The second part of this tale moves from elm mite galls to this lovely member of the rose family you see here, that bears the innocuous name, Multiflora Rose.
Multiflora is right: a single cane (long arching branch) may bear more than 15000 seeds. And those canes taken collectively can climb 30 feet into the trees at forest edge or clearing, and a single plant can cover 300 square feet or more. And best of all, the canes are armored with stout thorns (do you know your thorns from your prickles from your spines?). Getting rid of the stuff has required nothing short of tanks and flame throwers (or biological warfare.)
And so if your pasture, like so very many in the southeast, is being taken over by this vicious non-native rose, stay tuned for part three. There’s good news for you–unless you love your domestic roses, in which case, you won’t be as happy with part three.
Related articles
- SPECIAL FEATURE: Gallery of galls (boingboing.net)
- Of All the Gall (fragmentsfromfloyd.com)
Wow. Who knew (not me!) that grandma’s roses had such nasty, obnoxious relatives. I’m happy for your successful biological warfare, even though I love deadheading and pruning 100 rose bushes in a public garden near my home.