Tuesday, April 20, 2004

Arizona Triple Play

Invasive species articles in local newspapers are now an everyday occurrence. But this one from the Eastern Arizona Courier caught my eye because it mentions three invasive plants I've never heard of before. The first is the Sahara mustard plant (Brassica tournefortii), a species whose dried biomass increases the susceptibility of an area to fire. The second species is sweet resinbush (Euryops subcarnosus), a shrub intentionally introduced to Arizona as livestock forage and erosion control. Last but not least is camelthorn (Alhagi maurorum), a spiny legume that has been known to puncture tires.

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