Invasive Weeds on the Middle Fork Snoqualmie

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Invasive Weeds on the Middle Fork Snoqualmie

• Sasha Shaw
• Education Specialist
• King County Noxious Weed Program

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Agenda

• Weed Definitions
• Middle Fork Weed Priorities
• Priority Weeds Present in the Watershed
• Class A and B Noxious Weeds
• Other Priority Invasive Weeds
• Other Widespread Weeds and Lower Priority Plants
  Present but not Surveyed
• Noxious Weeds Threatening to Invade

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What is an Invasive Weed?

• Introduced / non-native
• Ability to out-compete native plants
• Lack of predators or natural controls
• Ability to modify local ecology
• Aggressive ability to reproduce

Invasive knotweed is one of the toughest plants
to control and damages some of the highest
quality habitats
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What is a Noxious Weed?

• Non-native plant that impacts agriculture,
  wildlife, human health, land values or natural
  resources
• Defined and regulated by state law (RCW 17.10)
• county lists are chosen from the state list
• regulated in parts of the state
• where they have limited distribution

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What are the Weed Classes?

• Class A Weeds new invaders, control required
  statewide, still a chance to eradicate
• Class B and C Designates control required in
  King County, still have a chance to stop them
  from getting established
• Non-Designates and Weeds of Concern widespread
  invasive weeds in King County, control not
  required but definitely a good idea whenever
  possible!

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Middle Fork Snoqualmie Weed Priorities

• King County Noxious Weeds
• Class As, B-designates, and C-selects
• Non-designates and Weeds of Concern that are
  limited in distribution and still controllable
• Non-native species newly introduced or not
  previously reported in the valley
• Excluded from the survey species that are
  already pervasive in the valley and unlikely to
  be controlled valley-wide

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Middle Fork Snoqualmie Weed Surveys Completed
2005 and 2006

• Roadsides (10 ft in on both sides)
• Farther in where disturbance or weed infestations
  were observed
• Disturbed Sites
• Quarries, cut banks, logging landings
• Camping sites, pullouts, trailheads, parking lots
• Open talus fields, stream crossings
• River by raft and river bars on foot

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Priority Weeds Identified in the Middle Fork
Valley

• Himalayan and Evergreen Blackberry
• Bohemian Knotweed
• Scotch Broom
• Reed Canary Grass
• English Holly
• English Ivy
• Butterfly Bush
• Tansy Ragwort
• Yellow Hawkweed

• Canada Thistle
• Hedge Bindweed
• Common Tansy
• Yellow Archangel
• Yellow Flag Iris
• European Mountain-Ash
• Spotted Knapweed
• Bittersweet Nightshade
• Poison-hemlock

Listed in order of total area found. Weeds with
are designated for control in King County.
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Class A and B Noxious Weeds

• (Please notify the county noxious weed program if
  these are found)

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Tansy Ragwort (Senecio jacobaea)
Class B Noxious Weed
Flowering stems are 1-6 ft tall with clusters of
yellow, daisy flowers
First year rosettes have round-lobed leaves,
reddish stems
Flowers June to October. Seeds are viable for 10
to 16 years.
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Tansy Ragwort (Senecio jacobaea)
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Yellow Hawkweed (Hieracium caespitosum)
Flowers Yellow, in tight clusters Leaves Hairy
on top and bottom, glandular and stellate
hairs Roots stoloniferous, rhizomatous
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Non-native Hawkweeds

• Stiff hairs on stems, leaves
• Basal rosette of spatula shaped leaves
• Small flowers, often in tight clusters near tops
  of stems
• Flower buds and bracts covered with black hairs
• Stolons

Black hairs on flower buds
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Yellow Hawkweed(Hieracium caespitosum)

• Rosettes March-April
• Bolting April-early June
• Flowers May-July
• Seeding July to September

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Native White Hawkweed (Hieracium albiflorum)
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Spotted Knapweed (Centaurea stoebe)

• Grows 3 - 5 feet tall, perennial
• Pink to purple flowers, on the tips of stem
  branches
• Floral bracts tipped with dark fringe
• Bolting April to July
• Flowering May to October
• Seeding August to October

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Spotted Knapweed Closeups
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Other Priority Invasive Weeds in the MF
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Himalayan Blackberry(Rubus discolor)
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Himalayan Blackberry(Rubus armeniacus, R.
discolor)
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Evergreen Blackberry(Rubus laciniatus)
http//www.nic.funet.fi
http//www.biopix.dk
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Good Guy Look-AlikeNative Trailing Blackberry
(Rubus ursinus)
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Bohemian Knotweed(Polygonum bohemicum)
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Hollow, upright, bamboo like stems often reddish
or red-speckled
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Typical stand of Bohemian knotweed
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Japanese Knotweed(Polygonum cuspidatum)
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Giant Knotweed(Polygonum sachalinense)
Large leaves give giant knotweed its common name
elephant ear bamboo
Giant knotweed in early spring with last years
dead stems
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Bohemian knotweed hybrid with seeds
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Knotweed Invasion on Rivers
Knotweed rapidly spreads along rivers as
fragments get moved by floods and grow into new
clones downriver
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Scotch Broom (Cytisus scoparius)
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Scotch Broom (Cytisus scoparius)
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Scotch broom removal with weed wrenches
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Butterfly Bush (Buddleia davidii)
Leaves gray green above and white and fuzzy on
the underside, finely toothed on margins
Can grow 5 to 8 feet in a single season
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Butterfly Bush (Buddleia davidii)
Seedlings thrive in open sandy soil
Butterfly bush has invaded along the Tolt River
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Common Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare)
Button-like flowers are clustered at top of plant
Leaves are fern-like with sharply toothed edges
and a strong odor
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Bittersweet Nightshade (Solanum dulcamara)
http//oregonstate.edu/dept/nursery-weeds
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Bittersweet Nightshade (Solanum dulcamara)
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Bittersweet Nightshade
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Hedge Bindweed(Calystegia sepium)
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Canada Thistle (Cirsium arvense)
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Canada Thistle (Cirsium arvense)
Spreads underground to form dense infestations in
sunny fields
Spreads by seed to new sites
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Native Thistles
Cirsium brevistylum
Cirsium edule
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Poison Hemlock (Conium maculatum)
Leaves ferny, parsley-like

• Stems round and hollow, with purplish blotches
• Acutely toxic when ingested causes skin
  irritation

6 to 10 feet tall in 2nd year
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Poison Hemlock
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European Mountain-ash(Sorbus aucuparia)
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Native Mountain-ash (Sorbus sitchensis)
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English Holly (Ilex aquifolium)

• Tree 15 to 50 feet tall and 15 feet wide
• Bark smooth and gray
• Leaves glossy, persistent, dark green, wavy and
  spiny
• Flowers are small and white
• Berries are bright red or orange and found in
  small bundles like the flowers

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English or Atlantic Ivy(Hedera hibernica, H.
helix)
Ivy leaves are evergreen, lobed, dull green, with
light veins
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English or Atlantic Ivy(Hedera hibernica, H.
helix)

• mature ivy leaves are shiny green and not lobed
• umbrella-like clusters of greenish-white flowers
  in the fall
• black, berry-like fruit in winter, seeds mature
  in spring

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Yellow ArchangelLamiastrum galeobdolon (a.k.a.
Lamium)
Small yellow mint-type flowers in leaf axils
Slivery markings on leaves of this popular garden
plant make it easy to spot invading into shady
forests
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Yellow Archangel Big Finn Hill Park
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Yellow Flag Iris (Iris pseudacorus)
Class C Noxious Weed Control Not Required
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Yellow Flag Iris (Iris pseudacorus)
Class C Noxious Weed Control Not Required
Invading a river bank
Young shoots
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Reed Canarygrass (Phalaris arundinacea)

• Tall rhizomatous grass, 3 to 6 feet
• Sturdy, hollow stems, sometimes reddish near top
• Loose leaf sheath
• Leaf blades flat, no hairs, to ¾ inch wide
• Large ligule
• Leaves come off stem at 45 degree angle

Large ligule
Loose leaf sheath
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Reed Canarygrass Identification

• Flowers June-July
• Flowers on 3 to 7 inch long clusters high above
  leaves
• Flowers clusters are branched and compressed into
  a spike-type shape
• Reddish colored rhizome
• Forms dense stands, excluding other plants and
  filling in small waterways, blocking fish passage
  and increasing flooding

http//popgen.unimaas.nl/jlindsey/commanster
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Other Common Weeds and Garden Escapees Present
but not Surveyed(too pervasive for control or
not of immediate concern)

• Bull Thistle
• Common Foxglove
• Herb Robert/Roberts Geranium
• Common St. Johnswort
• Oxeye Daisy
• Creeping Buttercup
• Hawksbeard, Hairy Cats Ear and Common Dandelion
• Other Weeds and Garden Escapees

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Bull Thistle (Cirsium vulgare)
Large spines on stems, leaves and under the
flower head
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Bull Thistle (Cirsium vulgare)
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Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea)
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Herb Robert (a.k.a. Stinky Bob)(Geranium
robertianum)
Shallow roots make this plant easy to pull but
seeds germinate all season so repeat visits to
the same location are needed.
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Herb Robert (a.k.a. Stinky Bob)
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Stinky Bob Invasion
Forests near Skykomish are losing their native
understory to stinky bob.
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St. Johnswort (Hypericum perforatum)
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St. Johnswort (Hypericum perforatum)
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Oxeye Daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare)
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Oxeye Daisy(Leucanthemum vulgare)
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Creeping Buttercup (Ranunculus repens)
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Tall Buttercup (Ranunculus acris)
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Hawksbeard (Crepis capillaris)
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Cats Ear or False Dandelion (Hypochaeris
radicata)
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Nipplewort (Lapsana communis)
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Wall Lettuce (Lactuca muralis)
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Prickly Lettuce (Lactuca serriola)
http//sanangelo.tamu.edu/agronomy
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Woodland Groundsel (Senecio sylvaticus)
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Curly Dock (Rumex crispus)
Reddish or greenish flowers in a long, slender,
branching cluster at the top of a stem bearing
leaves with very wavy margins
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Curly Dock (Rumex crispus)
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Broadleaf Dock (Rumex obtusifolius)
New foliage emerges from the crown, tightly
rolled and erect.
Can grow 3 to 4 feet tall and wide
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Periwinkle (Vinca minor)
http//hflp.sdstate.edu/ho311/outdoor_images
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Russian Comfrey (Symphytum X uplandicum or S.
peregrinum)
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Russian Comfrey
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Native Plant Look AlikeTall Bluebells
(Mertensia paniculata)
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Queen Annes Lace (Daucus carota)
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Queen Annes Lace (Daucus carota)
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Burdock (Arctium minus)
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Devils Beggartick (Bidens frondosa)
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Creeping Woodsorrel(Oxalis corniculata)
http//oregonstate.edu/dept/nursery-weeds
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Noxious Weeds threatening to Invade (present
nearby)

• Purple Loosestrife (wetlands, rivers in area)
• Garden Loosestrife (on Snoqualmie River)
• Policemans Helmet (garden sites)
• Gorse (forests, fields)
• Orange Hawkweed (meadows, gardens, roads)
• Common Hawkweed (roadsides)
• Sulfur Cinquefoil (roadsides)
• Dalmatian Toadflax (roadsides)
• Yellow Toadflax (roads and trails)
• Old Mans Beard (forest edges, trails)

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Orange Hawkweed (Hieracium aurantiacum)
Class B Noxious Weed

• Flowers orange, in tight clusters
• Stems leafless with black hairs
• From a few inches to 2 feet tall
• Reproduces by seed and runners
• Bolts May-June
• Flowers Late May to Sep/Oct
• Seeds Late June to Fall

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Tall Hawkweed(Hieracium piloselloides)
Class C Noxious Weed Control Required
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Common Hawkweed(Hieracium lachenalii)
Class C Noxious Weed Control Required

• Leaves coarsely toothed
• Leaves larger at base and smaller up the stem
• Flower heads more loosely clustered than yellow
  hawkweed
• No stolons
• Bolts in May
• Flowering May to August

http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Hieracium_spe
cies
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Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria)
Class B Noxious Weed

• Key characteristics
• perennial rhizomatous emergent with showy
  magenta flower spikes
• stems are square and branched
• leaves opposite, long and narrow
• up to 2.5 million tiny seeds/plant
• flowers July and August

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Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria)
Class B Noxious Weed
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Garden Loosestrife(Lysimachia vulgaris)
Class B Noxious Weed
Sepals have distinct orange margins
Yellow, primrose-like flowers clustered near top
of the plant
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Garden Loosestrife(Lysimachia vulgaris)
Class B Noxious Weed
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Policemans Helmet (Impatiens glandulifera)
Class B Noxious Weed
Annual with fleshy, reddish stems, 3-10 ft tall,
flowers resemble English policemans helmet, vary
in color from white to dark pink-purple
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Policemans Helmet (Impatiens glandulifera)
Class B Noxious Weed
Emerges April to May Flowers Late May to
September Seeds August to October
Often found invading along creeks
Can grow to 10 feet tall in one season
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Sulfur Cinquefoil(Potentilla recta)
Class B Noxious Weed
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Dalmatian Toadflax (Linaria dalmatica)
Class B Noxious Weed

• Leaves bluish-green with waxy coating,
  heart-shaped
• Flowers bright yellow tinged with orange, like
  snapdragon flowers

• Bolts April-June
• Flowers May-Sept
• Seeds Aug-Sept

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Yellow Toadflax (Linaria vulgaris)
Class C Noxious Weed Control Not Required

• Perennial, 1 to 2.5 feet tall
• Flowers yellow, smaller than Dalmatian flowers
• May to September
• Leaves Small, narrow, linear, pale green

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Gorse (Ulex europaeus)
Class B Noxious Weed

• Budding Feb-March
• Flowers March-May
• Seeds June-July

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Gorse invading a King County forest
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Old Mans Beard(Clematis vitalba)
Class C Noxious Weed Control Not Required
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Old Mans Beard or Wild Clematis
Class C Noxious Weed Control Not Required
Old Mans Beard on trees in Ravenna Park
Old Mans Beard covering trees at Magnuson Park
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King County Noxious Weed Control Program Website
http//kingcounty.gov/weeds
Weed Photo Page Search by Common Name or Latin
Name
Click thumbnail picture of plant
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Sasha Shaw King County Noxious Weed Program201
South Jackson St, Suite 600Seattle, WA
98104206-263-6468sasha.shaw_at_kingcounty.govwww.k
ingcounty.gov/weeds