What is this flower

[Melissa]

Anyone know what these are? They grow wild around here.

[Phred]

On Fri, 15 Jul 2005 21:53:23 -0500, Melissa scribed:

Looks like some kind of wild Lily? We have the same shape and type flower here called Tiger Lilys, but are orange color. Nice flower anyway. I would keep them unless they are raiding the garden. They do tend to spread loosly...

Freddie

[Cereus-validus.......]

If you don't know enough basic botany to be able to distinguish a dicot from a monocot, you should not be guessing the ID of plants. There is absolutely nothing liliaceous about the plant. Its a Campanula.

[Ann]

"presley" expounded:

Absolutely. I hate that damned thing. It came in with a peony from my mother's garden - I've been battling it ever since. It has a huge root way down deep, unless you get that, it'll keep coming back.

[Popcorn Lover]

So how can someone bring it from the neighbor's lawn, to their own yard?

[Ann]

Popcorn Lover expounded:

Why would anyone want to? This plant is horribly invasive and almost impossible to irradicate.

[Popcorn Lover]

If it's all over the neighborhood already and they think it's pretty, they would want it.

[Ann]

Popcorn Lover expounded:

Education is key. I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy. Purple loosestrife is 'pretty' yet it's decimating our native wetland plants, like Lobelia cardinalis, the cardinal flower. I just hate to see anyone spread such an invasive plant.

[Popcorn Lover]

This isn't the wilds, it's the burbs of Lakewood, Colorado.

[enigma]

Popcorn Lover wrote in news:Xns9696EAD08A757popcornN0TSPAMCOM@216.196.97.142:

right. and it's an *invasive* plant. the point being that you canNOT control it's spread. you may think it's pretty, but will your neighbors? how about the people in the next town over? or in the next state? you can't keep it from invading the wild. and yes, invasive weeds *do* travel that far. purple loosestrife expands it's range at something like 25 miles/year. lee

[Popcorn Lover]

So what. The world is full of such plants. We have a pretty red- flowering purslane planted in the garden. So what?

If I wanted, I could plant bamboo that would be "invasive". So what?

Invasive is just a hardy plant that someone else doesn't like.

Not my problem. I worry about my property.

Well here in Colorado the cold weather does a decent job of that. I'm hardly worried that something is gonna take over the whole world from my backyard.

Cool. It's very pretty.

And it's already out there, there isn't a thing anyone can do about it.

And I want some. :)

[cat daddy]

"Each mature plant produces 30 or more spikes and can produce over 2.5 million seeds per year. When purple loosestrife gets a foothold, the habitat where fish and wildlife feed, seek shelter, reproduce and rear young, quickly becomes choked under a sea of purple flowers."

"The Purple Loosestrife is a very hardy perennial which can rapidly degrade wetlands, diminishing their value for wildlife habitat. Wetlands are the most biologically diverse, productive component of our ecosystem. Hundreds of species of plants, birds, mammals, reptiles, insects, fish and amphibians rely on healthy wetland habitat for their survival."

"Purple loosestrife has had no problem spreading. One stalk can produce up to 3,000,000 lightweight seeds with a very high germination rate. New plants can even sprout from the roots or runners of other plants. Roadside ditches serve as excellent habitats for this water loving plant. These ditches also provide pathways between wetlands for the purple loosestrife to travel, and spread through."

Controlling the spread of purple loosestrife is crucial to protecting vital fish, wildlife and native plant habitat!

YOU CAN HELP

REPORT Watch for purple loosestrife, and report locations where it is found to the Department of Environmental Conservation, or/and Sea Grant Office.

Request Ask your local garden center or nursery to stop selling purple loosestrife and its varieties (If you find it). Horticultural varieties of purple loosestrife were once thought to be sterile, but recent studies have shown that this is untrue.

PROPER DISPOSAL of plant material is important. Put all plant pieces in plastic bags (vegetation rots quickly in plastic) and take the bags to a sanitary landfill site. Be sure the landfill site doesn't require bags to be broken open for composting. Composting is not advised, as purple loosestrife seeds may not be destroyed and the thick, woody stem and roots take a long time to decompose. If facilities exist in your area, incineration is an effective way to dispose of plant material.

Replace Landscape with native plants instead of purple loosestrife. Several colorful native plants thrive in the same habitat as purple loosestrife. Examples which are readily available include:

Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis) produces a spike of brilliant scarlet flowers. Blueflag (Iris versicolor) is a native iris with large, showy, purple- veined, blue flowers. Monkey Flower (Mimulus ringens) has pairs of violet and yellow flowers arranged along a tall stem. Blue vervain (Verbena hastata) exhibits stunning spikes of blue flowers

[Ann]

"cat daddy" expounded:

Please note I brought up purple loosestrife. This poster wants to grow Campanula rapunculoides and doesn't give a fig about how invasive it is, nor does s/h/it care what it does to the surrounding environment. Whatever. I hope they get it.....in spades!

[cat daddy]

Okay. I guess this points to the importance of proper quoting and attributions. Nevertheless, it was shocking to find that some nurseries actually sell purple loosestrife and the importance of knowing invasive pest species, whether "everyone's growing it" or not. I learned something.

[Popcorn Lover]

Ok, thanks for the interesting post, I'll change my mind.

[Popcorn Lover]

Oh wait, you mean it wasn't even the same thing? Jeez!