Recently I've been giving some thought to invasive species. I had received both positive and negative feedback on the blog post concerning kudzu and recently I came across a very well hidden, and very small, wild cherry tree while doing some yard work. Since it's against the house it would have to be removed since the root systems could damage my foundation.
A buddy of mine at work was asking if I was going to transfer it, his logic being that it was a fruiting tree that would not only attract a variety of pollinator's but that the deer would eat the bark and cherries, keeping them away from the garden (which Sue and I swore we were not going to do this year).
It occurred to me that I was going to have to do a slightly better job of identification, since black cherries are native to America, where as other types of cherries are not. Being able to make a precise identification would be helpful. I used to be able to identify all these trees in a heartbeat 30 years ago. There are over 400 different species of cheery trees alone and only the good Lord knows how many hybrids and cross pollinated species there are.
Things get completed pretty quickly when it comes to plants. While we should, without a doubt be planting native species, it's not always possible. The big box stores and various nurseries are going to pander to what the public wants. In most castes that is going to be showy hybrid plants or non native species. Even Tree Pittsburgh, an organization dedicated to the propagation of native species, will have non natives from time to time.
For example, recently I decided to make an exception to my rules and plant a lilac bush.
It's a plant that I feel in love with years ago, it's purple flowers reminded me of going to my Grandmother's house in the middle of Pittsburgh. Her small yard was always full of flowers planted at various levels as they made their way up the hillside. She would make a lilac tea and candies sometime but my memory may be faulty. It was a plant that my mother loved and is one of the first to bloom in spring.
Susan's father was a beekeeper and she mentioned lilac infused honey was something they used to make at home.
Lilac's are beautiful and attract various pollinators, and encourage cross pollination between plants as pollen gets caught up on butterfly's and bees. It's a long lived plant that can live up to 100 years or more and may have been introduced to the America's sometime in the 1750's if not earlier. Although the flowers of a lilac are edible, the rest of it is not. At a time when starvation was a real threat why would the colonists bring the lilac to America?
While the early Americans may have used it for medicinal purposes as well as an ornamental, I tend to think that it's widespread use in colonial America was simply because it reminded them of the homeland they left. Lilacs may have originated in the mountains of Southeastern Europe but quickly spread throughout the continent and found it's way into the various traditions and myths of the European's. In a way it was the love of the hardy, drought and cold tolerant lilac that unified America. It was something that they would not have to spend a lot of time and energy on to grow and provided some comfort and benefit to them.
When you find a lilac in the woods, you will often find the remains of
an old building nearby. Someone planted that tree. Maybe to serve as
an ornamental to the entrance of their home, or maybe close to the
outhouse.
I don't know what the future will bring to my little part of the world. All I know is that I want to do more, I want to leave some type of legacy that would be useful to who ever takes over this land in the future. I want them to eat from the fruit trees and take comfort in the surroundings. Or maybe some lost soul will come across a single lilac bush and realize that someone once lived here. That a home stood here, maybe - just maybe - they will be curious as to whom planted that tree and why.
One of the first things I did when Sue and I moved into our home was plant a Kousa dogwood. At the time I was thinking about the beauty of the dogwood tree and it's unusual looking fruit. I knew it's fruit was edible and that it had some theoretical medicinal value, but very little else about it. It's as tall as me now but still considered an invasive species just because it is not a native tree.
Do I rip it out?
Pine trees that originated in Western Canada that are 30 feet tall or more, again planted by the original owners and not native to the area.
Do I rip them out?
Some would argue yes, and technically they are not wrong. For me however I'm reconsidering some things. Honoring the history of the house and traditions are important to me.
Other things to consider are a bit more offbeat and important as well.
The world's population is estimated to be 9.2 Billion people in 2040. Right now the following foods are considered staple crops and are the most produced foods: rice (which feeds nearly half of humanity), wheat, corn, millet, sorghum, roots and tubers (such as potatoes, cassava, yams and taro), and animal products such as meat, milk, eggs, cheese and fish.
We are already losing good farmland to climate change and development. Things are either going to have to adapt quickly or...well the threat of greater food scarcity and starvation in many underdeveloped nations is at real possibility. There is a real possibility it could happen here in America as well.
No, I'm not trying to scare you but this shit simply isn't being addressed. Yes, vertical farming helps. Yes, lab grown meat is going to help (and should be encouraged - not banned by short term thinkers). Learning to eat locally and different types of food is only going to help.
So learning to eat the invasive plants and animals is not a bad thing. Learning how to use them to our advantage, and maintain control of them is not a bad thing.
The problem of course is that control is an illusion. We are never in control. Still though, sometimes you have to honor the past while making the world a better place in some small way.
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