Wanted: The dog strangling vine!
The dog strangling vine is disrupting your eco system!
What is a "dog strangling vine"?
No, this plant does not strangle dogs, as the name hints, but rather it is serouisly disrupting your eco system! To give you some background information the invasive plant the dog strangling vine, this plant orrignally came from eastern eourope brought to canada and the u.s via seeds approx,ently 120 years ago. This plant can grow 1-2m tall and leaves 5-10cm long.
Dog strangling vines in bunch
The flower of the strangling vines
The leaf of the strangling vine
Why should I care?
Currently the invasive dog strangling vine form dense stacks that dissallow plants and small tress from growing back as they prevent them from getting the sunlight they need and soakup most of the nutreintes. Also if that was not enough the dog strangling vine threathens local wildlife as the plant is poisuniess. But the major problem is with all these problems it causes, it also can produce up 24,000 seeds per square meter! That is a alarming rate in whicj it is spreading, disrupting wildlife and killing native plants by preventing them from growing.
How do we fight against it?
Before anything, we have to identify it first. They usually Grow one to two metres high by twining onto plants or trees. The Leaves are 7 to 12 cm long in oval pointy shapes, and grow on opposite sides of the stem.It grows dark purple colour of star shaped flowers The plant produces bean-shaped seed pods four to seven centimetres long that open to release. To remove them, care has to be put in because they have to be removed with roots, if any is left they might grow back the next year.
Pesticides are also a method. Herbicides has been a success against these plants, but one has to contact the MNR before using any chemical because it is related to health issue.