Lindy Brigham - RillitoBend Neighborhood Association
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Many of you are probably aware of various plants that are considered invasive. Some are an annoyance if you want to preserve a mostly Sonoran Desert flora, but some are also dangerous.  The following are ones that have been identified in the neighborhood and need to be removed.  Remember that they are invasive because they spread so easily.  So they need to be removed once they are identified to keep them from spreading. Everyone needs to do their part!  While many plants can be sprayed with herbicides, physical removal ensures that seeds will not spread.  Wear gloves, bag all plants carefully and put in trash barrels.  Make sure you are not spreading seeds on your clothes and shoes.

The plants we are most concerned with are Stinknet, Maltese Thistle,  Buffelgrass, Cheat Grass, and Red Brome.  Below are ways to identify and remove safely.

STINKNET - also called Globe Chamomille - (Oncosiphon piluliferum)
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​Stinknet can cause respiratory or skin allergic reactions. Wear gloves, long sleeves and long pants when pulling the weeds.

Here is more information on Stinknet:

• University of Arizona Cooperative Extension
• Sonoran Desert Cooperative Weed Management Area
• Arizona Daily Star 

MALTESE STAR-THISTLE - (Centaurea melitensis) 

More information:
- Sonoran Desert Cooperative Weed Management Area

BUFFELGRASS - (Cenchrus ciliaris) 

More Information:

• Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum

FOXTAIL - (Hordeum sp.?) Please note that we have not had a botanist identify the plants that are in the neighborhood.  There are several grasses that produce seed heads that look like foxtails and they are all dangerous for pets, especially dogs.

More Information:

• Northern Arizona Invasive Plants

CHEATGRASS - (Bromus tectorum) also called Downy Brome

More Information:

• Northern Arizona Invasive Plants

Red Brome - (Bromus madritensis ssp. rubens) also called foxtail cress

More Information:

• California Invasive Plant Council

Note: Images of invasive plants are from the references.

Lindy Brigham - Rancho Morado

Here are some closeups of these plants

The sour clover is also abundant this year. Clovers and Alfalfas are grown as livestock feed for their nutritional value.  They are legumes, plants that collaborate with bacteria in their roots to fix nitrogen.  They enrich the soil so less fertilizer is necessary when growing crops.  In times before modern agriculture they were used in crop 'rotations' to fertilize the soil between growing other crops. 

They are particularly attractive to the many bees in the area.

Many plants in the desert are legumes. A related plant native to Arizona is 'soft prairie clover' (Dalea mollissima)

While these plants are not native, and they tend to outcompete the native plants, they are not a serious threat and can be managed with selective weeding. There are plants that are invasive and a threat to humans and other animals and the next blog will highlight those.