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Community Corner

Community Update

Stop the vine!

There is one highly invasive plant that is quickly wiping out Medfield’s natural habitat and reducing the number of Monarch butterflies: Black Swallow-wort – a vine that the community can help to control, but time is of the essence.

George Darrell, an associate member of Medfield Conservation Commission, has been studying invasive plants for the last two years and is joining forces with other residents and town organizations to get the word out about the various kinds of vegetation that threaten the town’s woodlands and open space.

“Black Swallow-wort is topping the list of plants to tackle right now because the vine is forming green seed pods, and once those pods open, the seeds will disperse for miles creating more vines in new locations and making the plant more difficult to fight,” said Darrell.

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(Large swaths of the vine can be found all over Medfield, including an area between Town Hall and Starbucks -- pictured here.)

Based on information from University of Rhode Island, Black Swallow-wort displaces native plants and interferes with the reproduction of Monarch butterflies and possibly other butterfly species. The butterflies mistake Black Swallow-wort for common milkweed and lay their eggs on the plant, but the plant cannot sustain them so the eggs die. The vines growing in full sun are especially prolific, and close to 11 square feet of Black Swallow-wort can produce 1,000-2,000 seeds each year. Individual plants have been known to live more than 70 years.

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Since seed pods tend to open in late July/early August, Darrell notes that Medfield residents need to take immediate measures to slow the spread of Black Swallow-wort, which is listed as one of 35 most invasive plants in the Commonwealth by the Massachusetts Invasive Plant Advisory Group.

Steps residents can take:

At the very least, cut or “weed whack” Black Swallow-wort vines to the ground as soon as young, green seed pods appear, and be sure to pull the vines off shrubs and other plantings. The key is cutting the vines before the seedods open. Residents can do this on their own, or if they use a mowing/landscaping service they can ask the crew to help with the task.If time and energy allow, dig up the root crowns of Black Swallow-wort plants.For large areas of Black Swallow-wort, URI research has shown that when vines are cut and then sprayed with an herbicide like Round Up Pro, it is highly effective at helping to kill the plant. (This article neither discourages nor endorses herbicide use.)Dispose of any Black Swallow-wort vines (or any other invasive plants) in the garbage – do not compost them, treat them as yard waste, or take them to the Transfer Station. If seed pods have already opened, do not mow the vines since mowing can disperse a greater number of seeds to other areas of your property.

“Japanese Knotweed and Oriental Bittersweet are two other highly invasive plants destroying the natural beauty of Medfield that we’d like to educate folks about and begin to control,” said Darrell.

“Much of this material borders neighbors’ properties, so ideally it needs to be a joint effort between neighbors. But right now we have a window of opportunity to limit the spread of a plant that we’ve all ignored for years. If home owners would trash their own plants and pods now, we’d limit the spread. We hope every Medfield resident can help us by wiping out the vine in their own yard,” he stressed.

For more information or to get involved in the effort to control invasive plants in Medfield, e-mail medfieldinvasiveplants@gmail.com.

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