Potential Origin of Prospective Federal Noxious Weed Identified

Posted on by Tiffany Parker

2009 Annual Report: Center for Plant Health Science and Technology (CPHST)

CPHST Fort Collins and cooperators at the University of Alabama in Huntsville recently developed a molecular genotyping method to help establish the identity of wavy leaf basket grass (WLBG, Oplismenus hirtellus ssp. undulatifolius), a shade tolerant grass that was recently discovered invading the forest understory in Maryland and aggressively spreading to the state of Virginia. In collaboration with the Smithsonian Institution to search for the origin of WLBG in the U.S., we found that Oplismenus undulatifolius from Caucasus Mountains in Russia (Krasnodarskiy region) was a genetic match to the U.S. invasive WLBG. We will now begin genotyping specimens from China to determine if these are also potential source populations. For questions, please contact Sharon Talley at 970-490-4463.

http://xa.yimg.com/kq/groups/189401/906424619/name/Talley-Experiment-Me

Open Letter to Congress: Control of Asiatic Wavyleaf Basketgrass, Oplismenus hirtellus undulatifolius

Posted on by Tiffany Parker

Friday, February 03, 2012

 
Asiatic Wavyleaf Basketgrass, Oplismenus hirtellus undulatifolius
Habitat Conservation
Wildlife and Heritage Service
 
 
We, Alan Ford amford@nullacm.org 703.732.5291, Virginia Native Plant Society, and Marc Imlay, Conservation biologist, ialm@nullerols.com 301-283-0808h, 301-442-5657c Maryland Native Plant Society, on behalf of the organizations and their members listed below, request $5-10 million funding to detect and treat Asiatic Wavyleaf Basketgrass, Oplismenus hirtellus undulatifolius in Maryland and Virginia. The only hope we have to save 10% of the natural environment in 1/4th of the United States is emergency federal, state and county legislation and non-profit funding. It is spreading very rapidly this year and covers all our woodland habitats like astroturf, killing all the other herbaceous plants. It is far worse than Japanese Stiltgrass which already is a monoculture over 10% of the national parks in this region. It forms a dense carpet of hundreds of acres after 5-10 years if not controlled. So far it is only in Maryland and Virginia so we still have a chance to contain it.  
 
The funds could be administered by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, State of Virginia, and U. S. Department of the Interior for detection and removal of Wavyleaf Basketgrass by Federal, State and County agencies and on private lands such as Piedmont Environmental Council and The Nature Conservancy at the known sites and other sites in Maryland and Virginia. 
 
We request that a portion of this funding be included in the current Virginia, Maryland and Federal omnibus spending packages. We request additional funding be included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The next stimulus package is a good option since the proposal is ready to go for work starting in April each year.  Please contact Alan Ford amford@nullacm.org 703.732.5291, Virginia Native Plant Society, and Marc Imlay, Conservation biologist, ialm@nullerols.com 301-283-0808h, 301-442-5657c Maryland Native Plant Society for more information,
 
 
Adkins Arboretum
Anacostia Watershed Society
Ancestral Knowledge
Appalachian Cherokee Nation
Chesapeake Natives, Inc
Community & Environmental Defense Services
Earth Charter
Earth Sangha
Friends of Lower Beaverdam Creek
Friends of Patapsco Valley & Heritage Greenway
Herring Run Watershed Association
Invasive Plant Control Inc
Maryland Academy of Science
Maryland Alliance for Greenway Improvement and Conservation (MAGIC)
Maryland Chapter of the Sierra Club.
Maryland Conservation Council, Inc. 
Maryland Native Plant Society 
Mid-Atlantic Invasive Plant Council, 
Patuxent Riverkeeper
Piedmont Environmental Council
Reston Association
Southern Maryland Audubon Society, Inc
Straughan Environmental Services, Inc.
Virginia Native Plant Society
Washington Quaker Workcamps