The gardener in question is a 70 year old female ex-hippy who has been a certified Master Gardener for twenty-five years. If I went up there and trotted that line of reasoning out at her she'd call me an intrustive, po-faced fascist, and she'd be right. No doubt some comments about invasive nuisances would also be scattered in my wake. Besides which, we don't have that sort of neighborhood around here. If the plant gets too far down the public alley, I will deal with it with a tea kettle full of boiling water.
As for evolving terminology, I would suggest that no field of study--like the ecological sciences--can commandeer words in common or everday parlance, elevate them to terms of art with circumscribed meanings, and expect the vox populi to cease and desist using them in the established and normative fashion.
Cordially,
ANM
-----Original Message-----
From: Sean Zera <zera@umich.edu>
To: iris-species <iris-species@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Thu, Apr 11, 2013 3:36 pm
Subject: Re: [iris-species] Sisyrinchium (bellum?)
I merely thought it might be a stronger arguement: "your exotic plant is invading the rest of the neighborhood - would you consider removing it". I would (and do, at length!) argue that if you can't confine a non-native plant to your private property, you shouldn't be allowed to grow it, under penalty of law. Placing the burden of control on everyone else isn't fair.
There's definitely variation in use of the word, but I would suggest using "invasive" only for non-native taxa, as it is typically used in ecology.
Sean Z
On Thu, Apr 11, 2013 at 2:35 PM,
<C*@aol.com> wrote:
<<
I was curious because I wouldn't call a native plant invasive, no matter how aggressive. >>
Point taken, although I think that native is a relative term here. I also think that there is a horticultural usage of the term "invasive" which may not be the same as the botanical usage.
<<Flora of North America recognizes 37 species in NA and has a key, if you want to find the genus even more boring! Maybe you could convince your neighbors to scrap it if it's not native to your area, but good luck with it regardless.>>
My neighbor would most likely not be warm to the suggestion that only native plants should be grown in her garden. And as we have seen here in this thread, for everyone who prefers to give their limited space to a plant they find more beguiling, there is someone who years for the plant we find of lesser interest.
I'm not generally in favor of gardeners trying to police what other people grow in their gardens. Simply because someone cannot control a plant on their property does not mean I cannot control it on mine. The situation I have described I consider something of an anomaly,
<<From the color I assume 'Quaint and Queer' is the hybrid S. montanum (blue North American) à S. patagonicum (=nudicale)(yellow South American), since there seems to be a very similar-looking seed strain traded as "montanum à nudicaule". I don't know that ID for a fact, if the supposed hybrid strain is really that parentage, if it's really a seed strain or an easily-produced (sterile?) F1, or if there are other blue à yellow hybrids involving other species>>
It's in trade under that name at Plant Delights and the MOBOT on its webpage IDs it as a hybrid. I had mine from the local botanical garden where it was given me personally by the fellow who ran the herbarium. This was some years ago, but at the time the staff had had no luck tracking the origins of the plant, or the name.
Cordially,
AMW
On Thu, Apr 11, 2013 at 1:04 PM,
<C*@aol.com> wrote:
Invasive as in one of the prominent nurseries in the state was pushing the plant--bellum, angustifolium, I'm not sure which--about fifteen years ago and among the people who succumbed to the siren's song of its modest charms was a woman who lives three houses up the block from me, say, about a hundred feet away.
She claims to favor the 'cottage garden" horticultural style, which means she eschews strong color, never weeds, and essentially leaves things to seed around. The blue eyed grass has colonized what was once an open compost heap, and laid a pelt over much of her garden, crowding out in some areas Convallaria, and native violets. It is moving beyond the property line and heading down the alley, but I'm hoping the dock and horseradish growing out there will give it some sport. My neighbor says it "has done real well" for her.
I, myself, tried one of the taller blond ones, I forget which species, and that was a notably ugly plant as it faded. Better as a garden plant was a little cultivar called "Quaint and Queer." I don't know the origins of same.
AMW
-----Original Message-----
From: Sean Zera <z*@umich.edu>
To: iris-species <i*@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Thu, Apr 11, 2013 11:49 am
Subject: Re: [iris-species] Sisyrinchium (bellum?)
Out of curiosity, invasive as in not native and outcompeting native vegetation? I could definitely see
Sisyrinchium doing that.
Sean Z
On Thu, Apr 11, 2013 at 10:56 AM,
<C*@aol.com> wrote:
Different strokes for different folks. Around here, blue eyed grass is rabidly invasive--vyeing with
Ornithogalum umbellatum for the palm as regards rapidity of increase-- and as boring a plant as I have ever encountered.
AMW
-----Original Message-----
From: Dennis Kramb <d*@badbear.com>
To: iris-species <i*@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Thu, Apr 11, 2013 9:43 am
Subject: Re: [iris-species] Sisyrinchium (bellum?)
Wow that looks happy! Any idea which species it is? (Or is it maybe a hybrid?)
Dennis in Cincinnati
