Sudden infestation with this yellow flowered low-leaved tall gangly plant

Hmmm... I don't know what a "root and stolon" system looks like.

Most looked like taproots - like this:

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Or this:

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And this:

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However, some came out as 'clump' roots - like this:

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And this:

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PS: It was only half way through the eradication task that I belatedly realized shoving a garden hose nozzle into the center of the plant and blasting the roots loose was the way to go!

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Reply to
Danny D.
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I didn't see songbirds eating; but I did watch this one bee with interest.

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I'm not sure what it was looking for - but it kept digging away on the purple stuff (which is just about the only non-thorny thing):

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Reply to
Danny D.

Hi Kay,

I have 5 gallons of concentrated 40-something percent glyphosate, so, I do have plenty to go around ... but what does "heading" mean?

I guess that means to chop off the purple 'ball' at the top?

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What about the green balls that look slightly different?

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Reply to
Danny D.

At first, I thought lovely thorny plant was a "Purple Starthistle", (Centaurea calcitrapa), which is an invasive weed in the San Francisco Bay Area:

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But, now I think it's a Bull Thistle (Cirsium vulgare), which is also prominant in the bay area, based on the fact that this looks like it:

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This site says it has a taproot and that "cut flowerheads can still develop viable seed", but I would have no idea how:

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Reply to
Danny D.

I think it's a "Bull Thistle" (Cirsium vulgare).

Apparently it only reproduces by seed, but, the seeds must be removed from the area...

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Plants from Yosemite Valley that were cut at the root crown a few days after their first flowers appeared and then laid on the ground produced abundant viable seed (Randall pers. observation). Thus it may be important to remove cut stems from the area.

Reply to
Danny D.

Heading -- yes, cut off the flowers (purple) and buds (green).

More often seen in the phrase 'dead heading' which is to cut off the spent (dead) flowers on an ornamental plant, so it does not 'waste' energy on setting seeds.

Reply to
Pat Kiewicz

The part you cut off is still alive, for a while. The last bit of energy and moisture in the cutting is given over to finishing the development of any viable seeds.

It's not only thistles that are capable of this. I suspect that most of the plants that have this ability act like weeds in other ways, too.

Reply to
Pat Kiewicz

Well, I've read about a dozen pages on the bull thistle, and, it seems relatively easy to control (as long as you don't let it get to the level I did).

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Apparently mine are two-year old plants (for the most part).

The yearlings only form low-lying rosettes, of which I have a few. These radiating leaves don't produce a stem, so they lay below the (lawnmower) radar, but otherwise don't reproduce.

The second year is when they produce the flowers, and then when they flower, they die. The seeds don't appear to travel all that far but they have an amazing germination rate (over 90%) so I'll be weeding them for a few years to eradicate them.

The flowers are a rich nectar source, hence my bee will go hungry in the next few days:

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Reply to
Danny D.

Thanks for clarifying. I've never headed a plant before.

It seems that the seeds only last about 5 years, so, of the noxious weeds I need to deal with, this one won't be too bad.

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It *only* spreads by seed, and I can prevent that with heading.

Plus, it shows itself a year earlier (as the rosette), so I

*should* have pulled them last year - and then they would never have gotten to this second-year stage.

Apparently I can eat the stems, but, the kitchen already has mustard plants all over the counter, as I experiment with what is said to be tasty and what is not:

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Reply to
Danny D.

This says we can eat the roots, but, they contain "inulin", which is apparently a non-digestible starch.

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It also says the flower buds, young flowers, stems, and leaves can be eaten. Even the seeds can be eaten, roasted on a grill.

This one says the inner bark can be used to make paper:

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This one says the flower base can be eaten like an artichoke:

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This one says the purple flower petals can be used as chewing gum and the seeds can be used to make a light oil:

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For the Scots out there, it's the national emblem of Scotland (because a barefoot invading Viking stepped on one, alerting them to the attack).

Reply to
Danny D.

Wouldn't shoveling it at the root base first to loosen it help out?

Reply to
Natural - Smoking Gun - Girl

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Danny, I want to complement you on your picture taking. It makes it much easier for others to understand what you are writing about and you really seem to enjoy photography. I have to Email lots of photos of the work me and JH do to the service corporation we do work for and I've gone through two inexpensive digital cameras this year. I'm going to see if I can find a darn rubber coated drop resistant camera. ^_^

TDD

Reply to
The Daring Dufas

Thanks. I've been on USENET for decades and on forums for years, and I believe in being responsive, providing enough detail, and that a picture is worth a lot more than a description.

BTW, along those lines, I took my black widow spider to a friend who is writing a book on how to photograph hard-to-photograph animals, and you should see the excellent closeups he got of her red hourglass belly and her spinning silk threads out of (her belly?).

Mine are on the top; his are on the bottom:

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Now he wants all my rattlesnakes!

Reply to
Danny D.

Yes.

Due to those spines, and the fact most people don't keep gas welding gloves around the house, I don't recommend pulling them out anyway if you're faced with a clump up to your thighs of this size or bigger:

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For some reason, I had it in my mind to just yank them out (like I do most weeds). It's only the *challenge of the gloves* that got me, since I pride myself on finding the best garden-use gloves for the lowest price I can locally (my hands are big so not all gloves fit).

I ended up soaking them with the garden hose, shoving the nozzle right at the root, and going down, oh, about six inches, which allowed them to be pulled out easily *with* very (very) thick (and long) gloves.

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If you didn't have long and thick gloves (absolutely nothing in the box stores would protect you); you'd resort to more mechanical means.

Even with excellent gloves and a good soaking, I had to dig at one bull thistle clump with hand equipment, to get it out:

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Based on my reading of the habits of bull thistle, it seems that they only live two years, and that their seeds don't generally travel all that far (only a few feet as they're very delicate).

So, had I headed the flowers, then I'd only have to worry about these yearlings (which only form low-lying rosettes):

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Reply to
Danny D.

It is not necessary to send such HUGE pictures though. That last one faltered three times and I have high-speed service. Geez, If one had dial-up it would take an hour to download.

Reply to
Roy

My mistake.

BTW, the photopush site I use always does a 640 pixel photo.

So, for example that photo of:

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Is also found at:

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Notice the (img) vs the (640).

I could just always paste the 640 images. Would that be better?

Reply to
Danny D.

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Reply to
chaniarts

Those thorns are crazy!! I've seen something similar to those growing on the side of the highway, but I don't think anyone cares to dig them up. lol

Reply to
Natural - Smoking Gun - Girl

{{{{{{shudders}}}}}}}

Reply to
Natural - Smoking Gun - Girl

Nice tools!

Reply to
Natural - Smoking Gun - Girl

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