Kev

NASTY INVASIVE BAMBOO!    At Old Cahawba, Alabama, we're participating with
Auburn University and others to propagate native cane ( to replace the
invasive bamboo).  Ironically, the name of our town site (now an
archaeological site) is probably a Creek word for "cane brake." We hope, at
some point to reconstruct  a big chunk of this vanishing landscape where the
town commons were once located. 

The impressions of the native cane are still very much apparent in the daub
we find in the Mississippian strata located beneath our historic townsite.
We also worked with the Nature Conservancy and Alabama's Forever Wild
program to save an adjacent 3000 remnant of old blackland prairie.  (who
knew Alabama had tall grass prairie?  Before there was a cotton belt, the
same land was covered with prairie!) 

Old fashioned plants, and survivors of past landscapes =  archaeology's
living artifacts .  I'm just tickled pink to see histarch discussing these
topics.  



Linda Derry
Site Director
Old Cahawba
719 Tremont St.
Selma, AL 36701
ph. 334/875-2529
fax. 334/877-4253
[log in to unmask]






-----Original Message-----
From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of KEVIN M
DONAGHY
Sent: Friday, July 27, 2012 1:11 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Digitized Plants

Dear Lyle,

all i can say is that my area of Bucks County, PA is becoming inundated with
bamboo and it is simply amazing how fast the stands are spreading and i
don't know if i've even heard of any local community concern - but i've
watched it migrate down route 413 it's pretty amazing.

kev

On Thu, Jul 26, 2012 at 6:16 PM, Lyle E. Browning <[log in to unmask]>wrote:

> Tangent Warning:
>
> I have again encountered a Poncirus trifoliata in my surveys, 
> fortunately not up close and personal, but from a revisited and 
> updated survey I did in 1991. So, in looking up when it entered use in 
> the USA, nobody got nuttin, apart from generalities. A native of China 
> and Korea and able to stand cold weather. OK, fine. But it's all over 
> the south and mid-west and is used as a hedge at Fort Knox. This thing 
> has thorns that do serious damage at least
> 10 feet before they stick you and they go through anything.
>
> In general my question is: has anyone done a list of plants that have 
> immigrated to North America and when their first mention in the lit or 
> other notice was recorded?
>
> Tulips and daffodils were once more valuable than gold. Other plants 
> have medicinal as well as "keep away" values, as is seen if you Google 
> the nasty little plant. Vinca major and Vinca minor area associated 
> with ornamental beds and with graveyards. Poinsettias come from the 
> Mexican War if I remember correctly and Yucca is either the Sp-Am War 
> or perhaps western expansion.
>
> My long way around question is whether anyone has done a list of 
> plants and when they first appear? And if so, is it computerized?
>
> Thanks in advance,
>
> Lyle Browning, RPA
>



--
kevin m. donaghy
graduate student
Temple University
Department of Anthropology