Contact: Rachel Cliche, US Fish and Wildlife Service | Rachel_Cliche@fws.gov | 410-639-2108 (ext. 222) ANNAPOLIS, MD (May 1, 2007) – Princess tree (Paulownia tomentosa), also known as royal Paulownia or empress tree, is an aggressive ornamental tree that grows rapidly along roadsides, stream banks, forests and rocky slopes. Its ability to sprout prolifically from adventitious buds on stems and […]
Contact: K. L. Kyde, Maryland Department of Natural Resources | kerrie.kyde@maryland.gov ANNAPOLIS, MD (April 1, 2007) – Maryland roadsides are lit up during April with the white blossoms of Callery pears (Pyrus calleryana). When the first cultivated variety, or cultivar, was promoted to the horticulture industry in the early 1960’s, the small flowering Asian tree seemed […]
Contact: Jonathan A. McKnight, Maryland Department of Natural Resources | 410-260-8539 | jmcknight@dnr.state.md.us ANNAPOLIS, MD (March 9, 2007) – One of the hottest topics in mid-Atlantic conservation is the proposal to introduce a new species of oyster to the Chesapeake Bay. The Asian Oyster, it is argued, would be tougher that our native oyster, and could […]
ANNAPOLIS, MD (February 1, 2007) – Honey bees, Apis mellifera, have a major role in the production of our food supply. In the U.S. they pollinate about 130 different crops with annual estimates of their pollination value alone, ranging from $5-14 billion; in Maryland, it has been valued at $40 million. Honey bees also produce honey, […]
ANNAPOLIS, MD (January 3, 2007) – Twenty million ash trees are dead and gone. Stately trees with high canopies covering miles of neighborhood streets are gone; the shaded avenues now denuded of green. In the forest, majestic giants have been brought down by a small green inconspicuous beetle. So inconspicuous, in fact, that researchers now […]
Contact: Jil Swearingen, National Park Service | Jil_Swearingen@nps.gov ANNAPOLIS, MD (December 1, 2006) – As its name implies, Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii) is native to Japan. It was introduced to the U.S. and New England as an ornamental plant in 1875 in the form of seeds sent from Russia to the Arnold Arboretum in Boston, Massachusetts. […]
Contact: Carole Bergmann, Forest Ecologist, Maryland-National Capital Park & Planning Commission, Montgomery County | carole.bergmann@mncppc-mc.org ANNAPOLIS, MD (September 15, 2006) – Wineberry (Rubus phoenicolasius), a cousin of Raspberries, is one of a number of species and hybrids in a diverse genus. The plant was introduced into the United States from Asia in 1890 as breeding stock […]
Contact: Kerrie L. Kyde, Habitat Ecologist/Invasive Plant Specialist, Maryland DNR | kerrie.kyde@maryland.gov ANNAPOLIS, MD (July 7, 2006) – In the tradition of enticing but scary summer horror movies, Maryland’s wetlands could soon be putting on a beautiful but insidious summer show, starring the European invader purple loosestrife. This moisture-loving plant, sporting long spikes of magenta blossoms, […]
Contact: Lane Heimer, MDA Weed Control | Lane_Heimer@att.net | 410-841-5871 ANNAPOLIS, MD (May 18, 2006) – Say “everything’s coming up roses” and it is generally a positive statement, unless you are talking about multiflora roses. Multiflora rose comes up everywhere and is so widespread and familiar that many do not realize it is a troublesome and costly […]
Contact: Mary Kay Malinoski, Maryland Cooperative Extension | mkmal@umd.edu | 800-342-2507 ANNAPOLIS, MD (April 17 2006) – The viburnum leaf beetle, Pyrrhalta viburni, is a recent unintentionally introduced pest of viburnum in North America. It was first found in upstate New York in 1996. This pest has been on the move ever since munching its way through native […]