A Conversation About Seduction

By Jean Thomas

Humans whine and complain about the weather. Plants, not so much. Their viewpoint is this: “we only have a short time to do this, so let’s get it on!” Reproduction is, after all, the real purpose of flowers and fruit. Humans look at the beauty of flowers and anticipate the flavors of produce. We encourage our favorites among the plant kingdom, and bemoan the competition from the unwanted, AKA “weeds.” This is where the seduction comes in.There is a particular group of plants that has mastered the art of seduction, not of their own kind, but of humans. Right now, as I walk the dog, I am delighted by the aroma of honeysuckles in great billowing waves coming from thick shrubbery. The honeysuckle finishes its perfumery and starts making berries at the same time that the multiflora rose starts in with the same strategy. The rose is a double threat, because it produces a gorgeous scent and looks beautiful with its clusters of small white roses massing and covering the whole plant.

Less ostentatious but equally successful are the burning bush and the barberry. Both produce small beautiful flowers that we don’t notice as much as the others, but they have won our hearts with their foliage and usefulness as hedge and display plants. Sadly, the above are all considered noxious plants in as many as forty four states. They’re kind of glamorous mobsters. Here’s the reason. Each has bad manners. They all rudely infringe on the territory of the native plants and can interfere with the plans we humans have for the land.

In no particular order, here are the details: among the varieties of honeysuckle, the villainous one is the Japanese honeysuckle. It was imported for its beauty and robustness, then “escaped.” The problem is that all those sweet smelling flowers quickly become berries and are transported by birds. They get big and healthy and crowd out native plants that are healthier for the birds to eat. Another escapee from cultivation is the multiflora rose. This was actually introduced for farmers and advertised and sold by the government. Until it began to run amok. In flowering season you can see pretty clusters of white flowering shrubs dotting pastures everywhere. Nothing eats it, it’s pretty disease resistant, and it has to be pulled out with tractors once it reaches a certain size. Don’t be fooled when a baby pops up in your garden. They are vicious. I call them the “mean roses” because their thorns are so aggressive. The burning bush and the barberry are also introduced species. Do you see a trend here? They are wonderful plants until they start to colonize. A baby barberry can have a fearful bite when the unwary gardener grabs one. The burning bush when not supervised will make an impenetrable clump of woody vegetation. Both will make armies of seedlings and interrupt the normal life cycle of a field or forest.

The topic of invasives is a large one. I’m just touching on a few that are beauties and beasts at the same time. Your local Cornell Cooperative Extension will have pages of information, and the podcast “Nature Calls, Conversations from the Hudson Valley” has several episodes addressing various facets of dealing with the problems they bring.