Re: SPEC:Pseudacorus-An appreciation
- To: Multiple recipients of list <i*@rt66.com>
- Subject: Re: SPEC:Pseudacorus-An appreciation
- From: b*@tiger.hsc.edu (Bill Shear)
- Date: Tue, 1 Apr 1997 14:21:18 -0700 (MST)
Amen to Anner Whitehead's comments on pseudacorus.
Not only is it a vigorous and adaptable garden plant, but since it appears
able to cross with almost any other kind of beardless iris, it is a great
source of genetic material--witness that it has brought genes for yellow
flowers into the Japanese iris spectrum, and will do the same for the
versicolor complex.
I'm not sure how scared we should be about its "crowding out" native
plants. I've been observing it for some 20 years 'round our campus pond.
It's presently limited to two modest clumps (there have been as many as
four) and seems not particularly eager to seed itself around. It's been
over here for the better part of two centuries, I'd guess, and seems not
yet to have had much impact on the native flora. Purple loosestrife--now
there's something to worry about!
What's the evidence for pseudacorus being aggressive and crowding out
native plants? Anyone?
Bill Shear
Department of Biology
Hampden-Sydney College
Hampden-Sydney VA 23943
(804)223-6172
FAX (804)223-6374
email<bills@tiger.hsc.edu>
