Invasive Weeds

Mankind does not receive high marks in the steward of the land category. Everywhere we travel, we seem to bring with us our weeds. This gallery will include images of invasive weeds that I come across in my travels.

The first Europeans to settle in the new world considered everything on this Continent a weed. As such, people of European descent spent centuries importing European varieties of plants while ripping up native plants. Gradually, people began to realize that the true nature of weeds has more to do with the ecosystem and not the nature of the plant in question.

When you move a species of plant into a new ecosytem, you change the balance of the system. Often the plant has no natural predators. Even worse, often the animals in an area are unable to digest the invasive species.

Context: Nature

• Wildflowers (123 pictures) Images of Wildflowers native to the Western United States.
• Flower Power (143 pictures) Images of garden flowers.