Maryland Native Plant Society volunteers. Come to the known locations of Wavyleaf Basketgrass in Beltsville, Greenbelt and Baltimore in late Spring to learn how to identify this fast spreading grass that was first identified in North America in the Patapsco Valley State Park in 1997.
So far, the grass has only been documented in Maryland, meaning that if it is eliminated now, the entire continent will be free of yet another scourge to our native flora and fauna. It is stoloniferous, with seeds that stick to clothing more than any other plant we have encountered. Until now, no concentrated effort has been made to manage this mounting crisis which is likely to destroy 10% of our woods in one fourth of the United States of America in the next decade unless we act now.
After you have learned to recognize this grass from your site visit or from the photographs on our web site at http://www.dnr.state.md.us/wildlife/Plants_Wildlife/WLBG/index.asp you can look for and report it. Please let us know of your interest in coming to a site visit and report findings to Marc Imlay marc@anacostiaws.org, 301-699-6204, 301-283-0808, Chair of the Habitat Stewardship Committee for the Maryland Native Plant Society, and Kerrie Kyde, Invasive Plant Specialist, kkyde@dnr.state.md.us, 410-260-8534. You can reach us toll free in Maryland: 1-877-620-8DNR (8367). TTY users dial 711.
The Maryland Native Plant Society, Sierra Club, and Anacostia Watershed Society can take credit for having this species identified by botanists at Little Paint Branch Park in Beltsville Maryland, recognizing that it is non-native and as invasive as Japanese Stiltgrass which is the most damaging non--native invasive plant in our region. We alerted the Maryland Department of Natural Resources which then found that the initial small patches at Patapsco State Park have expanded to 150 acres of "Astro Turf". If it were not for DNR, AWS, Sierra Club and MNPS the entire continent would be at far greater risk from this example of early detection/rapid response.
In 2007 we mapped and removed 3 small patches of Wavy Leaf Basket Grass in Greenbelt National Park, ranging from 5ft. by 3ft. to 20ft. by 10ft. on the western side of the Azalea Trail, to the west of the Sweetgum Picnic Area. All of the Wavy Leaf patches were quite dense, with individual plants occurring along deer trails between major patches. We removed most of the 3 acres of Wavy Leaf Basket Grass in the 150 acre Little Paint Branch Park in Beltsville with MNCPPC and will finish this year.
We alerted the Beltsville Agriculture Research Center Ecology Committee. They surveyed BARC-west for wavy-leaved basket grass. BARC found three larger (10-20 sq ft) colonies and a number of smaller ones, all located in a single forested area. On Aug 31, all the plants were treated and they will monitor the site for seedlings next year. The 1,000 acre Middle Patuxent Environmental Area in Howard County surveyed for, found and removed a significant Patch.
Marc Imlay
