By Kathleen Dickey
This time of year there’s hardly a drive I take up and over highway 84 without saying to myself, “Got to do something about that broom!” Thoughts go through my head of enlisting hordes of La Honda school children guarded by Caltrans men standing strong and bold in their bright orange vests, bravely enduring sun and ticks to uproot the brazen stands.
Fighting words!! Why is this usually quiet-spoken person so freaked out?* Two main reasons: one is that wherever this admittedly beautiful member of the pea family settles, it tends to take over and wipes out the native plants, and with them all the rich robustness and beautiful diversity that comes with a healthy ecosystem.
Broom is terrifically hardy – seeds are reported to be viable for 80 years, it emits an alkaloid chemical to fend off herbivores and it has no native predators. The second reason I “see red” when I see those garish yellow blooms is that I’ve seen firsthand what can happen when broom’s bursting seedpods help spread wildfires.
So – fellow citizens of La Honda: Is there anyone out there who would like to band together for ongoing broom pulls? Please contact me: k8dickey@gmail.com . I believe we can get help from the California Native Plant Society: http://cnps.org/
**Well – probably lots of other reasons having nothing at all to do with Scotch broom!*