The most hated plant in North America

Today is a very special blog post, brought to you by one of my very best(est) friends, Tanya! Everyone say Hi to Tanya! (Hi Tanya!) Tanya gets to work outside all day every day (OK, not all day every day, but she gets to be outside A LOT with her job), and has some really awesome pictures of really unusual plants in North America. This one certainly isn't uncommon, but that doesn't make it any less special! This blog is her first (of hopefully many!) guest post for my blog, and she's writing about a plant most of us absolutely hate. And if you don't know if you hate it...do you get a runny nose and red, itchy eyes in the fall? Yes? Then you hate this plant. Trust me :)

Without further ramblings by yours truly, take it away Tanya!

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Species name: Ambrosia artemisiifolia

Common name: common ragweed, annual ragweed

Location: top image from our guest contributor; images 2, 3, and 5 from melody at Dave's Garden (available HERE); image 4 from htop at Dave's Garden (available HERE)

There may be another plant that a greater number of people despise (dandelions, maybe?), but for sheer intensity of feeling, I would argue that the most hated plant around must be Common Ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia).  Every year in mid-August, many of us get that old, familiar itchy-eyes and runny-nose feeling that sends us running for filtered, air-conditioned air and antihistamines, and Common Ragweed is most likely the culprit.   

As Jen mentions in THIS POST, many people blame their fall allergies on showy flowering plants like the innocent goldenrods.  But, in order to cause your allergic reaction, you must breathe in the pollen grains, which means that the plant you’re allergic to is wind-pollinated: the plant produces lots and lots of pollen light enough to be blown around in the wind, and it’s betting that some of it will land on the female parts of another plant of the same species.  Plants that use this strategy have small, inconspicuous flowers because they don’t need to expend energy to attract pollinators like bees and butterflies to carry the pollen around for them.  Common Ragweed falls into this category: its pollen can be carried by the wind for hundreds of kilometers.  It’s hard to get away from this stuff.

Common Ragweed is native to North America (Jen says: I put "non-native" for the species status so that I could have a diagram with the "Invasive" box highlighted!) but has become an invasive species in Europe and Japan.  It is a “supertramp” species (yes, that’s a legitimate ecological term), which means that it produces lots of seed, disperses widely, and does really well in disturbed habitats. When you start looking for Common Ragweed, you’ll most likely find it in highly disturbed areas, like beside roads and in agricultural fields rather than stable forested areas, so really, it’s all our fault there’s so much of this stuff around: we’ve created lots of habitat for it!  There’s probably much more Common Ragweed around now than there was when Europeans arrived in North America.  You can burn it, pull it, mow it, or kill it with chemicals, but it will most likely come back in full force the very next year.  A good argument for increasing the amount of healthy forest and grassland habitats where Common Ragweed can’t compete, I say.

Ragweed leaves are compound and finely divided, and look a little like Wild Carrot (Daucus carota, which you can read all about in THIS POST) or Yarrow (Achillea millefolium, which you can read all about in THIS POST).  The flowers and seeds are produced in a tall spike called a raceme, and the plant grows to be about one meter in height.  This means that, in many areas, it isn’t completely covered by snow throughout the winter, and any of the seeds remaining on the plant remain accessible to animals like birds and small mammals.  The seeds have a very high oil content too, which makes them even more valuable to wildlife.  When Common Ragweed is causing you or your loved ones autumn misery, think about the mice and voles that will be depending on their stored ragweed seeds to survive until spring... and in the process, spreading them all over the place so there will be lots more for next year!

Mints on Monday

For this blog, like the blog post I wrote about different species of geraniums (which you can read about HERE), I'm going to profile 4 different species (well, two species and two hybrids; sometimes only one species, two hybrids and one variety depending on who you ask) of mint. These plants are all in the genus Mentha, which is the "true" mint genus (there are other groups that are called mints but that are not in the genus Mentha; these would be close relatives of this genus that would be in the mint family, the Lamiaceae). The four types of mint I'm going to profile are: orangemint, menthol mint (or peppermint), spearmint, and mojito mint. The photo below is a photo of all four of these plants on display in the teaching lab:

You'll notice that I conveniently numbered all of the pots in the order I'm gong to profile the plants :) I love it when I plan ahead. So let's begin!

Species name: Mentha citrata (sometimes Mentha arvensis var. citrata)

Common name: orangemint

Location: teaching lab at Western

Orangemint is sometimes only known as a variety of water mint (Mentha arvensis), but I like to consider it a separate species. Currently, whether it's a species or a variety is still up for debate since DNA studies can't quite rule out either option. Mints are notorious for being able to cross-pollinate each other regardless of what species they are, so there is a lot of genetic contamination of most "wild" populations, and greenhouse populations (unless bred to be sterile) are no better. Due to the huge difference in texture and shape of the leaves, I like to think it's a separate species. It's likely native to the Mediterranean (although this is debatable since it has been cultivated for so long in so many other locations it's hard to tell), and is potentially invasive in some areas (but not southwestern Ontario where I am).

So what is different about the texture and shape of orangemint leaves? Well, for one they're rounded. The reason why "spearmint" is called SPEARmint is because of the shape of the leaves: almost all leaves in the genus Mentha are very pointed at the end and have sharp teeth along the edges of the leaves. Right away this plant is definitely an oddity in the genus. The leaves are also much fleshier than other species of mint, and have a bit of a water storing capacity even if they aren't true succulent plants. This characteristic makes orangemint pleasant to eat...to a point. It has a much more satisfying chew to it than other species of mint, the leaves aren't as hairy and so don't give you as much of a "hairy tongue" feeling when you're eating it, but BOY does this plant ever pack a punch. Unfortunately, despite the leaves smelling like an orange grove in Florida or California, they don't taste a bit like what they smell. In fact, after chewing the leaves for a few seconds it's downright unpleasant.

Like most members of the mint genus, this plant has a dirty little secret. It has been used for centuries in a tea-like preparation as a medicinal beverage, and has been used to help everything from stomach aches and nausea to preventing or treating seizures. The pure extracted essential oils do show a lot of great medicinal potential for a variety of medical ailments (although not sold commercially for any disease, disorder, or symptom), but it's secret is that it is a potent carcinogen and mutagen. In fact, consumption of too much orangemint tea when pregnant will almost certainly lead to miscarriage. If it doesn't, there is a strong possibility for severe developmental deformities in the fetus (or embryo, depending on time of consumption during pregnancy). Because the compounds in orangemint extract are mutagenic, they cause DNA mutations which are irreversible. Always use extreme caution before consuming any "herbal" remedy during pregnancy. Just because it's "natural" doesn't mean it's safe!

Species name: Metha x piperita

Common name: menthol mint, peppermint

Location: teaching lab at Western

Next up we have the plant most commonly used to create the plant extract known as "menthol," peppermint. There are actually numerous species of Mentha that are used for this purpose, but the specific cultivar referred to as "menthol mint" is used most commonly because it has been bred to contain very high concentrations of this chemical. Peppermint is most probably native to Europe (there's the same problem as with orangemint for determining where exactly this species is native to based on the incredible amount of cultivation of this hybrid around the world), and is incredibly invasive in almost all areas it's planted.

One of the great things to note about many species of mint is that they are sterile hybrids. This means that the plant produces flowers, but these flowers don't have the ability to produce seeds. This is a great characteristic, especially in a potentially invasive species, because it means that the chance of this plant getting out of control can potentially be avoided. Unfortunately, there are two problems with this idea when it comes to peppermint: one, this hybrid isn't sterile (oops); and two, this plant produces below-ground biomass almost as quickly as it produces above-ground biomass. Peppermint plants produce huge numbers of rhizomes, which can grow underground and seek out new pockets of nutrient-rich soil to send up shoots to grow. This can cause the exponential growth seen in some areas, where for every one stem you pull out of the ground it seems like the plant sends up two more. Definitely a never-ending battle, and that mixed with the fact that it produces seeds that can blow away in the wind to create new plant colonies, means this plant is a very successful invasive species. Because of the fact that almost all species of Mentha have the potential to become invasive, you should never, EVER plant this directly in the ground, and especially not if you live near an environmentally significant or environmentally sensitive area.

Aside from the essential oil extraction, this plant is used for a remarkable number of uses. First, it is the most popular culinary additive in the world, especially in confections. In fact, there's recent evidence that its use goes back to 10,000 years ago in southeast Europe where it was found with other archaeological artifacts that suggest it was used to flavour food. It has also been used for medicinal purposes, as it is one of the most effective treatments for any kind of digestive issue from upset stomach to irritable bowel syndrome (IBS; there was a recent clinical trial that showed that the consumption of some amount, don't remember how much, of purified peppermint oil completely eliminated symptoms of IBS in 75% of women tested, and decreased IBS symptoms by at least 50% in all 15,000 women tested! That's incredible!). Now you know why restaurants give you an after-dinner mint! It decreases the feeling of being bloated, by encouraging the formation of small gas bubbles in your intestines. Might make you a bit gassy after a large meal, but I think that's better than laying on the couch groaning for an hour or two! Purified peppermint oil has also been used as a natural insecticide, as even in small quantities it prevents insect herbivory on most plants when applied as a spray. Purified menthol has been used as a medicinal additive for decades, most notably in muscle creams to give that minty smell but also a cooling sensation (which is why muscle rubs with a high concentration of menthol work incredibly well as methods of decreasing the itch associated with mosquito bites! The cooling sensation takes away the itch). Another good thing about peppermint oil is that it is one of the only members in the genus that does not display carcinogenic or mutagenic qualities, even in higher concentrations than one would ever be exposed to. In fact, peppermint tea is one of the most widely recommended "herbal remedies" for mild cases morning sickness.

Species name: Mentha spicata

Common name: spearmint

Location: teaching lab at Western

Spearmint is another incredibly commonly grown member of the mint genus, and like peppermint is incredibly invasive. It is not a hybrid so does produce viable seeds, but it also produces those same vigorous underground rhizomes like peppermint. Not a good combination! This species is native to Europe and southwest Asia, but is now grown commercially around the world. A very versatile plant, but one that should be treated very carefully; the flowers should be pinched off the plant before they're given time to set seed to prevent the spread of this species, and it should never, ever be planted directly in the ground.

Often with mint species (and other species used as herbs in the Lamiaceae like basil, rosemary, sage, and thyme), it is suggested that the flowers be pinched off before they're given much of a chance to develop. This actually has very little to do with the reproductive cycle of these species but rather with their use to humans. All plants display a phenomenon referred to the "allocation of resources" during all points of the plant life cycle, but this is more pronounced during flowering and fruiting. You'll notice perhaps with a lot of fruit trees that once the fruit starts to develop on the tree the leaves will turn and fall off at even the slightest change in climate without damage to the fruit. This actually has nothing to do with the health of the tree and everything to do with the attempt to give your offspring a healthy chance at being able to disperse and reproduce. Because (for example) a peach takes so much energy to produce a big, fleshy fruit around the seed, if the plant is under any kind of stress it will try to reduce the stress without impacting the next generation. This is why sometimes (especially nearing the end of the season) the leaves on the plant suffer. The same thing happens with highly fragrant plants once they start to produce seed. The seed producing takes much of the plant's resource allocation away from the production of secondary compounds (what gives the plant the smell), and instead puts all that energy into seed production. Great if you're a seed and want a good chance at being able to grow, but bad for you as a gardener if you want basil (or spearmint) with flavour! For this reason, make sure the flowers are pinched off the plant as soon as you see them start to develop. This will confuse the plant, and it will forget it was ever attempting to reproduce, ensuring that your leaves retain their potent flavour.

Like with peppermint (a hybrid created from spearmint), the essential oil of this plant shows very little mutagenic activity when tested. It is also effective medicinally against stomach ache, but so far hasn't shown much promise in the treatment of chronic digestive tract diseases or disorders. This is probably due to the fat that spearmint essential oil contains very little menthol and menthol-like derivatives. There has been the suggestion that spearmint oil can be an effective treatment for hirsutism in women, otherwise known as "excessive hairiness." Spearmint oil has anti-androgenic qualities, which means it can interfere with free testosterone in the blood. For those women that produce too much testosterone, this might be an effective treatment in reducing the amount circulating in the blood. Unfortunately, there are severe side effects associated with prolonged ingestion of concentrated amounts of spearmint oil such as kidney and liver failure. Until the dose-dependent and long-term effects can be minimized, this treatment won't ever make it on to the approved drug list in any country.

Species name: Mentha x villosa

Common name: mojito mint

Location: teaching lab at Western

Of course, we save the best for last. For those of you that have ever partaken in the consumption of the national drink of Cuba, you will likely have never had it made correctly :) Most places (or people) that make mojitos make it with regular old "mint," which is likely either peppermint or spearmint. This is all fine and dandy, but have you ever had one of those leaves or a piece of a leaf get sucked up in your straw and you have to make the decision to either eat it or spit it out? I bet you probably chose to spit it out, because of the "mouth feel" of the leaf. Both peppermint and spearmint leaves are very hairy, and give you a bad case of the "fuzzy tongue" if you consume a lot of it. True mojito mint, on the other hand, has leaves that are almost completely smooth which completely eliminates the fuzzy tongue feel. A great culinary advancement when it comes to tropical beverages!

This hybrid probably really did arise in the Caribbean, perhaps in Central or South America, and is referred to in Spanish as "yerba buena" or the "good herb" (this is especially true in Cuba). Many species of mint store at least some of their potent essential oils in glandular trichomes on their leaves, which is why they are aromatic just by lightly shaking the plant or touching the leaves. This is not the case in hairless varieties (or species), so the leaves must be treated carefully enough that you don't just get the "taste of plant" when you use them, but rough enough that you actually get the essential oils released from the leaf. This is done by muddling the leaves of the plant with sugar, sometimes alone depending on the species, to get the leaves to release their essential oils. When only using mint as a garnish and not in the drink itself, you always "spank" the mint to get it to release the essential oils.

Mojito mint is an example of a sterile hybrid, so this plant doesn't produce viable seeds (in fact, the plant rarely produces flowers which is also a benefit for those that want to use it for the fragrant leaves). It does still produce those vigorous rhizomes, so care does need to be taken when planting it. This is especially true in tropical and sub-tropical areas as it is drought tolerant, heat tolerant, and has a prolonged growing season which makes it a potentially successful invasive species. This hybrid is actually so vigorous and withstands harsh conditions so well that our plant actually came back after a cold Canadian winter!

A monster looms in the bluebells...

Species name: Taraxacum officinale

Common name: dandelion

Location: Ontario

Feeling like you have deja vu? That might be because I've already blogged about dandelions before, but they were regular ordinary dandelions. This one is special! If you'd like to read my last blog about dandelions and learn a whole bunch of cool stuff about dandelions in general, you can do so HERE.

Dandelions are most likely native to Eurasia, but there's a significant debate about their origins. There have even been a few people to suggest that the true dandelion that carries this species name is only found in North America, and that there's a separate species in Europe. The Europeans always feel they have to be special... :) Regardless of the true species name, almost all dandelions are created equal: they flower in the spring when you're just trying to get your grass looking good again, most people hate them, they have taproots that are nearly impossible to get out of the ground unless you're weeding after a heavy downpour and the ground is wet (if you've never weeded after it has rained, give it a try. You'll thank me later. You're welcome), they have bright yellow flowers that turn into fluffy seed heads, and no matter what kind of biological warfare you use on them the always come back. You know, typical boring (some might say ugly, but I rather like them) dandelions.

Except this one!

Instead of just talking about why dandelions are cool, I wanted to talk about why THIS dandelion is cool. You can see right away from the top image, highlighted in the bottom two images, that the flower head of this particular plant doesn't look like a typical dandelion plant. This phenomenon is called "fasciation", and so this dandelion plant is fasciated. This means that all of the flower heads that would have developed into their own flower under normal conditions have, for some reason, fused together and created a mutant giant flower head (caused by the fusion of many separate meristems at the end of the inflorescence stalks). This, to me, is one of the most fascinating phenomena of the plant world, and has been documented in over 100 species of plants. The best part? No one has any idea why this happens in any given plant. There are lots of ideas of why this might happen in general: exposure to radiation, attack of a virus, exposure to low doses of specific chemicals (like 2,4-D, or Roundup, for example), mechanical disturbance, insect damage, or genetic mutations. But could anyone tell you why THIS PLANT became fasciated? As of our current knowledge, no. You could definitely speculate and come up with the most likely scenario but you would never be 100% sure (and there are likely other reasons why this happens that are currently undocumented). Normally this phenomenon is incredibly rare in the plant world, and to see it would be a real treat...except dandelions. Apparently dandelions do this all the time! Silly plants. The speculation here is that in this plant species it is more than likely pre-determined by genetic mutations that can be passed on through the seeds, but also exposure to common pesticides like 2,4-D also play a role (and dandelions are always on the end of chemical attacks, it seems!). Unfortunately, someone ripped this plant out of the ground (and by someone, I mean the people that do grounds maintenance on campus) before it had a chance to finish flowering and turn to seed. I would have loved to continue taking pictures of the flower development and collect some seeds to see if I could grow a new fasciated dandelion! Yes, I know what's coming. "You know you're a nerd when..." :) Don't worry, Mom and Dad. I would have done it in the greenhouses at school!

Have you ever seen a fasciated plant? Now that I know it exists, I saw the remains of a fasciated tulip growing in a bed on campus. Fascinating fasciation!

EDIT: I guess I should mention that this phenomenon isn't just restricted to the plant world; it also happens in fungi. Next time you're in the grocery store and have some time to kill, go pick through the bin of shiitake mushrooms. I bet you'll find a mushroom with a single squashed-looking stalk with two caps on the top. Fasciated shiitakes are quite common; I guess that makes the shiitake the dandelion of the fungus world!

The nasty side of the Golden Trumpet

Species name: Allamanda cathartica

Common name: golden trumpet, yellow trumpet vine

Location: Dominican Republic

The golden trumpet vine is native to Brazil, but because of its pleasing aesthetics has been transported around the world to different tropical locations as an ornamental species. Unfortunately, in almost all of those locations it has become invasive not because of its seeds, but because it reproduces asexually so readily. This plant is usually used as a hedge and is pruned multiple times per year, causing the stems of the vine to be cut up. Normally this isn't a problem but for a plant like this that can root so easily from cuttings it's potentially disastrous. Each tiny piece of plant can become a new one, and so without proper disposal of all fragments the vine can very quickly get out of control.

One of the most impressive qualities of this plant is how quickly it grows. Unlike many other vines, it does not have its own support system so requires a trellis to prop it up off the ground (or it could be grown as a ground-creeping vine; it doesn't anchor itself in the ground like English Ivy does which you can read all about HERE). It also doesn't have tendrils or circular stem growth like peas do, so it also won't strangle plants it is propped up against (but will, more than likely, shade out any competitors). In only a couple of months during the peak of the growing season, it can grow up to 20 feet. Yes, twenty. That wasn't a typo. That's a few inches a day...you could almost watch the plant growing if you could sit still long enough. That's insane.

Aside from the ridiculous speed of growth, this plant also has intoxicating yellow flowers. The flowers fully open just at sunrise, releasing a huge amount of scent along with them that you can smell from tens of feet away, in the attempt to attract their pollinators: hummingbirds. Hummingbirds are most active and looking for nectar first thing in the morning when they're still trying to recover from their overnight tropor or short hibernation. Warming such a tiny body up can only be accomplished by moving flight muscles, which hummingbirds can do at extraordinary speeds. This, as you can probably imagine, requires a whole lot of energy. Where does this energy come from? Sugar! And where does sugar come from for hummingbirds? Nectar! So the fact that these flowers open and are right ready to accept hummingbirds first thing in the morning means that the flowers are going to be visited right away if there are hummingbirds in the area. If this plant is propped up off the ground and allowed to grow in very dense clumps beside a wall for shelter, chances are you might find a hummingbird nest inside the clump of vines if you look hard enough. It would be like a Canadian Tim Horton's addict setting up a tent right outside a store. You can get your fix of morning java as soon as you wake up!

Unfortunately, this plant isn't just fun and games and pretty flowers to look at it. It is incredibly toxic, and the toxicity of the latex is enough to induce second-degree chemical burns if it stays on your skin long enough. If you are around this plant and are pruning it, PLEASE wear gloves and a long-sleeved shirt and pants (not to mention closed-toe shoes. Toes get ignored the most when it comes to gardening, and the last thing you want is a second-degree burn on your feet!). Also, there should never be a circumstance when you decide eating this plant would be a good idea. The toxic chemical called allamandin in the plant will cause severe vomiting, diarrhea, dehydration, liver failure, kidney failure, coma, and potentially lead to death. As with many toxic plants, this plant may have a redeeming quality or two: in very low doses, allamandin is sometimes marketed in "natural" laxatives because of its cathartic qualities. Also, pure extracts of the latex of the plant show that it has potent antimicrobial and anticancer properties, so it might one day be used in conjunction with current cancer treatments. Every thorn has its rose (or something like that).

This clock won't tell time

Species name: Thunbergia grandifolia

Common name: clockvine

Location: Dominican Republic

One day my mom and I went on an excursion that drove all around the countryside and visited a traditional house and farm in the middle of nowhere (and what a beautiful middle of nowhere it was!). We got to walk all around the house and look at the gardens, and they led us through their "agricultural plot" behind the house that had a lot of traditional Dominican food growing. This was one of the plants that was being used as an ornamental species in one of the gardens of the home, and I bet it won't be long before they regret planting it. The clockvine is native to China, India, Nepal and Burma where it grows like a weed. It is capable of living happily in any tropical habitat, loves both very soggy soils and dry, arid soils, can tolerate full sun as well as full shade, and other plants in the garden are the least of its troubles. In some tropical areas of the world, like tropical Australia, it has taken "invasive weed" to a whole new level. It is nearly impossible to eradicate because of its successful growth from either seeds or underground rhizomes, and so it will likely destroy all of the native habitat is has grown into before snuffing itself out.

Since this vine is such a beautiful flowering vine, it's no surprise that it's popular around the world for its ornamental value. In fact, almost every species of the genus is prized for their flowers and very fast growth (as well as the ability to tolerate almost every environmental condition that is thrown at it; including light snow for some species!). Unfortunately, this means that this vine has become invasive on all continents, everywhere it has successfully grown. Something needs to be done to ban the sale of these plants!

There are also studies that are currently looking at what to do with these vines, since they're already in numerous locations around the world in gardens (where they are relatively easy to control as long as you have garden shears and some time on your hands) and have since escaped cultivation. There was the suggestion that these plants would make excellent biofuels since they grow so quickly and are so tolerant of environmental fluctuations, but I'm not sure if anything has been done about this suggestion. They are most definitely "sustainable" in the traditional sense, but at what price? Once we harvested all of the plants that are growing in wild areas, then what? Do we plant more of them and risk them escaping again? Using highly invasive species for biofuels (either fermenting parts of the plant to produce bioethanol or just burning the plants directly to produce energy) is a very fine line to walk between rehabilitating an ecosystem and encouraging its complete destruction.

The plant version of bubble wrap

Blog update: My apologies for not posting as regularly during the month of December as I usually do. I have been running close to the end of the photos I took on my last plant photography bonanza in September, and couldn't come up with an idea for where to go to take pictures of plants to blog about during the winter months that would look like more than just sticks. Then the idea hit me. The greenhouse on campus! Starting tomorrow I have a whole bunch of tropical species to blog about, courtesy of the UWO greenhouses. Very few if any of them will be native species, but some of them are incredibly interesting and unusual (I've been doing my homework!) so I think you'll all enjoy learning about them. I will also be running a series of blog posts about "How to Identify Sticks" once the winter really sets in, so stay tuned for how to identify woody plants during the winter months.

Species name: Impatiens glandulifera

Common name: Himalayan balsam

Location: Ontario

The Himalayan balsam, as the name suggests, is originally from the Himalayan region in Asia. The plant is a temperate plant, growing very happily on mountain sides up to the tree line, but preferring areas closer to the base of the mountains. Unfortunately, it is one of the most dangerously invasive plants in North America and Europe, where its introduction (sometimes purposely as an ornamental and/or medicinal plant, other times by accident) has completely destroyed the understory of many forests previously dominated by native species. This plant can grow so large so fast that even garlic mustard (which you can read all about HERE) has a rough time competing with it. The stems of this plant are incredibly unusual; they are hollow between the nodes and completely filled with fluid. More on this later...

Another unfortunate characteristic of this plant is the seed dispersal mechanism contained in the ripe fruit. There's a good reason why this plant is called the "touch-me-not," and it has nothing to do with it being toxic on the skin. The fruits have a ballistic mechanism that forcibly discharges the seeds when touched (and when the fruit is ripe). This isn't an unfortunate characteristic for the plant itself; it actually ensures for incredibly successful seed dispersal. This is an unfortunate characteristic for environmental health in areas where the plant is not native. Have you ever had the opportunity to play with the fruits and get them to release their seeds?! If not, it's quite the experience. You touch it and it feels like something just exploded in your hand and seeds go flying everywhere! It's fantastic! And that's the exact reason why it's so unfortunate: in populated areas, the main reason for successful seed dispersal is due to...children! It's just as entertaining for kids (and some adults. Guilty as charged) to force the plant to release the seeds as it is to give them a sheet of bubble wrap and watch them occupy themselves for hours.

Once established, this plant is incredibly difficult to eradicate but there's a company in Germany that just might have found the secret to getting rid of it. They are busy developing a wide array of products made from the flowers of the plant, in hopes that the picking of the plant for profit will eventually contribute a financial means for its eradication. A brilliant idea, and I hope it works out for them. We could definitely use something like that in southern Ontario!

Apparently all parts of this plant (including the flowers, which are incredibly attractive) are edible. I've never tried it, but I have seen flowers of this species adorning wedding cakes. I haven't actually seen anyone try to eat them, usually they're picked off and left on the plate as a non-edible decoration. I have, however, greatly enjoyed the medicinal use of this plant on many occasions. The liquid contained in the stems is incredibly effective at soothing itchy, dry skin due to any cause. It will take away the itch associated with a poison ivy rash almost instantly (which even calamine lotion can't do!), relieve the itch of mosquito bites, take away the sting from bee and wasp stings, moisturize dry skin, and soothe the itchy pain of sunburns. Because the plant is non-toxic, it's even safe to use on your face, but make sure you don't get it in your eyes. Just because it's safe for your digestive tract doesn't mean it won't irritate the sensitive tissues of your eyeballs! And, like with all plants, before you consume or otherwise use this plant in any way, make sure you are absolutely certain of the correct identification. The leaves look slightly like stinging nettle leaves; you would NOT want to confuse the two in an attempt to soothe a poison ivy rash!

The tree of anything-but-heaven

Species name: Ailanthus altissima

Common name: Tree of Heaven

Location: Ontario

Unfortunately, there are a couple pretty impressive specimens of the Tree of Heaven on campus, and this is only going to lead to disaster in a few years. The Tree of Heaven is a highly invasive species in North America, spreading underground via rhizomes and producing suckers that grow quite vigorously and grow in girth very quickly. This can not only be a menace to lawnmowers if this plant is in a decorative location, but they harbour a nasty secret underground. The Tree of Heaven produces some of the most toxic natural herbicides known, which successfully kill off any vegetation growing near them. While they don't seem to produce these chemicals in great numbers directly around their root system (other plants that aren't grasses can live happily in their shade if they are shade tolerant), they are produced in large amounts from the rhizomes to protect the developing suckers. This double-whammy of colonization and making the soil toxic to other organisms allows for their success at complete dominance over an ecosystem. They also thrive in disturbed areas where other species are slow to establish, also contributing to their success as an invasive species.

If you needed another reason not to plant this tree, it reeks. And I mean it smells TERRIBLE. The Chinese (the tree is native to China) even have their own traditional name for the tree: chouchun. Roughly translated, this means "malodorous tree." Other English names for this tree is the ghetto palm (not entirely sure how it got this name, but I kind of like it...) and the stinking tree. The odor probably has to do with the allelopathic compounds produced from the rhizomes; the suckers are especially disgusting after being "decapitated" with a lawnmower. It's almost enough to make you not want to go outside for fear of being drowned in their stench. On the bright side, this tree rarely lives past 50 years, so if you've got one in your yard you might want to remove it before it falls on your house.

Despite the incredibly foul smell produced from these trees, they are incredibly important in Traditional Chinese Medicine, where almost the entire plant is used for various purposes. A word of warning; this plant is toxic to humans as well as all other animal life so extreme caution should be exerted should you decide to go the TCM route. The bark is made into an astringent to treat a wide variety of diseases and disorders, from intestinal hemorrhaging to dysentery. There is also a significant amount of chemicals that are similar to quinones in the bark, and quinone is the most important antimalarial drug in the world. The drug-resistant malaria (or multi-drug resistant malaria) seems to still show strong effects of susceptibility to the ailanthone in the bark of the Tree of Heaven, and so is now a recognized antimalarial drug. The fruit of the tree when made into a tincture that effectively treats a vaginal infection called trichomoniasis, an infection caused by a protozoan that can be very difficult to treat. It is now the leading treatment for the infection by both doctors practicing Traditional Chinese Medicine and by doctors practicing Western medicine. It has also been suggested that this same medication will also have some effect on cancerous cells, but this has never been substantiated with clinical evidence. Extracts from the tree also have very potent anti-inflammatory effects, and have been shown to be incredibly effective at resolving severe allergic reactions (known as anaphylaxis).

The noxious cow itch vine

Species name: Campsis radicans

Common name: cow itch vine, trumpet vine

Location: Ontario

The trumpet vine is native to the southeastern United States, reaching as far north as Kentucky. Despite this, it is incredibly cold-hardy, and can survive winter temperatures as cold as -30 degrees Celsius. For a subtropical species, that feat in itself is incredible. What's even more incredible is that it actually does better when transported to "strongly temperate" areas (locations that have a clear summer that is very warm, and a clear winter that is very cold) like New England and southwestern Ontario. There, the vine becomes incredibly invasive and can be very destructive. In fact, "radical pruning" is recommended in order to control its growth; it can grow up to 30 meters in one growing season!

This plant is one of the many vines that produce structures called tendrils that act almost like support beams that help keep the plant upright and attached to its substrate, whatever that might be. The plant that made tendrils famous is the garden pea plant, which has tendrils that react so quickly to touch you can almost watch them grow without a time lapse camera! The cow itch vine takes this to a whole new level. It can actually use its tendrils almost like hole borers, and can penetrate into mortar between bricks, and can split apart perfectly healthy trees. Nevermind what it can do to hydro or telephone poles! Outside its native range it truly is a menace, and should be avoided at all costs (despite its incredible beauty). The one good thing about this plant is its flowers; the bright red colour and the trumpet-like shape attracts every species of hummingbird to have ever come in contact with it, so if you'd like some great hummingbird viewings on warm winter days, go find some other poor gardener that planted this vine and camp out in their yard with a camera. The flowers are so prolific in nectar that the birds are very likely to "put on a show" for you while you just sit and snap pictures!