Canadian News Purple Loosestrife the Beautiful Killer Beautiful Killer By Andrea Buendia The purple loosestrife is such a beautiful plant isn't it? Well, not all things beautiful is really beautiful. Purple Loosestrife is also known as Lythrum Salicaria, this is the scientific name for it. Lythrum Salicaria is a non-native invasive species to Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario. But as time pass by it spreads more and more, it could spread to other regions or maybe even other countries. This is the distribution of purple loosestrife in Canada on 2011. It originated in Great Britain, across central and southern Europe to central Russia, Japan, China, Southeast Asia and also Northern India and was introduced to North America in the 1800's. Purple Loosestrife is a perennial which is a plant that lives for more than two years, that is why it can outgrow and outlive the native aquatic animals and plants like cattails, sedges, rushes near and on that area. It is a serious invader of wetlands, the roots of the purple loosestrife form a thick mat on the soil to block anything or any other plant from growing up, and it doesn t allow other vegetation to grow so they can be the dominant species. The nightmare isn t over yet. It affects animals that feed and reproduce in wetlands, threatens a lot of natural resources, reduces fish population, contaminates
2 My Newspaper and destroys rivers and lakes, reduces native species, degrades ecosystems, affects human health, reduces property values, have a huge impact to the local economy of water-dependent communities, and others more. The spread of the purple loosestrife is and should be a concern to everyone from geographers to the local, the provincial and federal government and to you. Stake Holders useful medicinal for it has a great balance of astringent and mucilaginous properties. He states that purple loosestrife is being used to cure diarrhea, bacterial or amoebic dysentery, enteritis, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), leaky gut syndrome in some places of India. It can also be used as a gargle for sore throats, and a cure to a lots more other diseases. Purple Loosestrife were also used as a m e d i c i n e i n E u r o p e i n t h e 1800's-1900's. do it manually, manually controlling it would be digging purple loosestrifes out, pulling purple looesetrifes out and cutting purple looesetrifes off. Controlling it manually might take a lot of time Citations and effort but it is still better than using chemicals. Using herbicides can control it but it can also damage the place around it. I have interviewed 3 stakeholders on their opinion about purple loosestrifes. I interviewed The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. It is the ministry that is responsible for Land & Waters Management, Fish & Wildlife Management, Ontario Parks, Geographic Information, Forest Fire, Forest Management, Flood and Drought Protection. This ministry is about trying to encourage healthy, sustainable ecosystems and conserve biodiversity. The Ministry of Natural Resources also manages Ontario s Crown land, encourages economic opportunities in the resource sector and improves opportunities for outdoor recreation. The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources says that purple loosestrife is an invasive plant that was brought to North America. According to them, purple loosestrife forms thick stands that can damage habitats for many types of species like birds, insects, and many more. Also, they say that the purple loosestrife decreases biodiversity by crowding out the native plants around the area and could block irrigation canals, destroy farmlands and reduce the food value of pastures. I also interviewed The Ontario Invasive Plant Council (OIPC). It is an organization that is teamed up with other organizations and other citizens that would answer to the threat of invasive plants in Ontario. According to OIPC purple loosestrife is an invasive wetland plant that crowds other the native plants around the area and reduces biodiversity. OIPC also said that purple loosestrife can clog irrigation canals, cause destruction to farm land and reduce the food value of pastures. The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and The Ontario Invasive Plant Council hold those views because both of them did research and went outdoors to examine the plant. Both of my stakeholders have the same view point, which were both a negative feedback on purple loosestrife, but this can be in conflict with other points of view like my last interview with the herbalist, Jim McDonald. He states that purple loosestrife is not as destructive to habitats as it s frequently made out to be. He says that purple loosestrife offers great potential as a valuable and This is a medicinal purple loosestrife tea to cure diarrhea, intestinal problems, and bacterial infections. Stop the Invasion To be honest if you keep purple loosestrife, it is a huge risk that is why people decided to stop them but what to do when there is a purple loosestrife invasion? Well, first identify what a purple loosestrife is because it looks like other plants like the Blue Vervain, Fireweed and a lot more others. Blue Vervain Fireweed The best time to identify and control a purple loosestrife is in the summer which is late June to August. Purple loosestrife tall woody stems with spear shaped leaves and many spikes of purple-pink flowers. After, you can get rid of the purple loosestrife either manually, chemically or biologically. It is best to biologically control the invasion of purple loosestrife especially in places where the purple loosestrife invasion is severe. This means you are going to get another living organism to control the pest of the area. In this case, the best living organism to use is the leaf-eating beetles called the Galerucella. The leaf eating beatle, The Galerucella If you would control a severe invasion of purple loosestrife manually and chemically won t even be effective and it might even add on to the problem. Also, biological control is long term, this means this can work longer because it depends on the animal s life expectation. The next best thing is to "Purple Loosestrife Ontario s Invading Species Awareness Program." Purple Loosestrife Ontario s Invading Species Awareness Program. "Purple Loosestrife Project Manitoba - Home." Purple Loosestrife Project Manitoba - Home. "Agency or Department Name Here (for Pda/handhelds)." Purple Loosestrife. "Inva "Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters." Purple Loosestrife Control Program To Be Implemented In Eastern Ontario.sive Species Council of Manitoba." : Purple Loosestrife. "Beetles v. Purple Loosestrife." - NortheastIPM.org. "Biological Control of Purple Loosestrife." Purple Loosestrife Biological Control. " O n t a r i o M i n i s t r y o f N a t u r a l Resources." Home Page. N.p., n.d. "Ontario Invasive Plant Council - Home." Ontario Invasive Plant Council - Home. N.p., n.d. "Purple Loosestrife." Herbcraft... Purple Loosestrife.
My Newspaper 3
4 My Newspaper
My Newspaper 5
6 My Newspaper
My Newspaper 7
8 My Newspaper
My Newspaper 9
10 My Newspaper
My Newspaper 11
12 My Newspaper