In message , June Hughes
writes
In message , Sue
writes
Saw this in yesterday's paper.

Another upset in the balance of nature attributed to the effects of global
warming. Puffins are losing out on nesting sites because of invasive tree
mallow which is now growing wild on their Scottish island breeding grounds.

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_ne...670017,00.html


I saw this on a web site a few weeks back.

http://www.ceh.ac.uk/treemallow/what/index.html

Lavatera arborea is hardly alien; it's native along the west coast from
Dorset to Ayrshire, and along the south and east coasts of Ireland on
headlands and islets where it is safe from grazing pressure and hard
frosts. (RBGE Logan Botanic Gardens in Galloway have it in their "local
heroes" section.) (Tho' the two wild colonies I've seen are in
non-traditional sites - alongside a coastal railway line, and in the
grassy strip between a caravan site and the beach.) Apart from Britain,
it is also found on the coasts of northwest France. There are at least
two stations on the Atlantic Coast of Iberia; I expect that there are
more.

It's also been long established on islands in the Firth of Forth. But no
doubt a warmer climate could promote a wider spread on those islands.

How sad. However, I can't see what good having rabbits will do in
places where the plant has already become established. I take the
Guardian and Observer but didn't see that.

Lavatera arborea often acts as a biennial, and otherwise is not reliably
hardy, so, if new plants are prevented from establishing, a population
may well die out. It doesn't like browsing, as it doesn't resprout from
the base, and it's also, I think. a bit sensitive to water logging. One
could always send volunteers over during the winter season to chop the
plants down with machetes. It can be controlled; it's invasive on
islands in southern Australia, and has been successfully controlled on
one island group in Victoria.
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley
http://www.malvaceae.info/