Before my hike at 8:30 am, Sat. May 9th, I am looking for people to meet me at 7:45 am, Meet at 6200 So. Wasatch Blvd, UTA Park n Ride, far SOUTH end of the parking lot. We'll drive less than a minute away and pull the pretty but noxious weed out of the ground. In return we receive Native Utah Plants for FREE! RSVP!
A “noxious weed” is a legal term used at the federal, state, and
county level to identify and list plants that pose a significant
threat to agriculture, the environment, recreation, and public
health. One weed affecting the Wasatch Front foothills of
concern is myrtle spurge, Euphorbia myrsinites. This weed is
also known as donkey tail spurge.
The Salt Lake County Weed Program, Salt Lake Conservation
District, REI, Utah Native Plant Society and the
Bonneville CWMA (Cooperative Weed Management Area)
are sponsoring a program to manage this noxious weed in
sponsoring “Purge Your Spurge” on Saturday May 9, 2009,
10am to 3:00pm.
You can help by collecting this weed and
exchanging it for Utah native plants at REI at 3285 East 3300
South. Wear protective clothing and gloves and dig up and
bag all your myrtle spurge and remove at least 4” of the rooting
clump.
Myrtle spurge (Euphorbia myrsinites) is a low growing
perennial with trailing fleshy stems. The leaves are fleshy,
blue-green and alternate. Flowers are inconspicuous with
yellow-green, petal-like bracts that appear from March to
May. Myrtle spurge spreads by seed and plants are capable of
projecting seeds up to 15 feet. The plant grows from a taproot,
with new stems emerging in early spring and dying back in
the winter. Plants can grow up to 8-12 inches high and 12-18
inches in width.
Myrtle spurge is an escaped ornamental that quickly crowds out native
plants. The key to effective control of this noxious weed is to
remove plants prior to seed set and to detect and remove new populations in
natural areas early on.
Warning!! All parts of myrtle spurge contain a caustic latex sap that can result in
skin irritation, redness, swelling, and blisters. This plant is poisonous if ingested causing nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
For information about Salt Lake County Noxious Weeds
go to http://www.weeds.slco.org
By Maggie
