(Click on images to enlarge)
These tiny white blossoms belong to an invasive species, Japanese knotweed.
This specimen was found in Deep River County Park, with plenty of company. Japanese knotweed spreads rapidly to establish colonies that crowd out native plants. It is very difficult to kill. I know — I have some of this stuff growing around my house. It was already growing there when I bought the house, and not knowing what it was, I let it alone, thinking it was rather pretty … until I noticed its tendency to take over all available space. Now I've got it pretty well confined to the crawlspace under my porch. Any leaf that dares poke out through the plastic lattice blocking off the crawlspace gets yanked off; any new plant that sprouts from the roots creeping outward under the soil gets sprayed with poison-ivy killer.
Japanese knotweed is characterized by zig-zagging stems that are hollow inside, with slightly swollen joints where each leaf sprouts off.
No comments:
Post a Comment