DISTRICT OF LAKELAND NO. 521

Invasive Species Directory

There’s a yellow-flowered plant being seen more around the Lakeland these days: Common Tansy is, unfortunately, becoming more common. The plant is on the government regulated Invasive Species list, and is getting more of a foothold in this area. Now it can be found in many of the ditches … as well as in people’s yards. This concerns Ellen Misfeldt, who grew up coming to the Lakeland. As a Lab Demonstrator for the Agronomy Department at the University of Saskatchewan, Ellen teaches Weed Identification and Ecology. “There are some people that have it in their yards up here,” she says. “It’s the same thing in the city, people grow it in their yards because it grows well and they think it’s a pretty flower – and it is a pretty flower! The fact is, a lot of our common weeds came in because they’re attractive – like Creeping Bellflower, Purple Loosestrife, things like that. But the issue is that some of the ones people grow up here out-compete our native flora,” says Ellen. “So that’s why they become invasive; they’ll out-compete the stuff that grows native here, and we don’t want our native species to get choked out by plants that were introduced.”
The Common Tansy has many branches per plant, with numerous small, compact, button-like yellow flowers. Plants can grow to 1.5 metres tall. According to a Government of Saskatchewan fact-sheet: “Dense common tansy populations may negatively impact water flow, native vegetation, wildlife habitat and species diversity.” Ellen says Common Tansy grows very quickly. “It’s a perennial so it comes back every year,” she explains. “And it produces a ton of seeds, which is common for most weed species – that’s why they’re weeds; they produce alot of seeds!” Those seeds can be spread by vehicles, animals, birds, quads, hikers. Ellen says she’s also seen Common Tansy growing near the lakes. “You don’t want it close to the water because water and wind are going to help spread seed around.” To remove the plant, the recommendation is to first cut the tops off and put them in a garbage bag to ensure no seeds escape or survive. Then the roots must be dug out. Ellen also points out that the wildflower seed mixes that are so popular can further add to our invasive plant species problem. “Especially those mixes that aren’t tailored to our location,” she explains, “like if you just buy the McKenzie brand or the big bulk bags from Canadian Tire, sometimes you get invasive species in there. So I always encourage people to check what is included in that wildflower mix before buying them.”
For further information on Saskatchewan’s Invasive Plant list, check out the informative and colourful guide at www.beefresearch.ca/files/pdf/Invasive-Plant-Guide-Sask-Forage.pdf