Croton Point Park Struggles with Invasive Plants

What looks like a thriving field of green brush and plants to many people, often looks like disaster to Lea Cullen-Boyer, the sustainability coordinator at Croton Point Park’s nature center. Since Croton Point Park was reclaimed from its former status as a landfill, invasive species have slowly taken over some of the most venerable trees and patches of flora in the county park.

Invasive control, according to Cullen-Boyer, is a little like “sunlight control,” without catching it early controlling invasive plants is “fighting very much an uphill battle.” The name term “invasive,” when used to describe a plant usually means that the plant is non-native, and that it is pushing native species out of the environment, causing a monoculture.

Native fauna often can’t use exotic or invasive plants the same way they would use a native plant the animals have adapted to use. The animals and insects have “no food, no shelter,” says Cullen-Boyer, since they can’t adapt as quickly to the invasive plants as the plants can to the new environment. Thus, it is not only native plants being pushed out, but also birds, insects and animals that depend on the presence of native plants.

Invasive plant and animal species have even spawned urban legends, like one told by Cullen-Boyer. The legend says that there was a man in Manhattan who loved Shakespeare so much he would acquire and release pairs of any bird mentioned in Shakespeare’s writings. Another urban legend says that a Westchester man loved Japanese gardens so much that he imported Water Chestnuts, the water plant which produces spikey brown seed pods visible on Croton Point Park’s beaches. Both urban legends point out the result of carelessly introducing plants or animals to a new environment.

Perhaps the most poignant urban legend is about garlic mustard, a small, harmless-looking terrestrial plant with round leaves and a powerful scent. According to Cullen-Boyer the plant was used by English colonists as a medicinal herb, and sewn into the seams of their clothes to save space. Native Americans began calling garlic mustard “Englishman’s footprints,” since it seemed everywhere they stepped a plant would spring up.

Invasive plants take hold, according to Cullen-Boyer, when there are soil disturbances, like a new driveway, or new trails through parks. Cullen-Boyer said that the best way to get rid of invasive plants in your own yard is to “catch it early, and hit it hard.” If the problem has already gone past that point, and your backyard tree looks like those in Croton Point Park, which have been overwhelmed by Porcelain Berry vines or Kudzu, the best bet is to take the plants out and let them bake in the sun. Putting the plants through a wood chipper or uprooting them could inadvertently spread the seeds.

For more information about invasive plants check out the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's website. For more information on how to volunteer at Croton Point Park contact Lea Cullen-Boyer at the Nature Center, (914) 862-5297.

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