365Caws is now in its 14th year of publication, and was originally intended to end after 365 days. It has sometimes been difficult for me to find new material, particularly during the winter months, but now as I enter my own twilight years, I cannot guarantee that I will be able to provide daily posts. It is my hope that along the way I may have inspired someone to a greater curiosity about the natural world. If so, I can rest, content in the knowledge that my work here has been done.
Saturday, July 23, 2016
Invasive Knapweeds Of Washington
Day 284: While driving along one of my accustomed routes in South Hill yesterday, my eye recognized flecks of lavender on a leggy, three-foot diameter plant with sparse pale greyish-green foliage. By the time I had uttered the words, "Dammit! Was that Knapweed?" the car had travelled about 100 yards, and I found myself looking at a monoculture covering a quarter-acre of open field. I couldn't stop safely, so continued on to finish my shopping, and on the way back, I parked a little ways away and made a patrol on foot. I was horrified at what I found. Although the quarter acre was the most densely covered by this invasive, I could see mounds of it throughout an acre or more of county/private property. I suspect it has been there for years, and I never noticed it because I never caught it in the flowering stage. I took coordinates and filed a report with the Invasive Plant Council, although with the Knapweeds listed as "Class B" weeds, the landowners are not required to control the infestation. It is precisely that short-sighted thinking which makes the campaign against invasive species so frustrating. Education is currently the most important tool we have to stop the spread of Class B invasives. More information and free pamphlets can be obtained through the Washington State Noxious Weed Control Board. Click the "Resources" tab.
Spotted Knapweed (Centaurea stoebe) is the second species of Knapweed I have found in Pierce County in 2016. Earlier this year, I was conducting a training for the IPC on the Bud Blancher Trail and discovered Meadow Knapweed, a related species. To date, the Town of Eatonville has not seen fit to control it, and when I checked on it two weeks ago, it was beginning to go to seed. The two species can be differentiated by looking at the tips of the bracts under a magnifying glass if you're curious (the fringes are "fringier" on C. jacea x nigra), but in any case, any Knapweed you happen to find should be regarded as the enemy.
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