Glenview is asking residents to be “plant police officers” on the lookout for bullying invasive plants that are choking out and stealing life-giving sunshine from natural flora in the village, officials said.
Invasive plant species like buckthorn and others are everywhere in the village and in a recent newsletter to residents, Glenview asked them to help combat what some have characterized as an invading army of unwanted plants.
Robyn Flakne, natural resources manager for the Village, wants people to learn what the plants look like.
“A lot of people really don’t,” she said. “They don’t know one plant from another and that’s not something they train in and it’s hard to learn.”
“It’s not anybody’s fault,” she said. “They should try to have an awareness and be able to ask their landscaper about it if they personally don’t know. They could take a look at whether their property might be inadvertently hosting these plants that could escape into natural areas and cause damage.”
She said buckthorn forms thickets that are almost impenetrable and can grow in lowlight conditions and overtake all the sunlight other plants need to survive. It can be recognized by its fine-toothed, opposite leaves and dark, berrylike fruits, she explained.
According to the Chicago Botanical Gardens website, invasive plants and invasive animals have become a growing concern in Illinois.
“Would you be surprised to learn that ornamental plants in your yard may be causing natural areas to suffer?” a page on the website asks. “Some of the more aggressive plants common to backyard gardens are escaping to natural areas, where they choke out other plants and begin to take over. Even if they are pruned and kept in check, their seeds are dispersed by birds, animals and the wind. Invasive plants and animals threaten the nation’s environment and economy.”
Flakne said she was recently at a homeowner’s property in the village to look at tress they wanted to cut down and while noted a lot of buckthorn on the property. She said she advised the resident to have the plants removed and that they are not a protected species and a permit is not required.
“It’s most easily seen in fall,” she said.
She also described a wasteland of sorts under the buckthorns and other invasive plant species where the forest floor is black and devoid of springtime flora. She said that has a detrimental impact on whole ecosystems in the woods as well as on insects, birds and other animals.
She also said the presence of the invasive plants has the effect of “tearing apart an intact web.”
The village, she added, has a series of videos on its website regarding invasive plants and the problems they create.
“It’s basically to show people what the plants looks like so they know it’s not a desirable plant and that removing it from their landscape is a good idea,” she said. “In any landscape it appears it’s problematic because it’s very aggressive and suppresses other plants. Even more so, it escapes to our natural areas.”
Brian L. Cox is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.