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May 17, 2005
Quote for Reflection - Loss of Native Plant Species
By:
I am interested in biodiversity and the impact of invasive species of plants and animals on native flora and fauna. I wanted to add another small segment from Henry David Thoreau's A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers for contemplation. It is from the chapter "Friday," and, for me anyway, resonated with a nostalgic vision of what the experience of nature must have once been:
"Some have thought that the gales do not at present waft to the voyager the natural and original fragrance of the land, such as the early navigators described, and that the loss of many odoriferous native plants, sweet-scented grasses and medicinal herbs, which formerly sweetened the atmosphere, and rendered it salubrious--by the grazing of cattle and the rooting of swine--is the source of many diseases which now prevail; the earth, say they, having been long subjected to extremely artificial and luxurious modes of cultivation, to gratify the appetite, converted into a sty and hotbed, where men for profit increase the ordinary decay of nature.
Here is an excerpt from the conservative estimates of the United States Department of the Interior Natural Biological Services website:
"Possibly Extinct Species
About 90 mainland U.S. and 110 Hawaiian vascular plant species may be extinct, according to records of the USFWS and The Nature Conservancy (Russell and Morse 1992). For example, Nuttall's mudwort (Micranthemum micranthemoides) has been recorded from Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, but despite searches, it has not definitely been seen since September 1941.
Several species of U.S. plants are extirpated from the wild, but still exist in cultivation. Most familiar of these is the Franklinia (Franklinia alatamaha), a small tree known historically only from the Altamaha River in southeastern Georgia, but which is now widely cultivated as an ornamental in eastern states."
Posted by Pamela at May 17, 2005 6:52 PM Category: Environment
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Comments
On a sidebar from the article you linked above, it was stated that the United States is the leader in the numbers of 'imperiled' plants. The United States claims double the percentage/numbers of imperiled plant species of the number two country (Australia) on their list.
Are we surprised? I am not.
I often wonder what this region looked like before all of the destruction.
I will bet it was lush, green and beautiful, especially at this time of year.
Posted by: Shawna at May 18, 2005 10:46 AM
I think the connection that Thoreau makes with cattle was, clearly, ahead of his time and also shows that the damage that has been done has been long in the making and deeply entrenched in our culture. THe issue of agribusiness big farms has taken Thoreau's gentle concern to a whole new level.
Posted by: mroland at May 18, 2005 11:22 AM