Brasenia Schreberi, A Navigation Hazard

Day 330: Brasenia schreberi is a native species. I thought it was best to settle that point right at the top of this discussion. The common name "Watershield" is more than justified by its ability to cover the water so completely in ponds and slow-moving streams. I was out on an invasive plant patrol on Swofford Pond yesterday, dismayed by having found a large patch of Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis) even before I had the 'yak off the car. I shouldn't have been surprised. The plant had established beside the boat ramp, undoubtedly transported there by someone who failed to wash down their water-craft before launching in another lake. That's how many aquatic/riparian invasives are spread: careless hygiene and the "doesn't-mean-me" attitude so prevalent in these pandemic days. I was hoping the invasive might be confined to that one area, but my hopes were dashed when I found it on the little island straight out from the ramp, and then again at a shoreline location. I struggled to pilot the 'yak through the Brasenia so that I could waypoint it with my GPS, often gaining no more than an inch with a paddle stroke. After several such forays, my shoulders objected and I decided instead to make a note in my report that "Jewelweed occurs at multiple locations along the shoreline." Sometimes you just can't get there from here.

While I Was Out...

Day 295: With gas priced at $4.09/gallon, I have to make any trip out count for as much as possible these days. On my way to harvest figs yesterday, I stopped by a city park to do an invasive plant patrol. After recording 21 instances in 40 acres, I still had time left, and filled it by walking an additional mile through a wetland area for a second survey. At the second location, I found Jewelweed (above) well on its way to establishing monocultures covering at least 10,000 square feet. Both sites are administered by city governments which have understandably tight maintenance budgets, but I have to wonder: where are the volunteers who would love to engage in weed-pulling? I work with several other groups with robust volunteer programs, so am baffled by why these city governments can't get teams together. Their laxity in controlling invasive species on their properties is allowing them to spread into the community where they will be much harder to eradicate.

Evil Weeds - Jewelweed

Day 330: Native in some parts of the United States, Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis) is considered invasive in the Pacific Northwest, and rightfully so. Just in the years I've been working with the Invasive Plant Council, I have seen it take over acres of wetland within two or three years from the time of the first observation. It is often found along lakeshores and river banks, factors which contribute to the dissemination of the seed. Where it is accessible, it is easy to remove by pulling, but locations where it occurs should be monitored closely for several years in order to eliminate any latent sprouts.

With A Teaspoon

Day 329: My day had only just begun when I took this photo, and by the time it ended, I had packed the bow of the kayak so full of Lake St. Clair's Jewelweed that I barely had room for my feet and gear. Given that in one small corner of the lake the infestation covers more than an acre of shoreline, I feel like I'm dipping the ocean dry with a teaspoon. That said, I'm winning in a couple of spots, doing a "maintenance run" on them whenever I go out, pulling any stragglers or new growth. I've singlehandedly rescued one log from the evil weed, and have a fifty-foot stretch of shoreline almost free of the nasty stuff. Do I have enough years left to me to clean the lake? I sincerely doubt it, not even if I worked 365 days a year. Call it a "permanent job," if you will.

What to do today was a toss between kayaking and chanterelling, having had a report of "mountain gold" from Arnie. Wildfire smoke kept me housebound for most of August, and there was still too much in the air today for me to think about hiking up one lesser-known and very steep trail after mushrooms, so I loaded the 'yak on the car and took off for Lake St. Clair, honestly only intending to paddle a bit, visit the Sundews and come home. Consequently, I forgot to put a weed bag in the 'yak, an omission which left me prime prey for ants and spiders by the hundred. They like Jewelweed. And I won't say the evil weed is without purpose. An inadvertent encounter with a patch of nettles provided an opportunity for scientific study. Jewelweed is purported to be good against poison oak/ivy, and a previous nettling during a weed patrol had made me wonder if I hadn't reacted as strongly because I was already covered with the sap. When I got my arm in the nettle patch today, I immediately rubbed the spot with a crushed Jewelweed leaf. Voila! Instant relief! Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to work against ant and spider bites.

The Jewelweed From Hell

Day 268: Honestly, this is not a huge jewelweed stem as adult plants go, but what makes it exceptional is the fact that it was growing in my lakeside friend Jim's well-kept yard, and fairly near the water's edge. As many times as I've sat with him at the base of his rockery, I don't know how I could have missed it. In any event, he invited me up for lemonade (his house sits about 40' above his dock), and as he walked me back down to my kayak, I spotted the plant. The killing instinct is strong when it comes to a few species, and I stooped on it like a hawk on a mouse, screaming "Aaaaaaagggggh! Jewelweed!" as I did so. Poor Jim must not have known what to think as I took hold of its 1" stem and began pulling, hoping to get the roots from under an overturned boat. I wasn't entirely successful, but deprived of its leaves and its remaining roots under cover, it's possible the plant will die. Jim's puzzled, "What is it?" gave me the opportunity to educate, and with any luck at all, he'll make his neighbours aware of this rapidly spreading invasive. I'll need all the help I can get.

A Boatload Of Bad

Day 315: Since I had to be in Yelm anyway yesterday morning, I threw the 'yak on the top of the car with a mind to going out on Lake St. Clair to remove the small infestation of Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis) which I'd discovered growing on a floating log about a month ago. Little did I realize how the rest of the day was going to progress.

It only took a few minutes to remove eight plants from the log, the tallest of which was about 2', but as I proceeded close to shore en route to the Sundews, I spotted a mound of the nasty stuff about 10' on a side and 6' tall nestled among thick blackberries. There was no way I could access it from the boat, and someone approaching from the heavily wooded land would need to machete a path through the thorns to reach it. Sighing heavily, I realized that I have my work cut out for me for as long as I'm able to paddle unless the rules regarding development along this side of the lake are relaxed. Jewelweed is an aggressive invader. As long as one plant exists on the shore, it will continue to spread to other areas of the lake. Further on, I noted another heavy infestation, this one covering close to 1000 sq. ft. Again, I could not access it from the water.

As I made my way along the shore, I noticed more places where the weed occurred to lesser degrees. For the most part, it was in spots I couldn't reach, but there were a few exceptions. At the location shown above, I was able to get out of the 'yak and stood in thigh-deep water to pull over 100 plants from the log shown just beyond the bow of the kayak. I was wishing I'd remembered to bring a bag, because the plants were covered in ants, and as I continued on my journey, I kept picking ants off myself and the 'yak by the dozen.

I was heartened when a sweep up the far east side of the lake seemed to prove Jewelweed-free, but when I reached the north end of the lobe, I found more of it growing on a piece of dock which had broken free some years ago and was now a "raft" of sorts, similar to the original Sundew Island, free-floating and now lost somewhere among the tangle of weed and wood along the shore. It seemed the Jewelweed had found an enterprising means of transport, rafting to new locations to release its future generations. Not on my watch! I forced the kayak onto the wood-and-styrofoam structure and pulled every Jewelweed within reach. By the time I got back to the car, the bow of the 'yak was packed with roughly 10 pounds of Jewelweed, enough to fill a large garbage bag. Even so, those inaccessible groves of this persistent plant will continue to disperse seed. A catch-phrase comes to mind, as applicable in this scenario as in the one which birthed it: "Still she persisted." Yes, that will serve.

Spotted Jewelweed, Impatiens Capensis

Day 276: I suspect that many of you are going to react to this photo with thoughts along the lines of "My, what a pretty flower." Put those thoughts out of your head. This is Spotted Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis), one of the Invasive Plant Council's "bonus plants," i.e., those which are on the hit list because of their potential, but aren't yet a major problem. How it got seeded on a log twenty feet out from shore in Lake St. Clair is open to speculation, although its dry seed pods are notorious for ejecting their contents with some force if even lightly bumped, a factor which allows it to spread rampantly. It was not the type of surprise I enjoy finding during a kayak trip, but once I find out how it can be removed most effectively, I have an excuse to go for another paddle on my favourite lake. Take that, Jewelweed! You're creeping just a little too close to my precious Sundews!