Category Archives: Noxious Weeds
Wild Radish
Wild radish (Raphanus raphanistrum) is a close relative of cultivated radishes, belonging to the same genus. Some sources give the domestic radish a different species designation (sativus) while others consider it to be a subspecies of R raphanistrum. Either way, … Continue reading
Jupiter’s Beard
Jupiter’s beard (Centranthus ruber) is native to Southern Europe and North Africa. Planted as an ornamental it has naturalized and grows wild in Europe, the West Coast of the United States and Hawaii. A perennial, Jupiter’s beard is bushy, well-branched, … Continue reading
Puncturevine
Leonard remembers many bicycle flat tires during his youth caused by the appropriately named puncturevine (Tribulus terrestris) fruits. (There was no puncturevine near my Western Pennsylvania home so my bicycle tires never suffered the same fate.) The abundantly produced puncturevine … Continue reading
Alkali Saltgrass
A perennial native to North America, alkali saltgrass (Distichlis spicata) has been naturalized on most other continents. Depending upon where it is found, this member of the Grass Family (Poaceae) has many other colloquial names including inland saltgrass, desert saltgrass … Continue reading
Burgundy Houndstongue
In an earlier post (Hound’s Tongue 04-25-18) I introduced a “cousin” of burgundy houndstongue (Cynoglossum officinale). Although both plants belong to the genus Cynoglossum, burgundy houndstongue was introduced from Europe and is a noxious, highly invasive weed while its blue-flowered … Continue reading