Thursday, August 15, 2013

kudzu nation




Well, the South is really not a nation, it's only part of a nation, but it's the part that's having the botanical coup d'état. 

Our friends north of the Mason-Dixon probably think it's much ado about nothing, after all, it's only a plant in the pea family. It's not like one of those introduced Asian silver carp that will jump out of the water and hit you in the face along the Illinois and other rivers in the heartland.

Kudzu's threat is more insidious, slowly blanketing neighborhoods returning them to nature with the entwining vine at the top of the pyramid. But it eventually creates a monoculture, discouraging biodiversity and exclusion is never a good thing.

Not far from my home is a winding curvy road down a hill, a little dangerous if you drive it too fast, so watch it. The directional signs that remind a driver of an upcoming "left" or "right" turn have been commandeered by the plant that's "eating the South." Isn't removing a road sign against the law?

Now, could a carp do that?


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