Invasive Plants in Murrysville, PA

AUG 06   SEP 06   OCT 06   JAN 07  APR 07

Pirate tickets for August 29 and August 30.
 
2 pairs of excellent Pirate tickets will be raffled off on August 23 among all people who volunteer more than 40 hours in the Murrysville parks eradicating the invasive plants. For more information, call Pia
van de Venne, Volunteer Coordinator Parks at 724 733 2770

Callery pear Pyrus calleryana Decne. SOURCE: The following information on this species is taken from the Delaware River Invasive Plant Partnership, Invasive Plant Fact Sheets at http://www.paflora.org/DRIPP.html. Modifications include additional pictures (from www.invasives.org) and resource information. DESCRIPTION: Callery pear is a medium-sized deciduous tree, it grows to a height of 35-40 feet with upright branches and a very dense, symmetrical crown. Stem - Callery pear trees have scaly gray-brown bark and branches with numerous short lateral twigs. Twigs ending in thorns are typical of the species, but the Bradford cultivar is thornless. Leaves - The leaves are simple, 2-3 inches long, broadest near the rounded base and tapering to the tip. They are light to dark green and glossy with a wavy edge. The leaves remain green late into the fall and finally turn a deep red color before falling. Flowers - Callery pear is one of the earliest trees to flower in the spring, well before the leaves appear. The flowers are white, about ¾ inch in diameter, with five white petals. Fruit and seed - Callery pear fruits are small, ¼-½ inch in diameter, and hard and brown when ripe; each fruit contains 2-4 shiny black seeds. Birds and small mammals eat the fruits. Photos: (clockwise from top left): Britt Slattery, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, www.forestryimages.org; (2) Chuck Bargeron, The University of Georgia, www.forestryimages.org; from Fact Sheet DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT: Callery pear is native to China; in 1918 seed was brought to the United States for potential use as rootstock for cultivated pears. Of the initial batch of 100 pounds of seed that was planted at the Plant Introduction Station at Glen Dale, Maryland , one vigorous, non-spiny seedling was selected and named "Bradford". The 'Bradford' callery pear proved to be an attractive landscape specimen with a neat growth form, attractive flowers and foliage, and no pests. Furthermore Bradford was not self-pollinating and thus no fruit or seeds were produced. The landscape industry popularized it and before long it was being planted in urban and suburban settings from parking lots and streets to home landscapes. In 1982 the National Landscape Association voted 'Bradford' callery pear the second most popular tree in America. However, with time other callery pear cultivars were developed and introduced into the nursery trade. With several cultivars in circulation, cross-pollination could take place and the trees began to produce fruits and seeds. The spread of callery pear along roadsides, rights-of-way, and in successional old fields was first noticed in southern Maryland and around Washington, DC. In Pennsylvania naturalized populations are known in Bucks and Montgomery Counties. Naturalized populations generally exhibit characteristics of the species including wide-spreading branches and thorniness. Fruit size may vary from ¼ inch to nearly 1 inch in diameter. EFFECTS OF INVASION: Naturalized callery pear competes with native early successional trees in old fields and hedgerows. REPRODUCTION AND METHODS OF DISPERSAL: The spread of callery pear is by seed, apparently dispersed by birds, and perhaps also small mammals, that consume the small hard fruits and excrete the seeds when they defecate. NATIVE ALTERNATIVES FOR LANDSCAPE USE: Native small, flowering trees such as shadbush or juneberry (Amelanchier arborea, Amelanchier laevis), alternate-leaved dogwood (Cornus alternifolia), blackhaw (Viburnum prunifolium), or cockspur hawthorn (Crataegus crus-galli) are suitable for landscape use. AUTHORS: Ann F. Rhoads and Timothy A. Block, Morris Arboretum, University of Pennsylvania. For more information on callery pear, please contact: Delaware River Invasive Plant Partnership, http://www.paflora.org/DRIPP.html. Mid-Atlantic Exotic Pest Plant Council, Inc., http://www.ma-eppc.org National Invasive Species Information Center, http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov Plant Invaders of Mid-Atlantic Natural Areas, http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/pubs/midatlantic/ The Bugwood Network, MA-EPPC Plant List, http://www.invasive.org/maweeds.cfm USDA Forest Service, Northeastern Area, http://www.na.fs.fed.us/fhp/invasive_plants/weeds/. USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database, http://plants.usda.gov REFERENCES: Rhoads, A. F. and T. A. Block. 2000. The Plants of Pennsylvania, An Illustrated Manual. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia.

USDA, NRCS

Winged Burning Bush
Euonymus alata

Origin: Northeastern Asia, Japan and Central China

Background
Introduced for use as an ornamental plant for landscaping beginning about 1860. Widely planted by landscape professionals and homeowners for its fall color, dark green leaves, winged stems and other characteristics.

Distribution and Ecological Threat
In the United States, winged burning bush is found from New England to northern Florida and the Gulf Coast and also in Illinois. It threatens a variety of habitats including forests, coastal scrublands and prairies where it forms dense thickets, displacing many native woody and herbaceous plant species. Hundreds of seedlings are often found below

Britt Slattery, USFWS

the parent plant in what is termed a "seed shadow."

Description and Biology

• Plant: multiple stemmed, angular branching shrub with conspicuously winged stems, normally 5 to10 feet high but mature plants can grow to 20 feet.
• Leaves: deciduous, dark green, in pairs along stem, turn brilliant red-purple in autumn.
• Flowers, fruits and seeds: inconspicuous, greenish flowers occur in late spring and red-purple fruits mature during summer.
• Spreads: expands locally through vegetative reproduction and to new areas through bird dispersal of seeds.
• Look-alikes: may be confused with other species of euonymus, including our native strawberry bush, or 'hearts-a-bustin' (Euonymus americana), which does not have winged stems. Saplings of native sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua) with winged stems may also be mistaken for winged burning bush.

Prevention and Control
Do not plant winged burning bush. Manual, mechanical and chemical means are available to control established plantings. Seedlings can be pulled by hand. Shrubs can be repeatedly cut to the ground to control re-sprouts, or cut and treated with systemic herbicides like glyphosate and triclopyr.

Native Alternatives

red chokeberry (Aronia arbutifolia) Both photos Britt Slattery, USFWS		Virginia sweetspire (Itea virginica) Britt Slattery, USFWS
mapleleaf viburnum (Viburnum acerifolium) USDA	highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) Britt Slattery, USFWS	silky dogwood (Cornus amomum) Chris Miller, NRCS
	fragrant or shining sumac (Rhus aromatica or copallina) Britt Slattery, USFWS

 

Britt Slattery, USFWS

Japanese Barberry
Berberis thunbergii

Origin: Japan

Background
Japanese barberry was introduced to the United States as an ornamental in 1875. Seeds were sent from Russia to the Arnold Arboretum in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1896, it was planted at the New York Botanic Garden. It was eventually promoted as a substitute for Berberis vulgaris, an exotic plant introduced and used by early settlers from Europe for hedgerows, dyes and jams, and later found to be a host for the black stem rust of wheat.

John M. Randall, TNc

Distribution and Ecological Threat
In the United States, Japanese barberry occurs throughout much of New England and the Northeast, south to North Carolina and west to Michigan and Missouri. Barberry forms dense stands in a variety of habitats, including closed canopy forests and open woodlands, wetlands, pastures, meadows and wastelands. This highly shade-tolerant exotic shrub displaces a variety of native herb and shrub species in areas where it is well established.

Description and Biology

• Plant: a dense, deciduous shrub that grows 2 to 8 feet high. The branches are deeply grooved, brown and usually have simple spines.
• Leaves: 1/2 to 1 1/2 inches long and shaped like small spatulas or narrow ovals, with a color ranging from green to bluish-green to dark reddish purple.
• Flowers, fruits and seeds: flowering occurs from mid-April to May in the Northeast and the fruits mature from July to October and will persist through the winter. The abundant pale yellow flowers occur along the entire length of the stem. Flowers are in clusters of two to four and produce bright red berries about 1/3 inch long.
• Spreads: by seeds eaten by small mammals and birds (e.g. turkey and grouse) and through vegetative means.

Prevention and Control
Do not plant Japanese barberry. Small plants can be pulled by hand, using thick gloves to avoid injury from the spines. A weed wrench ® can be used to uproot older shrubs when soil is moist. Shrubs can also be mowed or cut repeatedly. Treatment with systemic herbicides like glyphosate and triclopyr has been effective.

Native Alternatives

sweet pepperbush (Clethra alnifolia) USFWS	spicebush (Lindera benzoin) Chris Miller, NRCS	highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) Britt Slattery, USFWS
northern bayberry (Myrica pensylvanica) Chris Miller, NRCS	swamp rose (Rosa palustris) Chris Miller, NRCS	pasture rose (Rosa carolina) R. Harrison Wiegand

 

Tree of Heaven Ailanthus altissima   Origin: Central China   Background Introduced bu a Pennsylvania gardener in 1748 and into California by immigrants during the gold rush years, Tree of Heaven, also called stinking sumac, was available commercially by 1840.

Distribution and Ecological Threat Widely distributed across the United States, Tree of Heaven occurs in 42 states, from Maine to Florida and west to California. It is an extremely common tree in urban areas where it can cause damage to sewers and structures but poses a greater environmental threat because of its invasiveness in cultivated fields and natural habitats. A prolific seeder, Tree of Heaven grows vigorously, establishing dense stands that displace native plants. It produces chemicals that kill or prevent other plants from growing in its vicinity.

Internet resources - http://www.paflora.org/,
http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/,
http://tncweeds.ucdavis.edu
For more information or if you need help with invasive plants, call Pia van de Venne at 724 733 2770