Posted
7/12/2004 08:17:00 PM
by Douglas
Tropical soda apples. Kinda sounds tasty, doesn't it? Not in
East Texas, where it has now earned the moniker, "Weed from Hell."
Called alternately the "plant from hell" and "Sodom's apples" in Florida, the thorny weed can quickly take over pastures, first displacing the grass, then the cattle, said Dr. Mary Ketchersid, Texas Cooperative Extension pesticide safety specialist.
Ketchersid said she doesn't want to sound like an alarmist, but the weed has caused economic disaster for agricultural producers in other states.
"I think we need to be scared. People need to be watching for it," she said.
This sounds like the beginning of a really bad Sci-Fi flick. Either that, or the saga of the dreaded
spotted knapweed of Montana.