Texas has lost its mind.

[worth1]

Now they want to make common yard trees illegal.
https://www.chron.com/life/wildlife/art ... 271377.php

[PlainJane]

How idiotic. How about attempting to address actual issues, like poverty and the rapid loss of constitutional freedoms.

[MissS]

They are doing it due to the psychedelic properties of these plants. I dunno, I don't hear too much about people ingesting these plants or having medical issues from them. I grow jimson weed in my garden because it is so striking and makes a bold statement in the back corner. I have never consumed it in any way nor have the deer.

[karstopography]

“absurd overreach” was the quote from one representative. I agree. Hopefully, the bill will be rejected.

Texas Mountain Laurel flowers have a very strong scent of grape cool aid. You’ll smell them before you see them.

[Paulf]

Every state has its list of invasive and/or illegal plants. Most are harmful and even deadly to humans, livestock, pets and other plants. Your harmless is somebody’s deadly.

[bower]

It's true what you said @Paulf . I noticed this a couple years ago and started vetting seeds I send in our yearly swap. Things that are fun for me are considered a menace in other places. I was annoyed to see a huge list of plants in Alberta that are verboten, including things that seem really harmless. However when you consider the hassles for big farm operations, of plants that just inhabit the roadsides here, I defer to the greater need. If they say 'don't send us these seeds', I won't.

But having a list of undesirable weeds people should avoid deliberately propagating is a far cry from the $25,000 dollar fine they're talking about enforcing in Texas, for the possession of what are native or regionally common plants.
Bottom line, if you put such a bounty on any item, it makes it worth the police's while to look for them and bust people.
It's ludicrous, and way beyond the standard approach to 'invasive' species.

[Paulf]

Everything is bigger in Texas. In Nebraska there is an invasive weed inspector in each county. If you happen to have the wrong weeds on your property it is up to the property owner at their expense to get rid of them. If not taken care of the county will and send the bill to the owner. If not paid the amount is added to the property tax plus a $250 fine added on.

[TX-TomatoBug]

Politicians!! Absurd overreach indeed!

[worth1]

Texas mountain Laurel isn't invasive it's native to the state.
I collected about 2 gallons of the red seeds hulls removed for my Kiowa friend Silver horn in Oklahoma to make ornamental beads for necklaces for their ceremonies.
It took all day to crack the seed pods open.
He uses a dust mask to drill the holes.
He later showed me pictures of his triplet grand daughters wearing buckskin and the beads I collected.
The first recorded triplets in the Kiowa nation.
These are grown everywhere as landscape plants.
The seeds are highly irregular in their effect and really dangerous to consume.
Also if you soak the seeds in strong tea they turn purple.
Next thing you know they'll outlaw nutmeg.
This is a reaction by total idiots.
I also have morning glory around the place.
There's a ton of plants that can get you high if you're stupid enough to try them.

[leftylogan]

It's always morning glories included in this. LSA is a nightmare compared to LSD

[Shule]

Even if it were a problematic enough plant (which I personally don't see enough reason to suppose it is; lots of toxic and drug-like plants aren't outlawed), the fact that it's very common, and that they intend to charge people a misdemeanor along with a $50k fine per day later this year is very concerning. I mean, not everyone with plants watches the news. They could be slapping unpayable fees onto zillions of innocent unsuspecting people in no time with a law like that. And what if you can't afford tree-removal? What if you're out of state for months? What if someone plants one in your yard when you're not looking, to get you convicted?

Also, does the law make an exception for natives? It sounds like an important tree to them.

[Shule]

A reasonable approach, if they were going to outlaw it, would be a much smaller fine. Like, say $5. People don't like paying fines. They don't have to be exhorbitant to deter people. And no sense having it incur misdemeanor. Tree removal costs and having your property defaced (and your beloved trees killed) is fine enough.

[worth1]

Well the city of Austin and the state has them everywhere too.
Texas mountain Laurel is the pride of Texas in my opinion.
The darned plant can grow in the most adverse conditions and thrive.
I have one growing from 25 year old seeds I collected years ago.
These people are really starting to tick me off with their draconian ideology.
This should be a wakeup call to every Texan in the state.

[GoDawgs]

For now, rest easy. There's an added Editor's Note on the article:

Editor's Note: Senate Bill 1868 no longer contains the list of plants described below. These plants, including mountain laurel, were struck from the legislation prior to Senate Bill 1868 being voted out of the Senate State Affairs Committee on April 10. Their possession, distribution and sale will not be subject to criminal prosecution.

[worth1]

For now, rest easy. There's an added Editor's Note on the article:

Editor's Note: Senate Bill 1868 no longer contains the list of plants described below. These plants, including mountain laurel, were struck from the legislation prior to Senate Bill 1868 being voted out of the Senate State Affairs Committee on April 10. Their possession, distribution and sale will not be subject to criminal prosecution.

The very idea of them being there in the first place sends up a red flag for me.
What kind of idiot would even go down that path anyway.
Yeah they mentioned his name but there's no real information on him but I can just about bet.
Because I'm almost always right about these things.

[greenthumbomaha]

Every state has its list of invasive and/or illegal plants. Most are harmful and even deadly to humans, livestock, pets and other plants. Your harmless is somebody’s deadly.

Thirty five years ago Purple Loosestrife was planted as a landscape plant by a well known nursery in my city. It was tagged by one of the municipal weed inspectors a few years after I moved in. I was lucky he spotted it. I was young enough to dig it out deeply at that time.

Unfortunately , after all this time it returned in the same spot. I'm not a big fan of using herbicides, but I do as a last resort (the other being to kill poison hemlock). I bought a $50 product at a pro landscape store. Just yesterday I was trimming nearby bushes and saw it had migrated and formed a thicket of about five feet over the winter.

I live a mile or two from a flood control lake.

-Lisa

[worth1]

Here it China berry tree kin to mahogany.
It's taking over the back part of the place and I'm glad for it.
I want a forest back.

[karstopography]

Here it China berry tree kin to mahogany.
It's taking over the back part of the place and I'm glad for it.
I want a forest back.

Chinese Tallow?

Great honey bee forage.

[worth1]

Here it China berry tree kin to mahogany.
It's taking over the back part of the place and I'm glad for it.
I want a forest back.

Chinese Tallow?

Great honey bee forage.

No the regular China berry.

[karstopography]

@worth1 we have several of the native western soapberry trees here which look very similar to the invasive Chinaberry. Soapberry trees have white blooms and translucent fruit and Chinaberries have lilac flowers and opaque blooms. We had a Chinaberry tree, something killed it, maybe one of our freezes.