Saw this on the news last night http://cbs11tv.com/seenon/Branched.Broomrape.Texas.2.713830.html
Here is some more info http://www-aes.tamu.edu/mary/brmrape/brmrape.htm
I took a photo and posted it in one of the Weeds and Wildfowers threads. Theres ALOT of it growing right here by my office. Should I notify someone? If so, who?
Here's a pic of one.
Just got off the phone with TAMU and they said it is much more widespread than their website indicates. They are already aware of it's presence in south Dallas County where my office is. They said that the state has given up on controlling it and that TAMU is the only orginization concerned anymore.
thanks for this info bronc--i'll look for it in the fields around my house as I go to and from the store--and I'll keep some roundup in the trunk
Debbie
I have it in my yard. Every time I see it, I reach down & try & pull it up fr the roots(I have sandy soil). If I can't get the roots, I take the flower. @ least it can't set seed if I don't let the flowers stay on it, right?
:~)
Thank you very much for telling us about this plant T.J. it sounds rather scary, I have never seen it, but will keep an eye out for it and remove it as much as i can.
Josephine.
OMG! That sounds worse than Malta Star Thistle! Gives me chills.
I was just reading that same article in an email. That's really sad to hear that they have given up trying to control it, but I have no idea how they could do it either. I guess I might throw a few baggies in my car just in case I ever run cross it.
Be careful when pulling them up as the seeds are very tiny and can be spread easily.
Yes, I read in one article not to even touch them but another said to put them in a bag/baggie. If no one is really going to be on the lookout for them besides us, then I suppose any little bit helps if we are careful.
Bronc,
I copied this for you. You are right about telling someone. Here are instructions on what to do if you find it:
WE NEED YOUR HELP
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, along with the Texas Department of Agriculture, the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, Texas Cooperative Extension, and the Texas Department of Transportation are requesting that you survey your property for the presence of Branched Broomrape. The best places to look are: fence lines along state or county roads, areas which have been mowed in the last few years, especially if the mower has been used on the highway right-of-way, and areas where mowers, tractors, and other implements are stored. Once you have completed your survey, please let your Extension office know if you found the plant.
Broomrape is most likely to be seen from late February or early March to May with a peak in April. Should you find suspected Branched Broomrape plants DO NOT PULL THE PLANTS UP or carry them around loose because this could cause further spread of the seed. Mark the spot where plants were found with a flag or stake so it will be easy to locate and write the exact location on a card. Take this information to your County Extension Agent or call any of the people listed below to report it.
I forgot to post the link the article came from. Here is the link:
http://www-aes.tamu.edu/mary/brmrape/brmrape.htm
I think that's the same link as the first post, and it says not to bother then. This article from the Star Telegram says to put them in a baggie. http://www.star-telegram.com/804/story/620647.html My chances of coming across one are slim but will be on the lookout on some future prairie tours I'm going on.
What a shame, because it is a rather pretty flower. I would hate to think that it could knock out all of the other pretty flowers on the highway.
If no-one responds when you report it, I guess Round-up in your trunk is the answer.
I can just see it now; I'm pulled off the road and staring down at all the similar flowers ready with my round-up in hand. Someone thinks I am out killing all the wildflowers and calls the highway department. I wind up behind bars proclaiming I was trying to save the wildflowers and this one has to die because it is sucking the life out of the other ones! Will the other detainees side with me? Who will come to my aid? And most importantly when they finally let me out will they give me back my Round-up?
Charlene
LOL!! God gave me a good imagination, and you a gift of words! LOL!
If killing wildflowers is a crime, why don't they round up all the road crews who come along and mow everything down just when things are pretty and flowering and put them in jail? This happens on a regular basis!
Complain to your City or County office and see if they can change the date that mowing begins in that area. All of that is on a contract usually.
lol...too funny Charlene! But...I must say that you really gotta get rid of that Round-up anyways!
Oh, I just HATE it when they mow the highways!! A few years ago I was just heart-broken when they mowed down all the antelope horns when I know they were covered with migrating Monarch eggs and cats!! I had been out collecting them, then one day they were all gone. :( The same thing happened on a grassy slope in town too. It was covered in bluebonnets and paintbrushes and before they could reseed some IDIOT was out there mowing it.
I go thru an area in Hurst where I work that is just beautiful now. It's covered in several wildflowers and grasses. I haven't figured out how to get a really good look yet because it's on a loop...and I'm driving. lol
Hey Paige....pull over to the side of the road and put your blinkers on. If someone stops, just tell them your DH is on his way with a gas can.
I saw a whole lot of Antelope H MW this year!! If I have enough MW to support them, I will gather a few from them too. Question, will they eat my MW or only the AH that the seed was laid on? Any luck on that?
I've taken caterpillars home that were found on Antelope Horns and they ended up eating Mexican Milkweed and did fine. But I checked A. H. plants this spring and only found one egg.
Thanks Linda! I may have more than I can keep up with in my own yard, but if not I want to know they would switch plants ok. Last year the local Monarch migration was so slow the Bot. Gdn. had a tagging and only had 16 to tag (10 I think it was were mine that I offered).
Sorry for hijacking the thread T.J........
We need to keep our eyes open for the thug and try to make a difference where we can. I hate that it is pretty, so many people with pick them or take it home with them; causing seeds to be distributed everywhere.
Josephine, have you come across any in the Wildscape yet?
We don't have any pictures of it in our DG Plant Files yet. Hopefully someone can take pictures if you come across it.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/32183/
No Sheila, I haven't seen that plant at the wildscape or any other place, but I will keep my eyes open for it.
I will add my pics to plant files.
