You call that a weed? ...

THIS - is a weed.

It positively looms.


I'm betting you know that old line (45 second clip) from the Crocodile Dundee movies, though the reference is now falling into the dark backward and abysm of time.

In February and March, everywhere you drive around Santa Cruz, the most glorious yellow blossoms cover trees towering over the roadsides large...

and small...
Up close the blossoms and leaves have a charm, a delicacy...

--- that belies their pernicious nature. Well, pernicious presence, not nature. In themselves, they are lovely, as are many weeds: It is only out of their native context (south eastern Australia) that they are pernicious. Read this extract from cal-ipc.org ... and weep:

Acacia dealbata (silver wattle) is a tree (family Fabaceae) found in the coastal ranges, San Francisco Bay area, and south coast of California. It favors disturbed places in coastal prairies, riparian areas and coniferous forests. Silver wattle is often confused with green wattle (Acacia decurrens), but is distinguishable by the small, silvery hairs that grow on its twigs. It spreads via rhizomes and seeds, and easily resprouts after being cut. Acacia dealbata changes soil chemistry by fixing nitrogen, and the plants’ fallen leaves may have allelopathic effects that prevent the growth of native understory plants. Like many acacias, silver wattle is commonly planted as an ornamental.

Yet, their rate of penetration may not be as bad as it looks. I also read this from a report linked to the cal-ipc site:

Describe rate of spread: Populations are expanding, but not rapidly yet. Spreading locally (less than 1 mile) along riverbanks and roadsides, plus new patches from seed and rhizomes into intact areas.

So driving along the roads, we see the worst of it. I still don't like it, not one little bit.

Nor do I like the broom, or the gorse, - or the Oxalis pes-caprae. All yellow bloomers, all blooming in early spring. I wonder why they're all yellow and all early? (and all here!)