The Associated Press has picked up on a great research project by Lorraine Brooks at the University of Washington. "When Wildflower Mixes Go Wild" demonstrates that wildflower seed mixes often contain native weeds and non-native invasive species, even when they are targeted to a certain part of the U.S. Many of the mixes contained species not even listed on the packaging. (I'll try to link to the AP article as well, once it comes up on a website or newsgroup post.) The project was directed by Dr. Sarah Reichard, who has previously done excellent research on non-native species and the nursery industry.
This project reminded me of an incident that happened back in March, where a small group of highly-motivated people convinced the National Arbor Day Foundation to stop selling the invasive Bradford Pear (Callery Pear, Pyrus calleryana). Read more via the Yahoo! group ma-eppc by going here and here, and see photos of the Bradford Pear here.
