An Arizona Redditor encountered a troublesome plant recently and issued a warning to the community at r/Phoenix.
“PSA-PHX dwellers should pull these invasive plants before they flower or the goatheads will spread and can cause harm to feet, paws, and bike tires,” wrote the original poster. “They make harmful stickers or goat head type sharp things which really hurt and can even go straight through flip flops. They can easily spread by getting picked up on shoes or your dog’s fur and they grow pretty quickly, even in poor quality dirt or sand.”
While this is all true of goatheads, there was some disagreement in the community about identifying the plant in the attached picture. Some said they were tree saplings, either leadtree or mesquite. That said, both of those seeds spread like mad, and leadtree qualifies as invasive.
Photo Credit: Reddit
The original poster was concerned primarily about personal safety, but the problems with invasive species go well beyond that.
When a species is taken out of its native habitat, it’s free of the natural checks and balances it evolved with. In a new home, it has the potential to outcompete local species and become invasive. Over time, an invader can establish a monopoly over vital resources such as water, space, and food, leading to a decline in biodiversity.
As biodiversity declines, so too do the ecosystem services that people and animals depend on. That loss translates into hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth in economic losses annually around the world, according to one study. Another tallied the damage at over $1 trillion over 50 years.
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Those concerned about the damage caused by invasive species can join local volunteer groups in land management projects.
Whatever plant the original poster was looking at, the Reddit community was keen to stay vigilant about nuisance plantlife.
“Personally I wouldn’t risk letting it stay around in my yard,” said one commenter.
“Please kill on sight!” replied another. “These are an incredibly invasive species of a what I call a trash tree.”
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