As a landscape plant, burning bush (Euonymus alatus) can be quite striking. I hesitate to ever recommend it. It is an invasive and its use is actively discouraged in many areas (and even banned in Massachusetts, I believe). It’s a native of northeastern Asia and is naturalized over much of eastern North America. The plant we have is in a pot, which helps keep it small, although I’m not really sure I want even that much in my yard. Not that getting rid of ours is going to make much difference, as this is grown all over our area and the cat is already out of the bag.
Tagged With: Invasive Plant
Burning Bush (Euonymus alatus)
Ficaria verna
Dorothy, Cathy, and I walked on the Seneca Greenway Trail this afternoon, parking where MD 28 crosses Seneca Creek and walking downstream. We only saw a few other people and it was a very pleasant walk. It’s relatively flat, with only a few ups and downs to deal with. The birds were out in force and we heard them all around, although we weren’t stopping to see them so much and didn’t really get very close to any. I did stop to take a few photos, including of this fig buttercup, also known as lesser celandine. It was formerly classified as Ranunculus ficaria but is now Ficaria verna. It’s an invasive, non-native species that grows in many of our wetlands.
Carduus nutans (Musk Thistle)
The musk thistle (Carduus nutans), also commonly known as the nodding or nodding plumeless thistle, is an invasive species introduced into the United States around the middle of the 19th century. It has now spread to all of the lower 48 states (with the possible exceptions of Florida, Vermont, and Maine, although I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s there, as well) and the lower provinces of Canada from British Columbia to Newfoundland. It’s a rather tall and somewhat striking plant with a large, and as you can see showy bloom. It is usually a biennial but in warmer climates can flower in its first year. Rather than there being single, large flowers, each of the purple threads in the flowerhead is technically a separate flower.