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California freeway "wildflowers"

It seems the media here are just as ignorant.  
Proteas and Leucadendrons are often referred to 
as 'natives' (of Australia!) I've seen bunches 
of 'native' flowers in florists with the above 
South Africans mixed in with Banksias and Telopeas. 

Many South Africans (plants!) have become pests 
here in South Australia, I wonder if the same 
plants have become pests in California and other 
Medit areas:

Oxalis pes-caprae
Ehrharta longiflora
Sporobolus africanus
Romulea rosea
Gynandriris setifolia
Lepidium africanum
Galenia pubescens
Arcotheca calendula

Also many Freesia, Sparaxis, Gladiolus and 
Watsonia species have become naturalised, and 
in some places pests.  I'm sure Rod would be 
able to add to the list with regard to Western 
Australia.  I would say though, that in my 
garden, my particular betes noires are probably 
Oxalis pes-caprae (no 1) and then the cosmopolitan 
weeds dandelion, nut grass (Cyperus rotundus, 
petty spurge (Euphorbia peplus) and various members 
of the graminieae.  As my garden is next to a 
creek, I also have the hideous and dreadfully 
invasive pest tree the mountain ash (Fraxinus sp.) 
I don't at the moment recall its exact name. 
With their wind-borne seeds they come up everywhere 
so in a large garden they very quickly become 
fairly large trees before you have noticed them. 
I mentioned the creeks earlier, these trees seem 
to proliferate along Adelaide's creeks, I'm sure 
to the detriment of the native vegetation.  I 
wonder if this species is a pest in other Medit 
gardens.  One of their irritating characteristics 
is that they lose their leaves after everything 
else and are the first in spring to come into 
leaf.  

Liz
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