- This article is 1558 words 28 figures, recommended reading for 6 minutes -
- Think time XX minutes -
- You can collect it before reading, and it is best to share it -
(Reply [X Month X Day] in the background to get your plant note of the day)
With the improvement of the level of economic development, in order to create a richer garden landscape, people always introduce a large number of alien species for domestication. However, some species are likely to escape after introduction and evolve into invasive species.
They will rely on their strong ecological adaptability, reproductive ability, transmission ability, etc., to grow rapidly in the wild, occupying the territory of the original species, so that it will cause irreparable damage to the local ecosystem.
When it comes to invasive plants, I believe everyone is familiar with this word. According to the 2019 Bulletin on the State of China's Ecology and Environment, more than 660 invasive alien species have been found on the mainland. For example, the previously introduced vinifera, hollow lotus grass, hyacinth blue, lantana, Canadian yellow flower, weeping shanglu, five-clawed golden dragon, white flower ghost needle grass...
Today's protagonist is another invasive plant, the South American tortoise chrysanthemum.
Although it blooms with ordinary small yellow flowers, it is not simple. Because it is not only eye-catching in the summer, but dotted all year round, it is possible to see it at any time.
South American tortoise chrysanthemum, belonging to the genus Aster in the family Asteraceae, is a perennial herb. Just by looking at its name, you know that it is not my family, but originated in the tropical region of South America. In addition, there are also called three-lobed cockroach chrysanthemum, ground cover chrysanthemum, piercing dragon and so on.
"South America" can be said to be a geographical description of its original habitat, "three splits" is a description of its leaf biological characteristics, and "through the ground" and "ground cover" are descriptions of its morphological characteristics.
South American toad chrysanthemum, prefers high temperature and sunny environment, is resistant to barrenness, heat, moisture, and does not choose soil, but is not hardy.
In view of the fact that the natural conditions in South China can basically meet it, it, like many plants brought by the American fever, likes to use South China as a springboard and then wreak havoc in other regions.
In addition to performing physical attacks to seize territory, most of them will use chemical attacks to further consolidate their territory. For example, through the allelopathic effect, inhibit the growth of other plants.
The South American tortoise chrysanthemum, due to its short, slightly purple-red stem, always grows creeping. But it lies across the ground with a stem that can be more than 2 meters long.
What is even more terrifying is that it can grow a pair of leaves every 5-14 cm, and each pair of leaves can grow roots underneath, as long as it touches the soil, it can grow in place and grow new branches in a very short time.
It is no exaggeration to say that in South China, as long as you dare to go out, you will definitely be able to see it.
However, aside from its "invasiveness", it pervades the grass, scattered with dots of yellow flowers, or can give people a strong sense of vitality.
The leaves of the South American tortoise chrysanthemum have a sense of beauty, which comes from its symmetry, its hue, its texture.
As mentioned earlier, its raw and toothed leaves are three-lobed, oval, oblong or linear, with almost no petioles, and are quite symmetrical.
In addition, although both sides are covered with short thick hairs, the leaf surface is shiny and emerald green all year round.
As for the texture, its leaves are slightly thicker, and it is very handy under the background of short and thick hairs.
The flowering period of the South American toad chrysanthemum is very long, and there is almost no time to idle. Its small flower buds can be seen growing all year round, and then expand into small yellow flowers in the shape of typical Asteraceae.
Such small yellow flowers bloom especially vigorously in summer and autumn.
Like many of the small yellow flowers of the Asteraceae we have seen, its head-shaped inflorescence is medium in size and about equal to a dollar coin in diameter. It grows solitarily on the inflorescence axis that extends from the leaf axils, and the petals range in color from orange to dark yellow.
Just such a small yellow flower with its own natural cuteness and healing feeling, it is really difficult to make people feel that it has a domineering ambition in its bones.
Its inflorescence is connected by a 4 cm long peduncle with white hairs.
By the way, one of its "flowers" is actually an inflorescence composed of many small flowers. More than a dozen prosthetic tongue-shaped flowers are arranged radially around the inflorescence, with 3 teeth at the apex. Countless tubular flowers grow densely in the center of the inflorescence.
These small golden flowers stand out against the emerald green leaves and sway gently in the breeze.
It is a well-known fact that the South American toad chrysanthemum has a large flower, but the fruiting rate is very low.
This is probably because the cylindrical flowers have a fleshy spine in their petals, which may have affected their normal pollination to some extent. After all, its main pollinators such as horse wasps, sorrel gray butterflies and so on do not have obstacles.
Therefore, it is inferred that the pollen viability and stigma can be terribly poor, resulting in a low seed setting rate and seed germination rate under normal conditions.
However, although the South American tortoise chrysanthemum is a distressing invasive plant, in addition to its good shell, it also plays an important role in vegetation restoration, soil purification, and sewage treatment.
I think that in order to fully realize the relationship between man and land and the harmony between man and nature, what we can do at present is to explore more about the value of all aspects of the South American tortoise chrysanthemum.
Because there is nothing wrong with plants, what is wrong is that they are not being used in the right place. Includes other invasive plants.
That's it.