Hillside of Dyers Woad going to seed.
Dyer’s Woad spreads primarily by seed.
In this photo, you can clearly see first year rosettes and flowering Dyers Woad.
CSR recently finished a section of a weed abatement project along the Ruby Pipeline ROW. This particular section of pipeline was located near Brigham City, UT. One of the most prevalent weeds found was Dyer’s Woad, (Isatis tinctoria). **This striking yellow plant is native to southeast Russia and is sometimes found as a garden ornamental in the western US. Dyer’s Woad is a non-palatable, aggressive weed with allelopathic properties (it produces chemicals which inhibit growth in other plants close by). This species has a history of establishing across thousands of acres of western rangeland, and infestations are known from eight western states. **Idaho Weed Awareness Campaign
Crews collected the seed heads to help reduce the seed bank of this highly invasive species. Licensed herbicide applicators then followed behind spot-spraying the weed. This was a very tedious job as the plants first year rosettes are small and one can find many on an infested hillside.
Also found along the way was Yellow Starthistle, Centaurea solstitialis. This invasive weed is listed as “Class A” weed and have a relatively low population size within the state of Utah and are of highest priority being an Early Detection Rapid Response (EDRR) weed.
Filed under: Invasive Focus, Restoration, Stewardship Tagged: | Ruby Pipeline Restoration, weed eradication
