Poppies, Giant Hogweed and other desirable aliens

earlier this week, driving leisurely along one of the back roads in Gibsons on my way to a job I had on, I suddenly spotted the rather magnificent flower heads and oversized leaves of Giant Hogweed growing just by the road side. I also spotted a lady unloading her car with the help of a young child virtually next to the thing so I did, faithfully, what I am supposed to do: jump out of the car, royally distribute and induce panic, and phone the Parks Department (who were already aware of it but were caught in that typical public authority trap of a policy/funds dilemma - the thing was growing by the roadside on the public road but here the homeowner is responsible for maintaining and dealing with things like that right up to the actual paved surface, resulting in stalemate as the only way to definitively begin to deal with it is using a particular herbicide, which are all banned within the Town through a local bylaw anyway and therefore not an option for private individuals or the Parks Department etc etc..).

one of the nice things about a small town though is that so much more is possible than when you are dealing with a major city department. We, the Director of Parks and I, examined the policy for a full half minute, declared it a “public health issue”, obtained some supposedly “green” chemicals which are allowed, and combined dealing with the Hogweed with an official trial of the same stuff on Japanese Knotweed (Fallopia japonica), one of the major headaches around here, and dealt with the thing. After all I am the local “expert”, appointed to identify and advise on eradication whenever and wherever it is found around here on the Sunshine Coast.

why the panic and instant action? Giant Hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum), if you are not familiar with it, is a very large plant in the carrot family, very hairy and with a substance which, when you brush against it renders your skin extremely light sensitive, resulting in painful blisters and long lasting scars (for life in extreme cases), can turn you blind if the stuff gets in your eyes, reputedly killed a 3-year old child although that is probably an urban legend, but worst of all… is an alien invasive species!!! Triffids come to life, if that means anything to you (in which case you are probably of my generation), the plant which reputedly formed the inspiration for John Wyndham’s 1951 novel “the Day of the Triffids” (of course we didn’t read it until it came out in paperback in the 1960’s and we could afford it and I had learned to read by then....).

alien, invasive species, the bane of our life, replacing “native vegetation and species” without remorse or second thought, disturbing, destroying our native ecosystems and a danger to all we know so well and treasure so much.

actually, I quite like Giant Hogweed. It s a very imposing plant, beautiful in shape of both leaves and flower heads and a real “looker” for a good many insects which is good for fish food as it invariably grows along and is spread by water, except in urban locations where it pops up in compost heaps where some gardener has disposed of cuttings. Of course I treat it with respect, the same respect I give to Devils Club (Oplopanax horridum or horridus), but at least I can see it for miles off, which you cant say for Devils Club, can more or less predict where I will find it, again less so for Devils Club, and am highly unlikely to run into it by accident, which is something that definitely can’t be said for Devils Club with pretty nasty consequences. But then of course Devils Club is native and therefore not scary and an asset, suitable for planting in our west coast gardens according to some official advice, whereas Hogweed is an alien!!!

without a doubt non-native plant species have had a bum rap for quite a while now over here and probably everywhere. A form of institutionalised racism as far as I am concerned. All official organisations have jumped on this bandwagon and continuously implore, even force us to “re-vegetate with native plant species only”, whether it makes sense from an ecological or “goal” point of view or not.

invariably we are told by our fisheries authorities to restore riparian (bank-side) vegetation along lakes and streams using native species to enhance or restore fish habitat. Interesting… what fish get out of riparian vegetation is shade, food (mostly in the shape of insects and some fruits) and nutrients (plant material itself for fish but more importantly nutrients for plant growth in water from decaying plant material). They don’t care much if shade is provided by a native cedar or a non-native weeping willow, and as long as whatever plants grow along the stream rain down insects, they are generally pretty happy. Native or not. I could justifiably argue that non-native Rhododendron for instance, but in particular the non-native, highly invasive Blackberry (Rubus discolor) has done an awful lot more for fish habitat and fish than many of our local, native plantings in many places. Of course there are other issues with that, but they have little or nothing to do with fish or fish habitat.

the enthusiasm with which the general public has taken up the clarion call to “plant native” can be very accurately measured by the vast number of native plant nurseries that have sprung up over the past decade all over the place….., and have promptly gone out of business a couple of years later or abandoned the idea and changed their market. Do an internet search for native plant nurseries, dial the phone numbers, and if they are not disconnected, which a good many of them are, try and pretend to order some really abundant native species (because you shouldn't pick them from the wild of course...). Not much chance of success. Those that still do survive and can supply, mostly rely on business from professionals like myself, who are being restricted to “plant native” in “public” projects. There’s hope for democracy yet…..

of course I wouldn’t pretend that there aren’t any problems with non-native plant species. One of my pet hates is Japanese Knotweed, which, although looks pretty when in flower, contributes nothing much and creates true tunnels of death over watercourses where they have run riot. Not much life remains. Add to that Scotch Broom (Cytisus scoparius) without a doubt: nothing much survives (plant and therefore food-wise) underneath them. As for English Ivy (Hedera helix) here I am a little bit more undecided; it provides an absolute haven for insects and therefore everything else that lives on them, but strangles and suppresses everything else eventually. And I do like my diversity and surprises and don’t care much for the extensive dull green mat they provide. But that is based on aesthetics and my sense of wonderment when I spot something new or unexpected…

and there is no doubt it totally makes sense to control and eradicate non-natives in defined and especially fragile ecological niches, such as Blackberry control on the Galapagos Islands. But everywhere? Nah… Actually grouped plantings of non-natives can often keep the various individuals nicely under control so they don’t run riot and provide significant benefit to the environment.

non-natives are fun, just as much as natives are. For the past couple of weeks I have been watching some poppy plants (Papaver somniferum) which have popped up in my front garden developing their buds, flowers and fruits. And it is quite a ritual. The flower bud develops but hangs down. When it is its turn (because there is only ever one flower out on “my” poppies), it raises its head, flowers for a day or two, sheds its petals and changes to the fruit, at which point the next bud has started to rise etc… Enormous fun to watch and follow. Just as much as watching birds fight or bears feed… just on a different time scale, that is all.

so no, I don’t ascribe to the “eradicate the aliens, propagate local only” lobby. In some cases I do, in others I don’t. Each and everything has a place in this world and will find it. Even aliens. And they can actually contribute to a much better and diverse environment. Now where have I heard that before…...