[APWG] Question about burning bush pollination

[Steve Young]

 Hi Janet, I'd like to respond from my perspective as an experienced invasive plant management volunteer focused on regenerating Long Branch Nature Center in Arlington, Virginia. I am unable to comment on the pollinator question except to express skepticism that lack of pollinators was much of a factor in perceived absence of fruits in earlier years. I do note the assertion in this web page:

http://hcs.osu.edu/hcs/TMI/Plantlist/eu_latus.html

from Ohio State that "many individual plants and/or cultivars have sparse fruits, if present at all." In contrast, this next source refers to its "prolific seed production" and high invasiveness:

http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/invasivetutorial/winged_euonymus.htm

I have painful first-hand experience with Burning Bush (Euonymus alatus) at Long Branch. It was planted as a landscape planting in some of the residences surrounding the 17-acre park, and in several private inholdings inside the park. Over a period of decades, literally thousands of seedlings invaded the park, and in places closest to source parents, began to create near-monocultures of dense offspring. I have seen variable, low to high levels of fruit production. It appears that the fruit are attractive to songbirds, so that the seeds are dispersed not just by gravity but very effectively by the birds over distances of tens of meters. Over time, infestations radiated outward into the natural area from the original landscape plantings over distances exceeding 100 meters. I have pulled and cut thousands of Euonymus alatus plants within this small park, and I continue to find seedlings coming up in areas where the parent plants are gone, indicating the presence of a seed bank that can last for multiple years.

I believe a little more research will further show you that it is widely regarded as highly invasive in Northeastern woodlands and that there are strong admonitions against planting it where it could invade natural areas.

Best and cheers,

Steve Young
Invasive plant management volunteer
Arlington, Virginia
http://plantwhacker.blogspot.com

    
 


 

-----Original Message-----
From: Janet Allen <janetallen3 at verizon.net>
To: apwg at lists.plantconservation.org
Sent: Tue, Jan 4, 2011 8:36 am
Subject: [APWG] Question about burning bush pollination


As a layperson working with other laypeople on native plant and habitat issues, I have a question about burning bush.


I find that suggesting to people that burning bush is a problem elicits passionate defense of their burning bushes and claims that they've never seen any seedlings.


At a recent HGCNY meeting, one of our members who started planting native plants just a few years ago said that for the first time her burning bush had berries. (She'll be getting rid of it soon.) But she also noted that with her native plants, she also now has a lot more bees.


Question: Is it likely that most people don't see a problem with burning bushes  because they don't have enough bees to produce berries and therefore seeds? 


If this is a scientifically defensible explanation, it would help me explain two problems to people - why burning bushes can be a problem as well as the need for bee conservation. 


Thank you!


Janet Allen, President
Wild Ones Chapter: Habitat Gardening in Central New York
www.hgcny.org
=
 


_______________________________________________

PCA's Alien Plant Working Group mailing list

APWG at lists.plantconservation.org

http://lists.plantconservation.org/mailman/listinfo/apwg_lists.plantconservation.org



Disclaimer

Any requests, advice or opinions posted to this list reflect ONLY the opinion of 

the individual posting the message.


 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.plantconservation.org/pipermail/apwg_lists.plantconservation.org/attachments/20110104/dc297da2/attachment.html>