Virtual/Personal Field Trips #2

When thinking of an outdoor area I knew the perfect place, my back yard! Being outdoors is my favorite place to be and something I wish I did more. It’s just something that seems so peaceful and relaxing. Best thing to do outside is play with my niece Honor, she is a wild child and loves to explorer everything. We were outside one day and I just started noticing all the different plants and as you will see Miss Honor helped me out!

  

I believe this is a feather bush (Lysiloma Microphylla), it’s something I found when I first walked out my door. It was hiding behind a bigger bush so I didn't understand how it was surviving with hardly any sun. But when I researched it the Feather Bush doesn't need much sun light. It also doesn't need much water. I just found it cute being hided away from everything else.  This brush I don’t think is much of an invader it likes hiding away from everything its like people some people are just shy maybe this brush is too. When touching it, it isn't pokey so it’s not a brush that needs to go. I think it fits really great where it’s at and I don’t think anything needs to replace it. Grow little brush grow! Can’t wait to see what you turn into.

My little helper was trying to help and you would think she is pointing out the next plant I found but she is pointing at dogs in the next yard. (Got to love her for trying) I thought this was a aloe vera plant it would be cool but as I looked more into it I think it looks more like a Tropicbelle (Lomanadra Hystric). When going out in the yard I never really know what a plant looks like I just find them pretty. The Tropicbelle has long leafs and seem to grow a lot in our yard but still make the yard look pretty. Being that these grow everywhere in the yard it doesn’t seem to be an invader. This plant looks like a machine came in and made the grass super sized. I don’t think any plant should replace it, it’s not really hurting anyone. I don’t like killing plants if it wants to grow there and not hurting anything then way change it.

  

Now this plant well that’s what I thought first because it looked pretty but it’s actually a weed. It’s the careless pigweed (Amaranthus Palmeri) it’s a very pretty weed that would be hard to pull. I just love the purple flower on the top. This weed grew by a brush and a huge apple tree which I think looks very pretty right now because it has white flowers all over it. Weeds grow everywhere being that the apple tree gets a lot of water that this little invader thought it would just become part of our yard. Knowing now that this plant is a weed it might be best to pull it out. When touching it, it feels a little pokey and I wouldn’t want anything to hurt my niece if she playing by it.

Non-native invasive plant species can alter the ecosystem by taking over the space of other plants, killing off those plants, creating their own ecosystem, change what type of other organisms that grow in the area, and then they can create something beautiful that you couldn’t imagine changing because it’s just so perfect. I know it’s not the right answer it’s probably something like when other plants take over when they shouldn’t it changes what other things that live there and it might affect the way we live. But I really loved seeing that purple flower and I wouldn’t want anything different. Everything is beautiful and should be able to live just not if it’s going to hurt someone.