The MN wildflower blog

Pulsatilla patens
Pasqueflower is now blooming at the Baxter/Brainerd Northland Arboretum. Got several good photos but I liked this one best. Thanks to Theresa Klaman for leading us to them.

On another note, we found last year’s remains of a fair number of Goodyera tesselata (Tesselated Rattlesnake Plantain) in a Jack Pine stand along SR64 north of Motley, along with some pearly everlasting, a couple different species of pussytoes, bearberry, and quite a lot of Indian pipe. We’ll be back there later in the season to see how things are coming up. Right now I am more interested in the pussytoes than the orchid because it may be a species we don’t have yet. We’ll find out in another month or so.

Today I received an email:

Subject: Polygonum cuspidatum roots are required!

Dear Sir/Madam,
I would like to purchase the roots of Polygonum cuspidatum (Japanese knotweed) for planting purpose. Could you please inform me that you can supply it or you know someone others supply it?

Thanks!

Yours truly,
SL, Ph.D.

Note the Ph.D. I was stunned at the request and wondered if this person had spent any time at all looking around the web site. If they had I think it would have been pretty obvious that we wouldn’t honor such a request even if we could.

My reply:

Polygonum cuspidatum is a highly invasive species.

It should not be planted anywhere in the U.S. under any circumstances!

Within moments I received this:

Thanks for your e-mail. I am in Canada. It is not a banned plant in Manitoba. Do you know where I can obtain the roots of this plant?

Heavy sigh. How can someone smart enough to earn a Ph.D. have so little common sense?

K Chayka

Today, Minnesota’s Wildflowers submitted their 2010 Legislative funding initiative to Senator Satveer Chaudhary, Chairman of the Senate’s Natural Resources Committee, requesting $300,000.00 for the Minnesota Department of Agriculture’s state weed program.