Gold Hill Invasive Weeds: Questions

Why are we talking about this? 

Ecosystem concerns and federal/county mandate.

Invasive weeds that are federally mandated for control by each state are called noxious weeds. They are the ones that have a tendency to take over at a large scale in receptive environments and create stable monocultures that detrimentally affect agriculture, along with other types of land. They can also take over whole areas on forest floors, but appear to be less invasive at higher altitudes.                                                                                                             

Is there a Weed ID and management guide for Gold Hill?

 

Boulder County Mountains Weed Management Guide

There’s not one for Gold Hill specifically; this is for the BoCo mountains in general. 

Please note: this guide does not replace the Colorado site below.  

 

Colorado Invasive Weed ID

good photos and information. 

 

Why the state list?

There could be weeds up here that are not on the county list, but on the state list.

 

The state list gives you the life cycle of the weed. Mitigating the weed during its most vulnerable stage in the life cycle–and always before going to seed or at least seed dispersal–is necessary for control. 

 

What about herbicides: Many of us here don’t want to use herbicides out of concern for pollinators on our own and neighbors’ properties as well as soil and water contamination–and we don’t have to. Mowing and hand pulling and re-seeding where possible are exercise-friendly options. When and how to do it is different for each plant. See the ID on life-cycle and talk with the Weeds Committee if you’d like to discuss a range of practices best for you and the land you care for.

 

Which Weeds on the county/state list are here in Gold Hill?

We don’t know exactly; this list is for the BoCo Mountains.

Please add to this list! It’s always changing/growing. 

Poison hemlock–in wetter areas

Spotted knapweed

Common mullein

Cheatgrass

Oxeye daisy

Musk thistle

Canada thistle

Scentless chamomile

Dames rocket/”Mother of Evening”

Orange hawkweed

Leafy spurge

Dalmation toadflax

Yellow toadflax

Anyone seen any Knotweed in wet/riparian areas?

Hey, why isn’t bindweed on this list? It’s all over the planet! 

 

Can you give me some info on garden weeds?

 

Greens That May Also Be Weeds—from Dave’s Garden, by Carole Menser

Historically, people have always foraged woods and fields for wild greens

 

Why Letting Weeds Run Wild Can Actually Help Your Garden—from Dave’s Garden, by Carole Menser  

 

Which of these noxious weeds plants are edible or medicinal?

Or have been used for other purposes–fodder, fiber, crafts by other cultures?

 

Dr. Duke’s Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases 

Dr. Duke was a well-known, respected, and loved ethnobotanical researcher

And author of many books on the ethnobotany of crops and weeds such as Handbook of Edible Weeds. Look your plant up in this database.

 

Plants For A Future (PFAF) Database 

This is also a respected website, which uses Dr. Duke’s work among others. Many websites with plant profiles copy from each other (the language is the same) and many copy from PFAF. So start with PFAF.

 

Native American Ethnobotany Database

This is based on the 927-page book of the same name by Prof. Daniel E. Moerman

It’s a compilation of anthropological information given by indigenous informants to 

researchers over the years. 

 

PubMed

This is the National Library of Medicine of the National Institute of Health,

where professional herbalists and research geeks go to find out what cool research

has been done on your plant over the years, all over the world. 

 

More

There are other excellent sources–German Commission E, American Botanical Council, many journals and a ton of books and articles. There’s so much information on the web. For most reliable results, check the article to evaluate their sources as best you can and cross-check info.