I know what you’re thinking- another boring article on another boring topic. Well, you’re wrong! This plant, purple loosestrife, is a danger to our ecosystem. Here is how and why.
Purple loosestrife is a plant foreign to our continent. It came here aboard European ships about 100 years ago as a decorative plant. Soon after it arrived, it started to spread and take over all the plant life in wetlands where it grew.
Three to six feet tall is the average height it grows, with thick woody stalks where the leaves are directly connected. The flowers are like the name, purple. Each plant is capable of producing up to three million seeds. This is why it has been so hard to gain control of the spreading plant.
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We don’t have control yet, but, researchers have found a great start. There are no safe chemicals or any machines to safely and effectively kill or get rid of the loosestrife, and there aren’t any animals in all of North America that eat purple loosestrife. So, researchers turned to Europe and asked, there, for help. The answer was bugs. Researchers there narrowed the field down to four bugs. These bugs attacked specific areas of the plant, but, were harmless to our ecosystem in North America.
One of the bugs is a root-mining weevil which burrows down and eats away at the plants’ roots, which can grow to a depth of one foot. Another weevil feeds on the flowers. This cuts down on seed production, causing less of a chance for the loosestrife to grow back. Lastly, two kinds of leaf-eating beetles were found. Obviously they eat the leaves, which cuts off life to the plant.
These bugs have been raised and introduced to purple
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loosestrfe stands over the last few years. Results have come back showing great success. Although it will take a few more years to get a good established population of these bugs, everyone is very optimistic. However, the bugs won’t be able to do it alone. Cory Lindgren of the Manitoba Purple Loosestrife Project (MPLP) says, “The goal is not eradication of the loosestrife but to have some control over the spread. Hopefully in a few years a safe herbicide can be identified and the combination of the two can be effective.”
Purple loosestrife is presently in the Pelican River Watershed and there is something you can do about it. If you feel so inclined, you can remove it, but, you should contact the DNR for accurate instructions. Hopefully we can take this plant out and return our wetlands back to normal. |
 
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