Comments on: Syringas

By: Bridgette Devin that be Irish :) Tree Hugger

Bridgette Devin that be Irish :) Tree Hugger — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 14:38:38 +0000

Hi Folks . I am a tree hugger so I have some other relevant questions concerning invasive species such as the syringa and indian mynah . We are aware from the discussions above of that there is a split sentiment wrt dealing with invasive species . My questions are therefore :- 1. Colonists were invasive ( still are in certain parts of the world ) why did we not cull them ? 2. Invasive species only have negative properties or characteristics to humans and most of that sentiment evolves around money , insecticide and drug companies .
3. THere is a lot in nature that has not been investigated or thoroughly explored so we remain ignrant of the secrets plants hold yet what we do know is that they are our saviours not so ? Have any of the doom sayers ever considered the relationship of oxygent to water in the atmosphere ?
4. Humans serve absolutely NO purpose on earth . On the contrary they are the greatest force of mass destruction . Their very survival depends on the destruction of something . when are we going to address this issue ?
5. Umlike humans , alien plant invaders actually DO contribute to the environment ! Even in a syringa forest , its inhabitants will have to breath fresh air or are the humans going to partition the air into invader and non invader produced air ?
See ? THe list can go on and evolve into a litany of issues but these are points to ponder on before raising that ax or poisoning the trees huh ?
Enjoy your collective lives …. or what you have left of them . Isn’t it wonderful that the human life span is short and they develop dementia ( most anyway ) half way through ?

By: Louis

Louis — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 04:36:27 +0000

@Irene Nair:
I understand the olive, in fact all species of olive, are invasive in Australia, and classified as such. And when that happens, they go, sacred or not.
I have recently moved to a town where one of the most invasive plants happens to be syringa.
I agree that it is a pretty tree, but so are a number of invasive species; many of them were brought in because they were beautiful garden plants.
So please do not let your “religious” feelings get in the way of protecting our very sensitive environment. To me that is something special, even (to use your terminology) “sacred”.
On a more practical note: To eradicate syringa, the following works:
Smaller plants: Pull them out. I am not sure what happens if bigger plants are pulled out: when roots break off, do they grow again?
Larger plants: cut off close to the ground and treat the stump with Imazapyr, sold under trade names like Chopper and Hatchet. I am using a ten percent solution in water (very effective), but one could probably use a weaker solution. The same solution works for eucalyptus, lantana and manatoka, to name a few.
By the way, what is your feelings regarding the Indian mynah? Are they also sacred? That is a good example of an invasive species that should be exterminated ASAP.
Best wishes.

By: warren botes

warren botes — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 19:12:49 +0000

Hi Irene,

Yew and Olives are not invasive in this country. And its not white people who say these trees are sacred. Its chinese and middle eastern people. I respect your spiritual views, but from an ecological point of view, an indigenous forest in any part of the world (which could be an syringa forest in India) will alway support more life (which I feel is more scared than one species)than a monoforest of one species. which is what syringa unfortunately does in this country. I dont think we should put sacered value of one species above the sacerd value of the diversity of life.
Peace.
Warren

By: irene nair

irene nair — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 06:08:50 +0000

Hi.the leaves of the indian syringa relaxes the uterus after birth. It helps with inconsistancy. My Syringa is my friend. Please don’t hurt my friend. If the white people say the Yew and the OLive are sacred it is respected. Nobody is asking you to eat it. This tree is sacred. It’s fruit looks like an olive. Maybe this is anointing oil. I grew up with the SYringa’s. My shade. My friend.Parvathie…

By: Nick

Nick — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 11:27:36 +0000

Hi everyone

It’s plain and simple, if its an invader, its got to go!
It interferes with our natural water sources and gardens have to be regularly watered.
Eradicating eucalyptus out of the states, well good, because honey bees aren’t home to the states either, they are sorting out two problems all in one.
A willow tree, which is an invader as well, can drink up to a 1000 litres of water per day.
People that I heard of had a natural fountain on their farm 100 years ago as told by the great grandfather.
A willow started growing there and in time as the tree grew bigger, the fountain dried up.
Years later the willow was cut down and the fountain to their surprise started flowing again.
A eucalyptus’ root system goes so far down, that they tap into our underground water resource.
Beauty…what is the price we and our fauna and flora will pay in the long run.
We are the ones that have to correct our forefathers doings and mistakes.
O, I love trees and birds very much and it give me great pleasure to see birds eating flowers, fruit etc from an indigenous tree and to see there’s a balance(relationship) between them.

So I say, bring on the war against invasive plants and not just trees.

By: mol-d

mol-d — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 20:10:46 +0000

hey chris,

send us in some pics, please.. i’d dig to see the kind of furniture a nuisance like syringas has produced!

just attach some images to an email and see into:

post@sprig.co.za

ta!

By: chris

chris — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 12:26:18 +0000

chopped 5 down in my yard, have made all sorts of things, a bit of warping not much. busy with a four poster bed at the moment…

By: mol-d

mol-d — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 07:29:38 +0000

hi louis, i agree. they are a terror! kill them and plant something indigenous in their place…

By: Louis

Louis — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 06:03:56 +0000

I have been involved on a voluntary basis with the eradication of aliens over the last 17 years. And believe me, the syringa is highly invasive. I have seen it in the Krugersdorp area, in the Western and the Southern Cape.
I know they are beautiful trees, but one has no control over where the seeds go. Birds will spread them all over. So one beautiful tree becomes a huge problem for a lot of other people. I would say, do the right thing and kill them, ASAP!

By: warren botes

warren botes — Thu, 26 May 2011 18:10:08 +0000

Eric,
I agree with you on that. there are also a few raptors that use gums in this country for nesting and roosting so i see you point there. But i really think there should be a move toward replacing exotics with indigenous equivalents. But i agree the removal of these plant must be considered in context. ie does the tree have an active bird nest or bee colony, and can they be moved or encouraged to move somewhere else (the birds and bees haha!). but in most cases natural indigenous vegetation can support a much larger range of species than exotics. this is particularly the case in durban where large areas of our open space are green but essentially ecologically barren syringa forests, with only a few adaptable species using them.