Not All Local Plants are Good Local Plants.

For all that there is to enjoy about your native plants, it shouldn't be too hard to understand that what we call weeds are also native plants, but they got here from someplace (usually Europe) where they started as natives. People coming to California during the gold rush started the big boom in introduced species when they packed up everything—including seeds, some intentionally and some as hitchhikers—and came west. That trend has no stopped to this day, and travelers, freight shipping, birds, and wind all contribute to seed migration. Just as with animals, when a new resident arrives and find no natural predators, reproduction continues unfettered. Today we can drive around the county and see plenty of plants that have, in some cases, become the dominating life form in the field: acres of yellow starthistle, roadsides lined with yellow broom plants, sometimes large stands of "tree-of-heaven", Ailanthus. If you are a property owner, you will do yourself a big favor (and the rest of us county residents too!) if you will learn to recognize these pests and remove them. And do NOT be lured into planting a pest because you see it offered for sale at some Big Box nursery! I see big displays of broom plants for sale every Spring. Not good. Don't fall for it.

So What Do You Watch For?

Starthistle: As good a place as any to start. Centaurea solstitialis is an obnoxious (and noxious) plant found just about everywhere, even creeping higher and higher to now be found above 4000 feet. It is distinctive (to say the least): finding new growth with gray-green foliage and winged stems gives you your first opportunity to remove these bad boys. If you fail to take action you will end up with a bigger job as you attempt to remove the sharp-spined flowering plants that will take over your fields given the slightest chance.

Ailanthus: More commonly known as "tree-of-heaven", and, if you didn't know, this star of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn was brought to California by the Chinese who arrived during the gold rush. While it may be highly regarded in China, it is not one you want on your property, unless of course you think you would enjoy the foul smell; one of the other common names is "stinking sumac" because all parts of the tree, including the flowers, have a bad odor. Dandy! Get the saw...

Scotch broom: More likely found along county roads than in your yard, you still want to take any opportunity to remove any form of broom when you can. Any form? Yes. We have both Scotch broom (Cytisus scoparius) and French broom, Genista monspessulana. At first glance these both look pretty much the same: dense shiny green leaves and loads of bright yellow flowers that look like sweet pea; the brooms are in the same family, Fabaceae, as peas, beans, clovers, and hundreds of other plants with that distinctive banner, wings, and keel flower.

But broom is so pretty!

Don't be fooled! "As another example Scotch broom can quickly take over both landscaped and natural areas on your property. This plant is highly flammable and can increase the potential of wildfire." — Don't Plant a Pest Brochure (PDF)

Eggleaf Spurge: Euphorbia oblongata is classified by the California Department of Food and Agriculture as Noxious Weed List B ("B" rated weeds are more wide spread). This plant has been showing up along Green Valley Road and along the road to Traverse Creek.

A Few Particularly Odd Plants for El Dorado County...

Of course there are many more weedy plants around the county, and this page will include more information as the season warrants. Two plants that are big problems elsewhere, tamarisk and pampas grass, do grow here but (probably) won't spread because it's too cold. The picture of pampas grass was taken along Greenstone Road. If you have ever driven down the coast toward Half Moon Bay you might be forgiven for thinking you were in South America because of the rampant pampas grass (Cortaderia jubata)! The pampas grass we see in this county, by the way, is not native to Argentina, it's native to the Andes. The actual Argentinian pampas grass is Cortaderia selloana and isn't reported in this county. Check this page. )

Tamarisk (Tamarix parviflora), also called salt-cedar, is a weedy shrub of the desert Southwest, originally imported from Egypt for erosion control. As is usually the case, this good idea turned sour when the plants reproduced like crazy. Now they are a problem in desert riparian areas. Seems odd to me but I have found it along Mother Lode Drive, and along Hwy 16 toward Traverse Creek. Both places are drainage areas so the wet environment has allowed the plant to get a start. Did seed arrive on a vacationer's tires? As far as I can tell, nobody seems to be reporting it on any of the sites about invasive weeds, so I guess that means it is continuing to spread. Unlikely you will have it on your property, but just in case, now you know.

El Dorado County Invasive Weed Council: