Salvias as noxious weeds
- Subject: Salvias as noxious weeds
- From: R* F* D*
- Date: Tue, 24 Jul 2001 10:02:47 -0400 (EDT)
Lately, I have discovered that Salvia sclarea (meadow sage) and S. pratensis
(meadow sage) have been put on the state of Washington's noxious weed list.
Has anyone observed that they escape and colonize the way morning glories,
ivy, or holly do? As a lover of Salvias, I am concerned about separating
the really nasty invasives like S. aethiopis, S. verbenacea, S. reflexa from
easily controlled self-sowing sages like S. roemeriana and S. greggii. Is
S. forskaohlii well-behaved or noxious?
I am aware that the project leader for the White List is Faith Campbell, who
works out of the University of Washington, and wonder if there is a
connection here. From what I have gathered, the approach being used to
craft the program involves pretty sloppy science. For those of you who
don't know what the White List is, see:
http://www.geocities.com/nowhitelist/links.html
Invasive Species: The Nation's Invasive Species Information System
http://www.invasivespecies.gov/
http://www.invasivespecies.gov/council/nisc/main.html
As a chemist, I remember what happened when OSHA started to require warning
statements for lab chemicals. Any chemical that could cause cancer was
labeled a carcinogen, whether it was a bad one like dioxin or benzidine, or
a mild one like methyl bromide. However, companies like Aldrich developed
Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) that provided specific information on the
mode of action, potency, and treatment for various accidental exposures to
their products. An MSDS is currently required for ANY product being
marketed by ANY source.
Why not develop the horticultural equivalent? In preparation, why not
gather the necessary information for a data base on invasives?
It seems to me that the collection of this information has been a largely
unconscious motivation behind the morning glory thread.
Richard F. Dufresne
313 Spur Road
Greensboro, North Carolina 27406 USA
336-674-3105
World of Salvias: http://www.eclectasy.com/gallery_of_salvias/index.htm
Salvia email list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Salvia
