Invasive Carnivores

From: Barry Meyers-Rice (bamrice@ucdavis.edu)
Date: Fri Oct 24 1997 - 18:47:29 PDT


Date: Fri, 24 Oct 1997 18:47:29 -0700 (PDT)
From: Barry Meyers-Rice <bamrice@ucdavis.edu>
To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com
Message-Id: <aabcdefg4116$foo@default>
Subject: Invasive Carnivores


> However, the D.capensis and D.binata are really bad. I don't see a
> way to get rid of them, but please don't let this stop you from trying!

Hello everyone, Barry Meyers-Rice here.

I'm going to take off my hats as Carnivorous Plant Newsletter coeditor and
Carnivorous Plant FAQ manager for a second, and put on my professional
hat...

Dave Evans wrote the above message about naturalizing D. capensis and D.
binata. He is exactly right. It is very bad to put plants into wildland
settings. There are two dangers.

The first is that the plant may become "invasive." This means that for
various reasons (many of which are not understood), a plant being grown
out of its natural range can grow very rapidly and crowd out other plants.
This can partly be understood if the plant is growing unfettered by the
pests that normal parasitize it in its normal range. For example, all
accounts say that D. capensis does not seem to be a rank grower in South
Africa. It certainly is not the wildly growing plant that Craig Gardner is
reporting in California.

I work for The Nature Conservancy in precisely this field, that of
invasive species management. I am sorry to hear that D. capensis, D.
binata, and U. subulata are apparently causing problems in their
naturalized plantings and very much want to see them now (when do you want
to go, Craig?). The angry side of me takes some satisfaction that our
beloved D. rotundifolia is apparently being pushed out of this habitat.
Maybe this is a lesson we will pay more attention to this way. If I had my
way, I'd get every CP weed out of that site and hope that the D.
rotundifolia and other natives (orchids, or whatever is there) would come
back. I don't recommend ripping out all the plants without thinking about
a strategy, however. The damage that can be done to the soil from doing
this could actually exceed the benefit of having forcibly removed the
plants.

The second danger from planting species is that of genetic pollution.
This is being discussed already, so I won't go into it much. While Jan has
already pointed out that Nepenthes aren't likely to hybidize with other
genera, planting Sarracenia near other Sarracenia CAN cause damage. I know
of a site in the New Jersey pine barrens where S. rubra has been planted.
This is right in there with S. purpurea. Very bad.

It is important for us, as carnivorous plant enthusiasts, to remember that
we must be part of the solution in protecting the plants and habitats we
love. We must not contribute to the degradation of our wild lands by
biological pollution (even if the pollutants are plants we like) or
genetic contamination.

-----------------
Dr. Barry Meyers-Rice
Assistant Weed Specialist
National Stewardship Team
The Nature Conservancy
bazza@ucdavis.edu



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