Invasive Species

I spend a lot of time outdoors in Maryland hiking through the many bike trails and footpaths that crisscross the county.  After a while, you start recognizing the plants and trees and flowers.  Having an Audobon or Peterson guide to WildFlowers or Trees is also very helpful. 

I have a sister who studied Forestry at the University of Toronto back in our younger days.  In order to graduate, you need to pass Dendrology 101.  Dendrology is the identification of trees.  For the final exam, your professor takes you out to Earnest Thomas Seaton Park in the wintertime and you must identify 100 different species of trees.  No leaves, you may only use the tree bark and general shape for identification.  If you flunk, you have to keep taking it year after year until you finally pass or wash out. 

So my sister was highly motivated for a time to identify trees.  I would occasionally visit her and we couldn't walk far down the street without her going over to a tree and asking me to identify it.  Especially if it was something unusual, like a doubly compound Kentucky Coffee Bean tree.  Or an elm tree with an asymmetrical leaf base.  Most of the elm trees in Canada were wiped out years ago by the Dutch Elm Disease so seeing an live elm tree there is a rare treat.  As a result I gained an appreciation for dendrology and actually learned something too.  Thanks, Patty!

Most identification systems depend on a "key", simply a set of rules, things to look for to narrow down the choices.  You go from general to specific until you reach the level you want.  It works for trees, ducks, insects, whatever you have.  And there's no Master Key, you can make your own key, whatever you find that works for you.

When I moved from Canada to Maryland, I made an effort to familiarize myself with all the different trees and flowers mushrooms and insects.  In comparison to Maryland, Canada is a bleak wasteland of monotony and it was great to see all the new species of ...well, everything!

It wasn't too long before I came across a curious sort of...attitude...I guess is the word.  Some species of plants and insects and animals are unloved and branded as dreaded "Invasive Species".  Species that didn't come over on the Mayflower but instead are breaking down our borders and starting gang wars in our forests and meadows.  And the Invasive Species are strong and aggressive and just destroying the fine and dainty balance that has maintained for so long.

The picture above features the horrendous Japanese Stilt Grass, another "Bio-Bully" that's pushing around the native species, beating them down and taking their lunch money.  But, the thing is, I love Japanese Stiltgrass and look forward to this time of year when it spreads it lush, deep green blades over the otherwise barren forest floor.  And it's fun to walk through.

See all those delicate green vines wrapped around the tree (and almost everything else)?  The one with the triangular leaves?  That's called mile-a-minute weed.  Botanists call it Persicaria perfoliata.  Calling it a weed is actually very unkind, and "a mile a minute" is a gross exaggeration.  It can grow maybe 6 inches on a hot summer day.   It's quite prolific, kind of like the stilt grass.  But see how beautiful and green it looks?

Awhile ago, the head of NASA was being interviewed and on the subject of global warming he said that nobody really knows what the proper temperature of the earth should be and he wasn't so sure why people were worrying if it went up or down.  Likewise, I don't think people should presume to know what the proper balance of life in the world ought to be.  I say, let the strong survive and everything will balance out.