The control and eradication of invasive species in Washington State is an important part of maintaining the diversity and wellbeing of our ecosystems. One invasive species common to us, Heracleum mantegazzianum, otherwise known as giant hogweed, is a Class A weed and must be eliminated where encountered (Noxious Weed Control Board). H. mantegazzianum is recognizable by its immense height of up to 20 feet, and its thick stalks support umbels of small, clustered white flowers. It can be distinguished from plants of similar appearance by purple blotches located on the stems (Noxious Weed Control Board). They are commonly found near riverbanks and roadsides. (New York State Department of Environmental Conservation). H. mantegazzianum owes much of its success as an invasive species to its reproductive capabilities as an angiosperm. According to Reece et al, sexual reproduction for the angiosperms begins in the flower on a mature sporophyte plant. Within the anther the male microsporocytes undergo meiosis to …show more content…
Firstly, it is a threat to native species and perilous to the ecosystems they colonize by stealing resources. Second, the formation of their roots contributes to soil erosion by the creation of bare soil. Finally, the sap contained within all parts of the plant sensitizes human skin to UV radiation and leads to photo-dermatitis (Noxious Weed Control Board). For these reasons, it is imperative that this weed is eradicated in the state of Washington. Different methods of eliminating giant hogweed exist, with varying results. For young plants, cutting the root 6 inches below the earth can be effective when infestations are small. For larger infestations and with greater success, herbicides containing triclopyr or glyphosate may be applied to giant hogweed. Treated infestations must be monitored for many years following to ensure no regrowth (Nehrbass et
Thirty percent of Warsaw’s population were Jews prior to the Holocaust, which was a staggering 350,000. However, during the Holocaust 400,000 Jews were forced to live in grotesque conditions by the Nazi regime. In the novel Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli, Misha, a young orphaned boy, befriended a group of boys living in a barn. As turmoil spread in Europe about the Nazi reign, Jewish people were captivated and imprisoned in ghettos to be isolated from the rest of the population. Ensnared to stay with his “pseudo” family, Misha, lives with the Milgroms in a ghetto. As the story progresses, different themes such as famine, disease, and death, manifest throughout the novel resembling the annexation of the Nazi party and the captivity of millions
The Purple Loosestrife is an invasive species that continues to reproduce and slowly being treated. The invasive species of the Purple Loosestrife, or Lythrum Salicaria, is a wetland plant that can produce up to 2.7 million seeds with each plant blooming about 30 flowering stems from early July until early September. From their long flower spikes, they have five to seven pink purple petals with a purple rose flower. This invasive species can grow from anywhere between four feet to ten feet tall. Species that are closely related or often confused to be a Purple Loosestrife include the following: fireweed, blue vervain, blazing stars, and native swamp loosestrife.
Then in the early 1970’s, a large seed reservoir was present and effectively cultivated a crop of spotted knapweed where the soil had once been disturbed (SCWD, n.d.). This infestation had remained unattended to until 1983, when the Stillwater Mining Company began operations. The Stillwater Mining Company began aggressive measures to control the spotted knapweed, but the weed had established itself and began spreading to adjoining private and public properties. Since then, the efforts of the Stillwater Mining Company, local land owners, Untied States Forest Service (USFS), the Stillwater Valley Watershed Council, and Stillwater County have effectively controlled the spotted knapweed in all areas except for along the river corridor (SCWD.
Milkweed is a book about a boy who is called Gypsy, Stoptheif and Jew. He becomes friends with a group of orphaned Jewish boys and lives with them. He is given a name and a backstory from Uri, who protects him. The name is Misha Pilsudski. Misha wants to become a Nazi when he gets older because of their boots but changes his mind. Misha meets a Jewish girl named Janina Milgrom, her family is forced to move to the Warsaw Ghetto. Misha eventually becomes part of the family and lives with them in the ghetto. Every night Misha slips through the 2 brick hole in the wall around the ghetto, to steal food. While Misha is stealing food he sees Uri and is warned to escape from the ghetto because trains are going to take the Jews away. Misha comes home
If I had lived during the Holocaust, the hardships would include lack of shelter, starvation, and survival. To start, people struggled to find a safe shelter. The book Milkweed is about a boy who has to change the locations of his shelter to be able to survive. I know that during this time period a lot of people who were jewish were taken to concentration camps were they were forced to work and were treated harshly. Because of this people had to change the location of their shelter to escape getting caught. Additionally, people also had to face the struggles of starvation. Since hitler and his nazis were killing off a lot of people, the people who owned food stores could no longer sell food. This meant that people couldn’t get the same amount
My invasive species that I want to chose is the Hydrilla.The scientific name is Hydrilla verticillata.The Hydrilla is a plant that have stem that can grow up to 39 in. The leaves are a reddish color when they're fresh .They have flower on the stem but are rarely seen .The Hydrilla is a plant specie and an terrestrial pest.The Hydrilla doesn’t eat but it use photosynthesi ,it turn sun,water and air into sugar and that what the Hydrilla need to live.If Hydrilla keep on reproducing it will invade into other aquatic ecosystems and kill native species.
cattleianum, is a highly invasive species that damages native Hawaiian forests, ecosystems, and the watershed, which can be managed through mechanical, chemical, and biological controls. In its native homeland of southeastern Brazil, the strawberry guava is limited, unlike Hawaii, where it forms monotypic stands that displace native Hawaiian flora and fauna and drive these indigenous, endemic, and endangered species towards extinction. Strawberry guava contributes further to the displacement of native Hawaiian forests by providing nourishment to feral pigs and mice that feed on native Hawaiian flora and fauna. Besides displacement of native Hawaiian species, strawberry guava puts humans at risk through increased erosion and soil runoff as well as hosting fruit flies that cause large scale damage to crops. Mechanical and chemical controls were used to manage P. cattleianum, however they require a lot of time, labor, and money, yet the strawberry guava prevails majority of the time. The State has recently introduced a biocontrol, T. ovatus, which is host specific to P. cattleianum and not its commercially significant cousin, P. guajava, nor any native Hawaiian plants. Although the T. ovatus will not kill the strawberry guava, the T. ovatus will inhibit the growth of new foliage and fruit formation. With the introduction of T. ovatus and increased public awareness of the effects of strawberry guava, P. cattleianum can be controlled and eliminated to
Sounding like an evil force in a horror film, the Giant Hogweed is a toxic and deadly plant that has the potential to wreak havoc throughout Canada. A unique botanical, it's sprouting up throughout Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia. Concern that the Giant Hogweed poses a severe threat to the health and well-being of the public, many individuals and local agencies are demanding the government respond to stop the outbreak.
agriculture led to a rise in “superweeds.” Superweeds are weeds, which have grown resistant to
The tallgrass prairie has been reduced to less than one-tenth of one percent (0.1%) of the original area that it used to cover. Because of the small percentage of remaining area of the tallgrass prairie, ecologists might feel that the tallgrass parries is the most endangered ecosystem. It is believed to have covered around 25 million acres in Minnesota and Iowa at one point, but now there is less than 300,000 acres scattered around Minnesota and Iowa. The remaining acres of tallgrass prairie is scattered in small areas that do not have much wildlife value. Since the area is so scattered, many animals that live in these tallgrass prairies are having troubles finding places to live because they don’t want to make their nest on the edge for fear
In the background of nearly every Western movie, there is one plant that is likely to be rolling around: tumbleweeds. Tumbleweeds are actually a type of thistle called Salsola. In just a few months, they go from lush green plants to large, dried-out balls. While tumbleweeds are a common sight in the West, they are not always a welcome one.
Helenium autumnale or the Sneezeweed is native to Kansas, but can be found in most of the united states. Height of the plant can reach anywhere from three to five feet and spreading two to three feet. The Sneezeweed is a flowering perennial that has one to two inch yellow flowers with ray like petals. The plant blooms late in summer and into fall. Growing conditions for the Sneezeweed are in rich, wet soils and they cannot tollerate dry soils. The Sneezeweed also needs to be grown in full sun.
I would need evidence that clovers of the same species in North Carolina are different than those from Minnesota and those differences are useful for that environment but not necessarily useful in the other. For example, striped clover in Minnesota may be shorter than striped clover in North Carolina, to protect itself from cold weather. While that is useful in Minnesota, it’s not necessarily useful in North Carolina. The striped clover in Minnesota, an area that it is not built to survive in, has evolved to survive.
Range.—Giant milkweed is native to West Africa as far south as Angola, North and East Africa, Madagascar, the Arabian Peninsula, southern Asia, and Indochina to Malaysia (Rahman and Wilcock 1991). The species is now naturalized in Australia, many Pacific islands, Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean islands. Ecology.—Giant milkweed favors open habitat with little competition. This condition is most completely met in overgrazed pastures and rangeland. Other common habitats are beachfront dunes, roadsides, and disturbed urban lots. The species grows in dry habitat (150 to 1000 mm precipitation) and sometimes in excessively drained soils in areas with as much as 2000 mm of annual precipitation. Giant milkweed may be found in areas
Cheatgrass is the common name for the species Bromus tectorum L. and belongs to the grass family Poaceae (USDA 2015). This invasive plant was originally reported in eastern North America but now it is dominant in the Intermountain West (Huttanus 2009). The genetics of 192 North American populations of Bromus tectorum is studied so far (Huttanus 2009). Cheatgrass grows mostly in coarse texted soils whereas it cannot develop in saline or compacted soil (USDA 2014). In addition, it can invade rapidly in troubled areas such as burned areas, overgrazed rangelands, and cultivated fields. The spreading of the plant to shorter distance occurred as a result of transportation of hairy seeds by wind, birds, water, and to greater distance by vehicles carrying seeds in its undercarriage (USDA 2014).