Lady Bird Johnson was "blamed" for its spread across VA at least in the highway beautification program she initiated. That's the trouble with regional focus, no big picture;)

Lyle


On Mar 26, 2011, at 3:39 PM, Linda Derry wrote:

> Lyle,
> 
> About Multi-flora rose:  I think most of these may have come in the late
> 19th century, and  the variety Rosa multifora platyhylla was actually in the
> SE in the early 19th century  (commonly known as "Seven sisters).  
> 
> And is still in the woods around old house sites, at least where I am in
> Alabama. 
> 
> 
> Linda Derry
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Lyle E.
> Browning
> Sent: Saturday, March 26, 2011 12:46 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Vegetation and Historic Sites
> 
> I think the list is probably the best long-term item coming out of this
> discussion. Perhaps when done, it might be posted to the NPS website or some
> other "permanent" location for down load?
> 
> Also, I don't know if anyone has mentioned them, but ailanthus altissima
> (Tree of Heaven at one end; Ghetto Palm at the other of the naming spectrum)
> is a common house indicator, although birds spread them to places where
> houses were never located. There is also another fast growing, soft wood
> Chinese "weed wood" with very large (20cm) multi-lobed leaves that I've
> never seen outside an urban environment in VA.
> 
> Also, while not exactly on point for house sites, intentionally introduced
> invasives such as Johnson Grass for cattle fodder can help demarcate old
> fields, Kudzu for same although that stuff will eventually cover the planet,
> and multi-flora rose all date to the 20th century for introduction. Thinking
> ahead a bit, bio-sampling will undoubtedly have bug parts so Japanese
> Beetles may be in the sample, thus post-dating 1939 if memory serves.
> 
> Finally, there's a website that has a rather extensive list of invasive
> plants at:  http://www.invasive.org/weedcd/
> 
> Lyle Browning
> 
> 
> On Mar 26, 2011, at 10:02 AM, Brad Laffitte wrote:
> 
>> Thanks to everyone for the overwhelming response and discussion.
>> 
>> The whole purpose of posing this question to the group revolves around
> what seems to be a lack of literature on the subject.  We all seem to have
> experiences and knowledge with vegetation signatures and historic sites, but
> these connections seem to only be mentioned "in passing" in the literature
> for the southeastern U.S.
>> 
>> I work as an archaeologist at Fort Polk in west-central Louisiana.  We
> have noticed over the years that many historic sites (as indicated from
> historic aerials and other documentation) were missed during previous
> surveys.  I am currently writing an article discussing the reasons behind
> these sites being "overlooked", which will have a section specifically on
> vegetation that will largely be written by the installation botanist.  He is
> very knowledgable on the subject, but I'm trying to help him find any
> previous work done for the area or comparable resources.  We would like to,
> as was mentioned in one of the previous emails, develop a list of
> trees/shrubs/plants that almost certainly indicate a homestead (due to them
> having to be planted and/or not spreading heavily) as well as a list of
> those that are suspicious enough to justify surveyors briefly veering from
> their transects to further investigate.  This will help ensure that future
> surveyors
>> can be briefed beforehand with respect to types of vegetation to "be on
> the lookout for".
>> 
>> Many thanks,
>> Brad Laffitte
>> 
>> 
>>