For the #SciArtSeptember theme “strangling” my gel plate prints of Vincetoxicum rossicum, also known as European swallowwort, or Dog-strangling Vine. Introduced to the NE US gardens in the mid-1800s, it’s become wildly invasive in south & central Ontario. While it doesn’t actually strangle dogs, it can be a risk to native plants and animals. It’s illegal to buy, sell, trade or purposely sell dog-strangling vine in Ontario;
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#printmaking #sciart #MastoArt #invasiveSpecies #weeds #ecology
nonetheless I found this unwelcome plant in my garden. It can produce 28,000 seeds per square metre which are spread by the wind. They can crowd out native plants and mats of tangled vines make it hard to even walk through the forest. The leaves and roots can be toxic so animals avoid them and thus end up putting even more pressure on yummier native plants. They are also a threat to the monarch butterfly, a species at risk; their eggs laid on the vines do not survive to adulthood.
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If you find them in your garden (here in North America) you should dig it up and place it in a black plastic bag; don’t add it to compost or it can spread. Or, if you are like me, use it as free art supplies!