Watch Out For This Dangerous Plant In Montana.
About a week or so ago, The Northern Ag Network alerted people of a certain plant that has been spotted in Montana over by Shelby.
It's not so much dangerous to humans as it's bad for livestock and growing crops in Montana and is resistant to herbicides.
According to The Northern Ag Network the plant is called Palmer Amaranth. A single male plant was found in Shelby without a seed being produced.
Palmer amaranth (Almaranthus palmeri), a fast-growing, prolific-seeding pigweed, has been confirmed in Montana for the first time. A single male plant was found growing in a residential planter near Shelby, MT, most likely introduced from contaminated birdseed; no seed was produced. The site will be monitored for the next several years to ensure no additional plants emerge.
According to The Montana Department of Agriculture, Palmer Amaranth is a restricted seed. They have a description on how to detect it with it's Quick ID.
-Smooth, hairless stems
-Petiole (leaf stalk) often longer than leaf blade
-Dioecious, individual plants are either male or female
-Seed heads on female plants are prickly and on both sexes are terminal and can be up to 3’ long, but can be shorter too
-Leaves are diamond or oval-shaped
The Department of Ag states that early and rapid detection and response is the key to keep this weed in check as it has as they say hundreds of thousands of seed per plant and can be spread and can grow rapidly.
If you or anyone sees this restricted weed you can contact your local weed district or The Montana Department of Agriculture.
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