsica]; Spain[31] ;(invasive WI)[32]
Berberis wilcoxii Kearney -- Wilcox's barberry; North America: New Mexico, Arizona,
Northern Mexico: Mexico - Sonora[33]
Berberis verruculosa Hemsl. & E. H. Wilson – Warty barberry ; China - Sichuan[34]
Berberis wisleyensis Ahrendt, misapplied to B. wisleyensis in cultivation -- Wisley barberry;

Exotic Pest Plant Councils as well as native plant societies refer to invasive barberry at great length, including SE-EPPC and MA-EPPC among many.

Maine: University of Maine Cooperative Extension Bulletin #2504
Vermont: many sites and references from out of state; no state site found as of this writing
New Hampshire: NH Dept. of Agriculture Markets & Food Plant Industry DivisionIndustry Division
Connecticut: Connecticut Botanical Society; Univ. Conn.
Massachusetts:Massachusetts Prohibited Plant List
Rhode Island: Rhode Island Invasive Species Council
New York: Invasive Plant Council of NYS
Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry and USDA Forest Service
New Jersey: Appendix to Policy Directive 2004-02
Invasive Nonindigenous Plant Species
Delaware: Delaware Natural Heritage Program
Maryland: Maryland Invasive Species Council,” Species of Concern”
Virginia: Invasive Alien Plant Species of Virginia
West Virginia: many sites and references from out of state; not listed on Invasive Species site
North Carolina: many sites and references from out of state; no state site found as of this writing
South Carolina: many sites and references from out of state; no state site found as of this writing
Ohio: does not appear on top ten list from Ohio Department of Natural Resources
Indiana: does not appear in list from Invasive Plants in Indiana
Michigan: many sites and references from out of state; not listed on Invasive Species site
Illinois: does not appear in list from Illinois Department of Natural Resources
Wisconsin: Wisconsin Manual of Control Recommendations:
Ecologically Invasive Plants
Minnesota: Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
Kentucky: does not appear in list from Kentucky Division of Forestry
Tennessee: many sites and references from out of state; no state site found as of this writing
********************************************************************************
[1] http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/factsheets/shrubs/cultivars/berberis_thunbergii-table.html
[2] Invasive Plants of the Eastern United States (John Randall ); http://www.invasive.org/eastern/midatlantic/beth.html
[3] Invasive Plants of the Eastern United States (John Randall ); http://www.invasive.org/eastern/midatlantic/beth.html
[4] Plant Conservation Alliance, Alien Plant Working Group; http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/fact/beth1.htm
[5] http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&start=0&oi=define&ei=4QS-RvOsJoeier6TrPAK&sig2=NZ5rpEJXv8g6WRwCzMwPjQ&q=http://www.cactus-art.biz/note-book/Dictionary/Dictionary.htm&usg=AFQjCNEt3hKUmxly-2G9U8gD0ci4ilnUbg
[6] http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/factsheets/shrubs/cultivars/berberis_thunber-var-table.html
[7] http://www.hort.uconn.edu/plants/b/berthu/berthu1.html
[8] Twombly Nursery
[9] Federal Register: 5777; Vol. 71, No. 23; Friday, February 3, 2006
[10] BobsGarden.com
[11] Researchers Outsmarting Popular But Invasive Barberry Shrub;By Beth Krane
[12] USDA NRCS; http://plants.usda.gov/java/ClassificationServlet?source=display&classid=BERBE
[13] United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville Area; http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?6806
[14] United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville Area; http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?6826
[15] © 1998-99 Philippe Faucon, All Rights Reserved
[16] http://oregonstate.edu/dept/ldplants/bebun-i.htm
[17] Natural Resources Canada; http://www.nrcan-rncan.gc.ca/
[18] United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville Area; http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?6831
[19] United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville Area; http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?6845
[20] United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville Area; http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?411282
[21] http://oregonstate.edu/dept/ldplants/beglwp.htm
[22] © 1998-2005 Philippe Faucon; All Rights Reserved.
[23] United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville Area; http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?413268
[24] United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville Area; http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?6892
[25] United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville Area; http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?6896
[26] States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville Area; http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?105012
[27] United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville Area; http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?6929
[28] United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville Area; http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?6955
[29] United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville Area; http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?6967
[30] United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville Area; http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?6974
[31] United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville Area; http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?6992
[32] USDA NRCS; http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=BEVU
[33] United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville Area; http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?413269
[34] United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville Area;; http://www.desert-tropicals.com/Plants/Berberidaceae/Berberis.html

Invasive Species (Kudzu) Meets Fox News

The complicated issues surrounding invasive species comprise a wicked inconvenience. From my posting on February 18th, 2007: “8. Every wicked problem can be considered to be a symptom of another problem.” As we struggle to fend off the encroachment of monocultures, and protect the diveristy of our eco-systems, an inconvenient truth lurks in the from of an co-equally infinite wicked problem: Climate Change.

The lack of funding and support for research in invasive species and climate change in analogous to the general decline in infrastructure both physical and intellectual. I have written about the plight of the scientific work underway at the National Agricultural Research Center (BARC) [Thursday, April 12, 2007; BARC: Funding for Research Continues to Fall] to little or no avail. Sometimes it seems that by the time we shall realize the enormity of the problem; that is, when we find our grain crops no longer produce the yield they once did, or that our native ecology is no longer self sustaining, and our native flora no longer lives where we have come to expect it, we will wonder why we did not fund research into new varieties and strains of food crops, alternative energy sources, and environmental stability.

Sometimes, we can combine two seemingly disparate streams of work to at least provide another tool in our arsenal against invasives and for energy needs, if we would only take the time to compel our political leaders to fund the work before the crisis overwhelms us. Quoting from Dr. Lewis Ziska, USDA BARC,

“Although carbon dioxide (CO2) is the principle greenhouse gas, it also represents the sole source of carbon for plants, and hence for almost all terrestrial life. Because current levels of atmospheric CO2 are less than optimal for plant growth, recent and projected increases in this gas are expected to stimulate the growth of a number of plant species. Although this aspect of climate change can be viewed as beneficial, the rise in carbon dioxide is indiscriminate in stimulating the growth of both wanted and unwanted plants. Because international trade has increased the biotic mixing of flora across many parts of the globe, unwanted plant species are becoming widely established. The severity of damage induced by these species and their panoptic scale has produced a new class of unwanted plants: invasive, noxious weeds. To determine whether rising carbon dioxide has been a factor in the establishment and success of such plants, we have compared the potential response to recent and projected changes in carbon dioxide between invasive, noxious species and other plant groups, and assessed whether CO2 preferentially selects for such species within ecosystems. A synthesis of literature results indicates that invasive, noxious weeds on the whole have a larger than expected growth increase to both recent and projected increases in atmospheric CO2 relative to other plant species. There is also evidence from a majority of studies, than rising CO2 can, in fact, preferentially select for invasive, noxious species within plant communities. Furthermore, there is initial data suggesting that control of such weeds may be more difficult in the future. However, the small numbers of available experiments makes such conclusions problematic, and emphasize the urgent need for additional studies to address the biological and economic uncertainties associated with CO2-induced changes in the ecology of invasive, noxious weeds.”

Trying to get one million dollars seems to be shouting in the wind, but I was able to coax a local Fox Network affiliate to broadcast the following: http://www.myfoxdc.com/myfox/MyFox/pages/sidebar_video.jsp?contentId=3984577&version=1&locale=EN-US .

I could use your help in getting the word out in any way you think appropriate.

Invasive Notes Invitation to Relay Comment on Invasive Species

I am delighted to serve as a member of the National Invasive Species Council Advisory Committee which will meet in Beltsville near the National Agricultural Research Center October 1st through 3rd, 2007. This is an open to the public meeting, however, if you cannot join us, I would be delighted to pass along any comments or ideas which you may have.

The National Invasive Species Council (NISC) “…include(s) three co-chairs: the secretaries of the Agriculture, Commerce, Interior, and the secretaries of State, Defense, Homeland Security, Treasury, Transportation, Health and Human Services, as well as the Administrators of the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the U.S Trade Representative, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.” And the Invasive Species Advisory Committee (ISAC) “consists of nonfederal representatives and stakeholders who provide recommendations as well as input and consensus advice to NISC.”

Thus I am glad to serve as one of your voices to NISC through the meeting of ISAC. What do you think? What recommendations would you make, and why? What advice should be passed along to the executive branch of our government? What programs are working; which ones are not? Let me take the thoughts of the blogosphere (is this a word?) to the Invasive Species Advisory Committee meeting.

Leave a comment or send me e-mail: CHAIRMAN@BEHNKES.NET.

Invasive Species Gone Good?

Two articles about good invasive species, which provide beneficial services to the environment in one week, are a writer’s dream-come-true. In my last post, Invasive Species; Wickedly Inconvenient Still, I noted the complexities of dealing with invasive species issues. Now I find in the posting, Zebra mussels cleaning up water in Lake Eerie, a similar theme describing the positive unintended consequence of invasion. Setting aside my inability to source the science, an argument usually found in those who think there is no problem to be uncovered in the issues of invasive species, reading about the positive contributions of water hyacinth, zebra mussels, and snake heads certainly makes for interesting conversation and presentation to the general public. When this is added to the general elasticity of invasive species definitions and the challenge of explaining that, for example, in Maryland poison ivy is not invasive by definition, mostly, or that, to be invasive a species must cause harm, and I see my public speaking continuing for quite some time.