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ALERT: New York Flora Atlas reports new invader Slender falsebrome ( Brachypodium sylvaticum ) has been found in two New York counties. According to the New York Flora Atlas, slender falsebrome is a perennial, herbaceous monocot that often forms dense patches and sometimes occurs as scattered individuals, primarily in forest understories but also growing in full sun. A native of Eurasia and north Africa, this species is sometimes sold as an ornamental grass. It has the potential to become highly invasive and therefore should not be planted. A large infestation discovered by Steven Daniel in 2009 in Genesee County is the first report from New York. Bergen Swamp stewards observed this plant at this location since at least the late 1990s, but did not know what it was or that it was a potentially new invasive plant for the region. A second population was discovered in Tompkins County (approximately 85 miles from the Genesee County population) also in 2009. Therefore, this invasive speci...

Updated 3/20 -------------------------------------------------------- Vitex eradication effort gains traction Group tallies past year's accomplishments By Gareth McGrath, StarNewsOnline.com Fort Fisher, North Carolina - The invasive plant has been discovered in Virginia and in places in North Carolina thought to be vitex-free. But that's not necessarily a bad thing, since it shows that the educational and outreach efforts of the Carolinas Beach Vitex Task Force about the menace posed by the foreign invader are working. It also shows, however, that there's a lot of work to do to eradicate the shrub. It is native to the Pacific Rim and was once viewed as the savior of the coast, but it's turned out to be a huge biological menace. On Friday members of the task force gathered at the N.C. Aquarium at Fort Fisher to celebrate the past year's successes and discuss the remaining challenges facing the multi-state effort to eradicate beach vitex. Among the 2008 accomplishment...