Anthropogenic and Ecological Aspects of Plant Distributions: How Medicinal and Culinary Herbs Become Invasive Sunshine Brosi Department of Biology
Respect for Unique Culture and Environment
Naturalist John Bartram s first trip through Pennsylvania: 1749 Chestnut Beech White Walnut (Butternut) Sugar Maple Spruce (Eastern Hemlock) Hickory White and Black Oaks White Pine Linden (American basswood) Pitch Pine Elm
Exotic Pests: 2009 American Chestnut Phytophthora cinnamomi, Chestnut Blight, Chestnut Gall Wasp, Asian Ambrosia Beetle American Beech Beech Bark Disease Complex White Walnut (Butternut) - Butternut Canker Sugar Maple Pear Thrips, Asian Longhorned Beetle Spruce (Eastern Hemlock) Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Hickory White and Black Oaks Gypsy Moth, Sudden Oak Death Eastern White Pine White Pine Blister Rust Linden Basswood Thrips Pitch Pine Pine Shoot Beetle, Sirex woodwasp American Elm Dutch Elm Disease (2 strains)
How did we get here? American, Chinese, Japanese, and European chestnuts (American Chestnut Foundation acf.org) Nursery Stock of Edibles Japanese and Chinese Chestnuts Edible European Beech Edible Japanese Walnut (Heartnut) - Edible Chinese Pear Edible Japanese walnut cultivars and buartnut hybrids
Wild Plant Lore 1987 Wild Plant Cookbook referring to garlic mustard Get to know this plant: and if it s not in your area, collect some specimens elsewhere (where it s common) and transplant it nearby. You won t regret the effort. 1986, 2008 Shoots and Greens of Early Spring in NE North America Besides providing delicious flavors for recipes that benefit from a sour component, giant knotweed contains a natural pesticide, with great potential for organic farmers.
Exotic Plants and Wild Herbs Garlic Mustard Culinary Herb Chickory Culinary Herb Shepard s purse Culinary Herb Chickweed Culinary Herb Domestic pear Edible and Ornamental Wine berry Culinary Herb Japanese Barberry Medicinal Herb Japanese knotweed Edible and Ornamental Daylily Culinary Herb Burdock Medicinal and Culinary Herb Plantain Culinary Herb Dandelion Culinary Herb Purslane Culinary Herb common sowthistle Culinary Herb Dock Medicinal and Culinary Herb Teasel Cultural Herb Lamb's-Quarters Culinary Herb Mullein Medicinal and Culinary Herb
Why do wild herbs spread? Edible and Medicinal Herbs intentionally planted, antimicrobial action often a result of secondary plant metabolites (e.g. phenolics including flavonoids, alkaloids, and terpenoids) which reduces predation by insects and herbivores Medicinal plants selected for plant-derived bioactive compounds with physiological effects, rapid growth in a variety of environmental conditions, prolific production of seed, tolerance or preference of disturbance (including harvesting and cutting the plant back) Invasive Plant Species Novel Weapons Hypothesis: Production of allelopathic chemicals that may result in an increased competitive advantage, changes in C:N ratios, microbial activity
Ethnobotany for Prevention Invasion ecology may profit from collaborations with a novel group of scientists, including those in ethnobotany, nutraceuticals, plant chemistry and alternative medicine Joan Ehrenfeld 2006 Biological Invasions Long histories of medicinal uses of plants could be used to aid in risk assessment for regulations Ethnobotanical Databases from origin country and the US as indicators of potential impact on ecological environment Native plant cultivation as an incentive to remove exotics
Steps to address exotic pests Prevention Rapid response to eradicate if prevention fails Control if rapid response fails Conservation of genetic resources of host species or displaced species If control is successful, reintroduction of host species
Number APHIS Inspectors per $US Imported Goods APHIS Budget ($US per Year) per $US Imported Goods 12 11 10 0.0040 0.0035 9 0.0030 8 7 6 5 4 APHIS Budget per $US Imported Goods Number Inspectors per $US Billion Imported Goods 0.0025 0.0020 0.0015 3 0.0010 2 1 0.0005 0 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 Year 0.0000 From A.N. Auclair, D.O. Oryang, R.D. Magarey, and D.M. Borchert; presented at International Plant Health Risk Analysis Workshop October 24-28 2005 Niagara Falls Canada
Value placed on native species Replace exotic species with species of medicinal or culinary value Education on native and non-native species
Research Themes Restoration of rare and threatened species threatened due to exotic pests over harvesting Preservation of cultural natural resources Conservation of ecological interactions using locally-adapted seed sources Developing restoration methods establishment factors seedling characteristics site characteristics
Seed Zone System precipitation, minimum temperature, elevation, Bailey s ecoregions
Seed Sources for 2002 Plantings
Cultural Resources Plantings Cherokee Indian Reservation Western North Carolina Butternut Seedling Seed Orchard
American Chestnut Plantings Tom Hall, Forest Pathologist, PA DCNR Forestry Scott Schlarbuam, Tree Improvement Program, Univ. of TN 2 nd year 5 th year
Butternut Plantings nd 2 year 4th year
Cooperators The Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville Tree Improvement Program, American Chestnut Foundation (Maryland and Pennsylvania Chapters), USDA Forest Service (Southern Region - State and Private Forestry, Genetic Resources Program, Cherokee, Daniel Boone, Jefferson, Pisgah, Nantahala, St. Francis, Ozark, Chattahoochee, Southern and North Central Research Stations), National Park Service (Mammoth Cave, Great Smoky Mountains, Big South Fork), Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry, and Georgia Forestry Commission