permaculture

["Ava Devenport" <essenheal@iname.com>]

On 08/29/00, "mangodance <bmn@iglou.com>" wrote:
> Ava Devenport wrote:....
> > what are your views regarding plants that have been labelled as invasive
> > weeds, are native to their locality, have been observed for centuries as
> > medicinal and are 'ethnobotanically' considered endangered or at risk?
> 
> Can you illustrate with an example or two, an invasive plant in
> its native range that is considered "endangered"?  
> -- 
 
Dear ?:

Possibly I should have made a clearer reference considering 'endangered'.  
I am not necessarily speaking of what the Federal Gov't, States, etc. have 
determined are endangered.  I'm speaking from a herbalist point of view 
regarding the native medicinals which are becoming endangered, threatened 
and at risk due to invasive/noxiuos weed laws, unethical wildcrafting and 
the stance that many have taken regarding agriculture, rangeland, pasture, 
etc.

There are many plants in this arena, mullien as it may displace grazing, 
docks, dandelion, burdock, plantagos, blackberries, raspberries, licorice 
in NV, willows in PR, wild sunflowers in IA, cordgrass in OR & WA (for 
which we had to pay top dollar for plugs to restore the wetland in one of 
our state parks that we destroyed previously to grow additional crops of 
corn), wild onion and wild garlic, chicory, hemlock, most of the euphorbs 
including poinsettia, fourwing saltbush (one of the highest proteins for 
grazing wildlife), salvias and foxtails in CO, tagetes, soapwort, bee balm 
(Monardas, wild and speckled)Opuntia (jointed and erect) and the list goes 
on and on.

And you may not care for my disagreement with you regarding another post to 
Scott, or was it Toby?, but the truth in the matter is that the majority 
has decided it is a weed if it interferes with human activity, agriculture 
and grazing.  If a native plant lives within it's boundaries in field or 
forest and we decide we prefer pasture, it is considered noxious and/or 
invasive.

Also, how can it be that we as humans can decide what plant/animal should 
or should not exist within a certain locale?  Does it not become native if 
it migrates from one area to the next?  Where should that migration cease 
and who should make that decision.  I know that some of my ancestors are 
not native to the US, but here I am!  All 'pests' will change form, region, 
habitat, etc. as it evolves toward saving it's own species.

Blessings,
Ava