Friends of Murphys Point Park

The month of May was Invasive Species Action Month. Sadly, invasive species pose a very real threat to our outdoor spaces, including areas like Murphys Point. As Friends Students, we took action this month by participating in invasive species management alongside the Discovery department of Murphys Point. In particular, we tackled garlic mustard and dog strangling vine over May and hope to continue with these species and others throughout the summer.

So, what other species are invasive in the park?

Garlic Mustard (Alliararia petiolata)

Garlic mustard was brought to North America to be used as an edible herb. This plant disrupts soil and the understory of forests. In particular, garlic mustard displaces native plants like trilliums (Trilliums sp.) and wood poppies (Stylophorum diphyllum). 

Wondering how to identify this plant? Garlic mustard has a strong garlic smell when it is crushed between fingers. First year plants are dark green and have leaves shaped like kidneys, while older plants have toothy, triangular leaves and white blooming flowers. The bottom of older plants will have small kidney shaped leaves as well.

Dog Strangling Vine (Vincetoxicum Rossicum)

Dog strangling vine (DSV), or European swallowwort, was brought to North America for use as an ornamental plant. Dog strangling vine wraps its around other plants and trees and alters the natural environment by crowding out (strangling) other plants. These plants start out in the understory and can outcompete tree seedlings and other plants for sunlight. Additionally, native butterflies can confuse European swallowwort for butterfly milkweed (Asclepia tuberosa) which is a food source for them. Species such as monarchs lay their young in the DSV mistaking it for their preferred milkweed species. Once the young emerge, they are unable to eat the dog strangling vine and starve, which leads to their death.

Wondering how to identify this plant? Dog strangling vine can be identified by its pink to maroon star shaped flowers once matured, green bean shaped pods prior to flowering, glossy green vines and purple stems. When seeding, the seeds are white and fluffy, like milkweed seeds. These vines can grow up to 2 metres high!

Zebra Mussel (Dreissena polymorpha)

The zebra mussel has been known as an invasive species in the Great Lakes Basin since the 1980s and have spread into various bodies of water. They can survive out of water up to 18 days with high humidity and attach themselves to watercraft, which can help them spread to new bodies of water. Zebra mussels can also attach to other mussel and clams, eventually killing them. In Ontario, this feature of the zebra mussels is contributing to the near extinction of native freshwater mussels in Lake St. Clair, one of the locations they were first reported. Most of their natural predators are not present in North America as they are an invasive species. You may see them washing up on shorelines after death with their sharp shells which can cut your feet. They can also block pipes and culverts with their large colonies.

Wondering how to identify this mussel? Their striped shells give them their namesake, but not all zebra mussels have the banding pattern. They have a shape that is triangular, with a flat underside and tend to be around the size of a fingernail. Their colouring can vary from white, black, brown, or yellow for their stripes.

Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis)

Emerald ash borer (EAB) is a species of green jewel beetle that comes from north-eastern Asia and eats ash trees. The beetles lay their eggs in crevices on ash trees’ bark, then the larvae burrow into the bark and feed on the trees. After a year or two, the larvae leave the trees as adults. As they are invasive in North America, trees are not suited to this behaviour and this causes them serious damage, which includes burrowing through their circulatory systems. This eventually starves the tree as they are unable to move nutrients and water throughout their system. According to the Government of Canada, emerald ash borers have killed millions of trees in North America and are most commonly spread through the movement of firewood and infested wood.

Wondering how to identify this bug? They are quite small, so they can be hard to spot, but the beetles are a bright, metallic green and their bellies tend to be purple or red-orange. An easier way to tell if they are in the area, is by looking for the marks they leave on ash trees. When they burrow, they leave ’S’ shaped lines on trees that are visible if the bark is gone.

Common Buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica)

Common buckthorn is native to Europe and was likely introduced in the 1880s, as an ornamental shrub for fencerows and windbreaks. It is a small shrub with smooth, dark green leaves. Its flowers are yellow-green with 2-6 petals. Buckthorn produces clusters of dark berries in late summer and fall. It is tolerant of a wide range of light and soil conditions, and will form dense stands in forests, woodlots, open areas and wetlands. Buckthorn is among the first to leaf out in the spring, producing seeds early in the season that germinate quickly.

Buckthorn is harmful, as it overcrowds and shades out native plants. It also changes the nitrogen content in the soil, which is beneficial for itself, but not for other native plants. Buckthorn can also be a host for other harmful species, like oat rust (a fungus) and soybean aphids.

Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria)

Purple loosestrife is native to Europe and Asia and seeds are thought to have been brought in soil in the ballasts of ships in the early 19th century. They can be found in wetlands, roadsides and disturbed areas, forming dense stands with thick mats of roots. Purple loosestrife reduces available nutrients in the soil, as well as crowds out native plants, leading to less biodiversity. Each plant can produce up to 30 flowering stems, each of which produces many seeds. The seeds are spread by water, wind and animals. 

You can identify purple loosestrife by its pink-purple flowers, which grow grouped at the end of its woody, square stems. The best method to manage purple loosestrife is by removing flowering plants before they go to seed.

Japanese Beetle (Popillia japonica)

The Japanese beetle is very distinctive, with a metallic green head, copper wing coverings and 5 white tufts of hair along each side. They were brought in 1916, on a shipment from Japan. These guys feed on a large variety of flowers, trees, crops and gardens. They will cause damage to plants, reducing plant growth. They also compete with native species for resources.

Individual beetles can be removed by hand or shaken off infested branches, and placed in soapy water. Traps and plant covers like cloth or netting can be used to protect gardens from Japanese beetle damage.

To help keep our parks, furry friends, and selves safe, here are some tips we can keep in mind!

1. Stay on trails and keep pets leashed. When we go off trails, whatever is on our boots comes with us. Additionally, when we come back onto the trail, we bring whatever pods, pollen, seeds, etc., were off the trail onto the trail and wherever we travel afterwards. Staying on trails can help to stop the spread of invasive species by humans!
2. Buy it where you burn it! If you’re planning on having a campfire, buy the wood where you are having the fire. Invasive species can travel on trees, logs, and wood and spread quickly when brought into new areas. Threats like the emerald ash borer can grab a ride to the park with you on your wood!
3. Clean, drain, and dry your boat! Species like zebra and quagga mussels can be transported by our watercraft, including kayaks and canoes, between bodies of water. It is believed that zebra mussels even arrived in the Great Lakes in the ballasts of ships in the 1980s and continued to spread from there. 
4. Use a boot brush where available. Boot brushes help to remove bits of soil and plants that have gotten on your footwear while out and about. There are currently boot brushes available at the head of the Lally Homestead trail and Rideau Trail (Black Ance Pt) for usage with the Rideau Trail network. Thank you @RideauTrail
5. Plant native species at home! Instead of planting invasive species which could escape your garden, select native species for gardening. There are plenty of beautiful options such as swamp milkweed, for those of us in Southeastern Ontario!
6. When disposing of invasive species, do not compost them or place them in areas where they can spread or grow. Instead place them in closed garbage bags, allow the bags to sit in the sun for a few days and cook (solarization), then dispose of the garbage bags normally.
7. Spread the word, not the species! Talk to your friends about invasive species. Maybe you’re on a hike and they want to head off trail, well you can let them know why that can damage our environment. Perhaps a friend is looking to plant some purple loosestrife, maybe they don’t know how quickly it can spread and take over. The more we talk about invasives, the more aware people will be and this awareness can lead to action.