A collage of six photos, with labels, arranged in a grid, illustrating the ecological threat posed by this foreign invasive plant tending to colonize the landscape (create a monoculture). Graphic via Oklahoma State University. Originating from China, Taiwan, and Japan, this invasive plant was mistakenly promoted in the United States by the feds in the mid-1960s, in a wrong-headed move by the USDA, when it was first introduced as an 'ornamental' in Maryland and Washington D.C. The cultivar Bradford pear is another name for Pyrus Calleryana (Callery Pear), known for its offensive odor coming from its clusters of white blooms, in early spring. The cultivar is also notorious for its rapid growth rate and acute vertical branching, according to Wikipedia. Its off-putting smell is an odor the plant emits to attracts flies as its primary pollinators rather than bees. A misguided Italian-French missionary Joseph-Marie Callery (1810–1862), first sent specimens of the tree to Europe from China, hence the name 'Calleryana'. It has now spread to 25 states in the continental U.S., and found as far north as Madison, Wisconsin. The tree is now banned in Ohio, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania. As of 2023, North Carolina actually put a bounty out on these trees: the state will reward you with 5 free native trees for every Callery Pear turned in. More info: treebountync.com "Callery pears sometimes form extensive, nearly homogeneous stands in old fields, along roadsides, and in similar disturbed areas. The species was first noticed spreading outside of human cultivation in the 1990s, and by the latter half of the 2000s, Callery pear trees were widespread and could be found in habitats ranging from wetlands to forests."
Farmland & prairie both vulnerable to this #invasivespecies: PSA about detection, prevention, control and eradication of Pyrus Calleryana (Callery Pear), blooming everywhere this time of year, with awful-smelling flowers.
#Gardening
#Agriculture
#Weeds
#horticulture
#preventthespread
#bioInvasion
