4 ms·

Care to elaborate on the dangers?

arghwhat 7y ago
Spreading like a plague, robbing other plants from light and nutrients, while simultaneously secreting toxins that suppress the spread of other plants, further ensuring that it stands as lone victor. Nothing that will bring us direct harm (apart from it being smelly), but exterminating other types of plants might bring us plenty of indirect harm.
- titzer 7y ago
  > Spreading like a plague, robbing other plants from light and nutrients, while simultaneously secreting toxins that suppress the spread of other plants, further ensuring that it stands as lone victor. Oh, you're talking about trees. Thought you meant us.
pvaldes 7y ago
> Care to elaborate on the dangers? Can cause allergies Is toxic for domestic animals Their wood is useless, too soft and brittle to be usable. Being toxic, its sawdust is a biological hazard in carpentry. Is bad for biodiversity. Virtually unerradicable when enters in a forest. Grows in dense thicks that compete and displace native plants. If chopped regrows much faster and multiplies aggresively. Is toxic for other plants. Drips its own herbicide from the leaves, killing all other tree seedlings around. Therefore is toxic for crops also. Is a huge economic disaster. Damages foundations, streets, railways, sidewalks and water channels. Is bad for cultural inheritance. A nightmare for conservation of hystorical buildings. Must be removed routinely from the roofs (unless you want 3m high trees growing trough the roof of your 800 years Cathedral in three years). One single female tree can produce around 100.000 seedlings each year that fly with the wind. Has caused more than 5 millions of Euro of damages in just one of the Deustch landers, including 1,5 millions Euro just by allergies. And has been naively introducted in 30 countries. Oh, and the male flower stinks.
- deogeo 7y ago
  If it spreads so quickly and efficiently, how come it hasn't overwhelmed most ecosystems yet?
  - pvaldes 7y ago
    In just 250 years has conquered most European countries, appears in all USA states, can be found in India, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Colombia and Argentina. Looks like a perfect example of world conquest to me.
    - deogeo 7y ago
      > In just 250 years And the tens of thousands of years (at least) the species has existed before that?
      - sly010 7y ago
        It was introduced to Europe in 1740s.
      - pvaldes 7y ago
        For the last tens of thousands of years was restricted to China, most probably Before this time, probably had a bigger distribution area. The genus has extinct species in Central Europe and America but a very similar species lived yet in China around 10 millions of years ago
- pvaldes 7y ago
  Forgot to mention that the species can't be safely cut. Prolonged exposure to sap in humans produces dermatitis first, and then chills, fever, pain chest and myocarditis Neither can be used as fuel in bonfires or fireplaces (wood releases toxic fumes when burnt)

Spreading like a plague, robbing other plants from light and nutrients, while simultaneously secreting toxins that suppress the spread of other plants, further ensuring that it stands as lone victor. Nothing that will bring us direct harm (apart from it being smelly), but exterminating other types of plants might bring us plenty of indirect harm.

titzer 7y ago
> Spreading like a plague, robbing other plants from light and nutrients, while simultaneously secreting toxins that suppress the spread of other plants, further ensuring that it stands as lone victor. Oh, you're talking about trees. Thought you meant us.

pvaldes 7y ago

> Care to elaborate on the dangers? Can cause allergies Is toxic for domestic animals Their wood is useless, too soft and brittle to be usable. Being toxic, its sawdust is a biological hazard in carpentry. Is bad for biodiversity. Virtually unerradicable when enters in a forest. Grows in dense thicks that compete and displace native plants. If chopped regrows much faster and multiplies aggresively. Is toxic for other plants. Drips its own herbicide from the leaves, killing all other tree seedlings around. Therefore is toxic for crops also. Is a huge economic disaster. Damages foundations, streets, railways, sidewalks and water channels. Is bad for cultural inheritance. A nightmare for conservation of hystorical buildings. Must be removed routinely from the roofs (unless you want 3m high trees growing trough the roof of your 800 years Cathedral in three years). One single female tree can produce around 100.000 seedlings each year that fly with the wind. Has caused more than 5 millions of Euro of damages in just one of the Deustch landers, including 1,5 millions Euro just by allergies. And has been naively introducted in 30 countries. Oh, and the male flower stinks.

deogeo 7y ago
If it spreads so quickly and efficiently, how come it hasn't overwhelmed most ecosystems yet?
- pvaldes 7y ago
  In just 250 years has conquered most European countries, appears in all USA states, can be found in India, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Colombia and Argentina. Looks like a perfect example of world conquest to me.
  - deogeo 7y ago
    > In just 250 years And the tens of thousands of years (at least) the species has existed before that?
    - sly010 7y ago
      It was introduced to Europe in 1740s.
    - pvaldes 7y ago
      For the last tens of thousands of years was restricted to China, most probably Before this time, probably had a bigger distribution area. The genus has extinct species in Central Europe and America but a very similar species lived yet in China around 10 millions of years ago
pvaldes 7y ago
Forgot to mention that the species can't be safely cut. Prolonged exposure to sap in humans produces dermatitis first, and then chills, fever, pain chest and myocarditis Neither can be used as fuel in bonfires or fireplaces (wood releases toxic fumes when burnt)