Photo Credit: Ginny Neil
“I believe alien life is quite common in the universe.”
—Stephen Hawking
In the dead of winter, there is only one thing to do. Worry about aliens. Space invaders are coming to a pasture, garden or forest near you. If you’re not a believer, you should be. Aliens are already here.
These UFOs (ubiquitously fertile overachievers) have names: Autumn olive, bamboo, garlic mustard, purple loosestrife, tree of heaven, multiflora rose, and “the vine that swallowed the south”—kudzu.
Most have already landed in the Appalachian Mountains and are busy knocking out native flora and fauna in their quest for more space and light. All of them come from faraway lands, so how did they get here? Some hitchhiked on birds or the wind. Others aliens were introduced to us by government agencies and gardening centers because they offered such seductive gifts.
A stand of bamboo (Phyllostachys aureosulcata) provides a quick privacy fence, while tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima) gives fast shade. Multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora) offers two gifts—profuse blooms followed by bright red hips which birds love. Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) is a medicinal herb and is edible when young. Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) is stunning in bloom while autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellate) provides a bounty of fruits for both humans and birds. Autumn olive jam is bright red and tart.
My Nana always said, “a weed is just a plant out of place.” The problem with UFOs is that they are “plants out of place all over the place.” These obnoxious growers outwit, outcompete and outlast their more sedate native neighbors.
I manage an outdoor learning lab which is a designated Monarch Waystation. It is an acre and a half of open wetland meadow with a healthy stand of milkweed. In addition, my students have catalogued at least 30 species of flowering plants growing there which include wild strawberries, golden Alexanders, asters, goldenrods and even a fairly rare native species of loosestrife (Lythrum alatum). But, all of these flowering plants are being swallowed by autumn olives, multiflora rose, white poplar (Populus alba), and wild parsnip (Pastinaca sativa).
It is almost impossible to pull, cut, and spray every invasive. Nevertheless, we fight on because, without intervention, our school’s learning lab will lose its diversity. I read somewhere that goats love to eat autumn olive, multiflora rose and wild parsnip. Perhaps it’s time for me to give these hoofed harvesters a shot at obliterating the invaders.
In the meantime, my students and I will continue to eradicate them where we can. My family will attack them on the farm and hope that our neighbors will do the same.
Why am I telling you this now? I was surprised to find English ivy, vinca minor, wisteria, mimosa tree, barberry, and burning bush on the list of invasive species. These, and more, are all still sold at gardening centers and online. As you plan for next year’s garden, avoid plants that might one day become problems. When they push out native species, then birds and butterflies lose important food sources.
If homeowners and gardeners unite, perhaps we can stop at least some of these aggressive space invaders from taking over the mountains. They don’t come in peace.
Learn More About Invasives
If you are interested in learning more, the University of Tennessee has put out a great guide to identifying plants that are considered invasive in the Appalachian Mountains. It organizes them by type and gives information about how to eradicate them if you spot them. You can find it by typing “invasive weeds of the Appalachian region” into your browser or by following this link: extension.tennessee.edu/publications/Documents/PB1785.pdf
The story above first appeared in our January / February 2022 issue.
