Garden weed from Hell

[Muse]

Was picking up windfalls from one of my 2 plum trees a couple weeks ago, and later noticed these hitchhikers attached to me and my clothing. Having suffered a hand injury 5 months ago I've fallen behind on projects around the house. One is a pile of wood from trimming the plum trees and weeds have grown in the pile. Don't know what these are. The burrs you can see I figure are specialized seeds that attach to whatever, which aids their transport and dispersion. An animal could easily disperse them miles from where they grew.

I clipped most all of what I see this afternoon and placed in my organic materials recycling bin. However, I'm sure there's more (there's long, gone-to-seed grasses there, providing cover for whatever, including rats, ants too), and I'm sure a lot of these burrs have fallen to the ground. It's going to rain some in a couple days, which would provide a germination scenario. Ouch!

What are these (are they nettles?) and what can I do to eradicate the problem? I saw a hand doctor today who says I can stop wearing a splint on my hand now and get back to living my life! Thanks for help.

 

[BoomerD]

Not nettles...some type of "cockleburr."

The nettles you're most likely to encounter are these:

California Nettle

Urtica dioica subsp. gracilis, the California nettle or American stinging nettle, is a herbaceous perennial plant native to most of the United States and Canada. It is either considered to be a subspecies of stinging nettle (Urtica dioica), or a species in its own right: Urtica gracilis.

calscape.org

 

[Muse]

Not nettles...some type of "cockleburr."

The nettles you're most likely to encounter are these:

California Nettle

Urtica dioica subsp. gracilis, the California nettle or American stinging nettle, is a herbaceous perennial plant native to most of the United States and Canada. It is either considered to be a subspecies of stinging nettle (Urtica dioica), or a species in its own right: Urtica gracilis.

calscape.org

Yes, definitely looks to be a cocklebur. But the ones in my yard (the burs that is) are very small, as can be seen in the OP attached photo. Could be C. Bur Clover (Medicago hispida), in the link. I hope I can control, eradicate them in my yard. I don't know what the plant looks like while it's growing because what's there is dead except for the stems and burs. I figure they are going to grow from the bur-seeds. I can learn to spot them and remove before they seed.

 

[kage69]

As weeds go, you can do a lot worse. Ever hear of a sand spur?

When I think a weed from hell, giant hogweed is all I can think of. It can send you to the hospital and give you permanent body damage. Get some of that sap on you and you will never complain about seeds again.

 

[Iron Woode]

Was picking up windfalls from one of my 2 plum trees a couple weeks ago, and later noticed these hitchhikers attached to me and my clothing. Having suffered a hand injury 5 months ago I've fallen behind on projects around the house. One is a pile of wood from trimming the plum trees and weeds have grown in the pile. Don't know what these are. The burrs you can see I figure are specialized seeds that attach to whatever, which aids their transport and dispersion. An animal could easily disperse them miles from where they grew.

I clipped most all of what I see this afternoon and placed in my organic materials recycling bin. However, I'm sure there's more (there's long, gone-to-seed grasses there, providing cover for whatever, including rats, ants too), and I'm sure a lot of these burrs have fallen to the ground. It's going to rain some in a couple days, which would provide a germination scenario. Ouch!

What are these (are they nettles?) and what can I do to eradicate the problem? I saw a hand doctor today who says I can stop wearing a splint on my hand now and get back to living my life! Thanks for help.View attachment 67686

if you think those are bad try dealing with an infestation of bindweed.

Once established it takes years to get rid of.

 

[WelshBloke]

if you think those are bad try dealing with an infestation of bindweed.

Once established it takes years to get rid of.

Japanese knotweed says hello!

How to stop Japanese knotweed from spreading

How to identify, stop the spread and dispose of Japanese knotweed in England.

www.gov.uk

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

When I think a weed from hell, giant hogweed is all I can think of. It can send you to the hospital and give you permanent body damage. Get some of that sap on you and you will never complain about seeds again.

This is the answer. Most plants Americans encounter are at worst, annoying. Don't sweat the small stuff.

 

[kage69]

It's all tame compared to the gympi gympi, the Bullet Ant of plants. Excruciating pain, can last for months, people call it the suicide plant. I'm glad it doesn't grow in the States!

"The pain caused by the sting is legendary. A.C. Macmillan, a North Queensland road surveyor, reported to his boss in 1866 an encounter with a gympie-gympie that stung his packhorse. The horse “got mad, and died within two hours.” Local folklore is abundant in tales of horses jumping off cliffs due to the sheer agony or forestry workers drinking themselves to sleep to dull the horrendous pain.

Cyril Bromley, an Australian ex-serviceman, described his own encounter with the stinging tree during military training in World War II. Bromley spent three weeks in the hospital where he went through countless unsuccessful treatments. This entire time, the veteran was turned “mad as a cut snake” by the pain. But at least he lived to tell the tale. Bromley knew an officer who shot himself after an uninspired decision to use the gympie-gympie as toilet paper."




It just occured to me, can you imagine the level of misery you'd be experiencing if you got stung and had a really bad hangover at the same time? Wow. Miners are hard AF, throw this on the pile of reasons why.

 

[pmv]

It's all tame compared to the gympi gympi, the Bullet Ant of plants. Excruciating pain, can last for months, people call it the suicide plant. I'm glad it doesn't grow in the States!

"The pain caused by the sting is legendary. A.C. Macmillan, a North Queensland road surveyor, reported to his boss in 1866 an encounter with a gympie-gympie that stung his packhorse. The horse “got mad, and died within two hours.” Local folklore is abundant in tales of horses jumping off cliffs due to the sheer agony or forestry workers drinking themselves to sleep to dull the horrendous pain.

Cyril Bromley, an Australian ex-serviceman, described his own encounter with the stinging tree during military training in World War II. Bromley spent three weeks in the hospital where he went through countless unsuccessful treatments. This entire time, the veteran was turned “mad as a cut snake” by the pain. But at least he lived to tell the tale. Bromley knew an officer who shot himself after an uninspired decision to use the gympie-gympie as toilet paper."

Soon as I read it was a plant that tries to kill you (or drive you to kill yourself), I thought "It's Australia again, isn't it?". And I was right!

 

[Iron Woode]

It's all tame compared to the gympi gympi, the Bullet Ant of plants. Excruciating pain, can last for months, people call it the suicide plant. I'm glad it doesn't grow in the States!

"The pain caused by the sting is legendary. A.C. Macmillan, a North Queensland road surveyor, reported to his boss in 1866 an encounter with a gympie-gympie that stung his packhorse. The horse “got mad, and died within two hours.” Local folklore is abundant in tales of horses jumping off cliffs due to the sheer agony or forestry workers drinking themselves to sleep to dull the horrendous pain.

Cyril Bromley, an Australian ex-serviceman, described his own encounter with the stinging tree during military training in World War II. Bromley spent three weeks in the hospital where he went through countless unsuccessful treatments. This entire time, the veteran was turned “mad as a cut snake” by the pain. But at least he lived to tell the tale. Bromley knew an officer who shot himself after an uninspired decision to use the gympie-gympie as toilet paper."

also this:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchineel

 

[WelshBloke]

also this:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchineel

There's a lot of WTF in that!

 

[kage69]

also this:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchineel

Yeah, but as someone who lived in The Keys for years, never once did I come across them. Didn't even find out about those until just a few years ago in fact. But yeah, they are nasty. Just standing under a Manchineel tree when it rains will burn you? That's crazy! Saw this, did not know:

"The Caribs were known to poison the water supply of their enemies with the leaves.[12] Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León died shortly after an injury incurred in battle with the Calusa in Florida—being struck by an arrow that had been poisoned with manchineel sap."

Florida's own version of that arrowhead frog in the Amazon. A tree so hardcore you don't chop it down for fear of contact with it, you burn the base to topple it over. That is pretty damn metal if you ask me.

 

[Muse]

OMG, I had no idea how tame this bur problem is compared to what's out there in the flora world. Seems that plants can be every bit as horrifying as animals, maybe more.

Today, cleaning out the whole overgrown weed infested patch which was laced with all manner of chopped and unchopped wood I didn't encounter any of the burs... well, a handful still on stems, nothing really (I'd gotten almost all of them yesterday into my recycling bin). If they don't somehow go to seed here again I am past this relatively innocuous episode.

 

[BoomerD]

We're awash in this shit:

Washington State Noxious Weed Control Board

www.nwcb.wa.gov

Can't even walk your dogs in some of the city parks because of it.

 

[Muse]

As weeds go, you can do a lot worse. Ever hear of a sand spur?

When I think a weed from hell, giant hogweed is all I can think of. It can send you to the hospital and give you permanent body damage. Get some of that sap on you and you will never complain about seeds again.

It's a scourge in the UK, especially what with the pandemic.

 

[WelshBloke]

It's a scourge in the UK, especially what with the pandemic.

Honestly in the scale of things that are worrying me, giant poisonous plants are somewhere below zombie Queen Elizabeth breaking out of her lead lined coffin and overpowering the guards stationed to prevent that.

 

[kage69]

The UK imported it? On purpose?

That is some serious love for garden ornaments.

 

[Iron Woode]

speaking of weird plants:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amorphophallus_titanum

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

also this:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchineel

That reads like an SCP article.

 

[Steltek]

Well, at least it isn't kudzu. That stuff is a nightmare to deal with. It grows like 50-60 feet a year and chokes out every living tree and plant in the area. It's well-earned nickname is "the vine that ate the South", as in the entire southern United States.

Worst environmental mistake the government ever made was to import the stuff for erosion control.

 

[Muse]

Well, at least it isn't kudzu. That stuff is a nightmare to deal with. It grows like 50-60 feet a year and chokes out every living tree and plant in the area. It's well-earned nickname is "the vine that ate the South", as in the entire southern United States.

Worst environmental mistake the government ever made was to import the stuff for erosion control.

Oh oh, spreading and speading and ...

Known as “mile-a-minute” and “the vine that ate the South,” this creeping, climbing perennial vine terrorizes native plants all over the southeastern United States and is making its way into the Midwest, Northeast, and even Oregon.

Kudzu: The Invasive Vine that Ate the South

Kudzu looks innocent enough yet the invasive plant easily overtakes trees, abandoned homes and telephone poles.

www.nature.org

My biggest invasive, can't get rid of the stuff problem is bamboo. Ever since living here (decades), it's deep rooted just on the other side of fence with my eastern neighbor. His wife accused us, said it came from our side. I didn't argue (I seldom see them now, practically never his wife, they moved and rent the place out the last 20+ years), but it's the other way around. They cut it back once in a while but make no effort to uproot it. It spreads by underground runners that are, on balance, around 6 inches deep. I use the tall bamboo for stakes, have it stored in my garage. Otherwise, it's just a pest. I hack at it occasionally using a mattock, digging up the runners. More often I cut off the above ground stuff. It's incredibly hardy.

There's also ivy here. I keep it under control. That comes from my west neighbor.

I take pride in not being a problem for my neighbors. That includes noise of any kind, smells, and garden growth of any kind. I make sure my garden is not my neighbor's problem, can't say the same for them.

Edit: Oh, and my west neighbor's trees hang over my property around 12 feet, now resting partly on my 2nd story roof. I figure I need to bring in arborists for that. I have a copy of Neighbor Law. Home ownership is a two edged sword. It's great but it is a BITCH!

 

[Red Squirrel]

As weeds go, you can do a lot worse. Ever hear of a sand spur?

When I think a weed from hell, giant hogweed is all I can think of. It can send you to the hospital and give you permanent body damage. Get some of that sap on you and you will never complain about seeds again.

We actually have those here, never ran across one myself but there has been warnings from the health unit about them being spotted. You can go blind if you touch it and you'll also get 3rd degree burns all over your body, pretty intense. Thing is it's not like these things just show up already giant. They start off small like any other plant. So it could be hard to avoid it if it's only a foot tall and you accidentally rub against it or something while walking in the bush. It probably won't have a flower at that point either. You basically need to wear a hazmat suit to dispose of those as well it's pretty crazy. They come in and bag it up and it gets incinerated.

We also have had ticks spotted here, that's equally as bad since you could get a life altering disease if you get bit. Lyme disease, among others. I try to avoid having any vegetation touch me when I go in the bush now, just to be safe. Seems overall there are more dangerous things out now. When it's +25 out it's not really realistic to wear pants and long sleeves and a hat either. Going to be quite miserable in that heat.

 

[kage69]

I've found them on my property before, and it's the threat to eyes that scares me the most. Eradicate with extreme prejudice. Guy I talked to about this awhile back said he cuts them as little as possible, digs up most of the root ball, dumps a bucket of wood stove ash on it, then covers with a good layer of clean soil. I've heard others say they spray them, then come back and take care of them, then bury them. All I know for sure is NEVER throw it on a yard fire the way you would brush and limbs from landscaping. It will destroy your lungs like a chemical weapon, just like poison ivy's active ingredient urushiol getting burned and made airborne. Makes the blisters and itch you get from normal contact look like a vacation.

I hear ya on the ticks. I now have four family members who have contracted Lyme. The last year or so I've learned a lot about it, it's way worse than I had previously thought. Treatment is tough and lengthy, the vaccine can't be approved fast enough. I'm almost paranoid about them, scaled back my woods stuff a lot. Drench myself in bug dope before I head out no matter what. Can't wait for the snow to hit. Seriously considering getting chickens now, mainly for tick control. Guineas are too noisy.

 

[DaaQ]

Oh oh, spreading and speading and ...

Known as “mile-a-minute” and “the vine that ate the South,” this creeping, climbing perennial vine terrorizes native plants all over the southeastern United States and is making its way into the Midwest, Northeast, and even Oregon.

Kudzu: The Invasive Vine that Ate the South

Kudzu looks innocent enough yet the invasive plant easily overtakes trees, abandoned homes and telephone poles.

www.nature.org

My biggest invasive, can't get rid of the stuff problem is bamboo. Ever since living here (decades), it's deep rooted just on the other side of fence with my eastern neighbor. His wife accused us, said it came from our side. I didn't argue (I seldom see them now, practically never his wife, they moved and rent the place out the last 20+ years), but it's the other way around. They cut it back once in a while but make no effort to uproot it. It spreads by underground runners that are, on balance, around 6 inches deep. I use the tall bamboo for stakes, have it stored in my garage. Otherwise, it's just a pest. I hack at it occasionally using a mattock, digging up the runners. More often I cut off the above ground stuff. It's incredibly hardy.

There's also ivy here. I keep it under control. That comes from my west neighbor.

I take pride in not being a problem for my neighbors. That includes noise of any kind, smells, and garden growth of any kind. I make sure my garden is not my neighbor's problem, can't say the same for them.

Edit: Oh, and my west neighbor's trees hang over my property around 12 feet, now resting partly on my 2nd story roof. I figure I need to bring in arborists for that. I have a copy of Neighbor Law. Home ownership is a two edged sword. It's great but it is a BITCH!

That is one nasty inconvenience, grows everywhere here in KY, goes up poles, transformers out onto power, telco and catv lines. Very difficult to walk through, especially with a ladder.
It is also tough as nails when dried up dead out of season to pull off the lines.

Big problem is it's weight, it weighs down the spans of lines, causing suck outs in CATV, causes Power to energize CATV since we are between Telco and Power. It is just horrible.

 

[Mermaidman]

If you live in or near the South, then watch out for this recent prolific invader:

Chamberbitter

Chamberbitter (Phyllanthus urinaria) is also known as gripeweed, leafflower, or little mimosa. It is a warm-season, annual, broadleaf weed that emerges...

hgic.clemson.edu

And also this scourge:
nut grass

"Kill it before it grows!"