|Beefsteak plant flower|
Natural areas, parks and woods of the Lower Chesapeake Bay have yet another early detection of a non indigenous, alien species. Perilla frutescens (L.) Britton 1894, [synonyms: Ocimum frutescens L.; Perilla ocymoides L.] beefsteak plant, has been found to be spreading beyond Maryland's cultivated, managed gardens and landscapes. Escaped from gardens in New York as early as 1898, it was reported as a weed of wastelands. Bernard McMahon, the great American horticulturalist, was selling Perilla seed as early as 1804. Marc Imlay, the great weed warrior, has been weeding Perilla from parks in Maryland since 1998.
Beefsteak plant also known as Chinese basil; purple or perilla mint, is described on the Missori Botanical Garden website as
"an upright, bushy annual that is native from the Himalayas to Southeast Asia. It is related to coleus and basil. It has become a very popular foliage annual and salad herb plant. It grows to 1-3’ (less frequently to 4’) tall. Wrinkled, serrate, broad ovate, medium green leaves (to 4” long) are sometimes tinged with purple. Leaves are aromatic. Two-lipped nettle-like white flowers in spike-like inflorescences (to 4”) bloom at the stem tips in late summer and fall (August – October). Flowers are not particularly showy. This plant has escaped gardens and naturalized throughout many areas of the eastern and central U. S., including central and southern Missouri. Fresh leaves are used in Oriental cooking, salads, soups and as garnishes. Deep red leaves of some perilla varieties purportedly resemble the color of uncooked beef, hence the common name."
|USDA Plants - spread of Purilla frutescens|
Perilla frutescens is reported as invasive in DC, IL, MD, MO, PA, TN, VA,
and WV and occurring in all states east of Colorado, parts of Canada, as well as the State of Washington on the west coast (excluding, for now, the Dakotas). The Forest Service (USDA) is aware that beefsteak plant is often planted as showy ornamentals, that
"may readily escape cultivation, spreading to disturbed areas where they disrupt native ecosystems. The species has toxic characteristics and very few predators. It is ordinarily avoided by cattle and has been implicated in cattle poisoning. Plants are most toxic if cut and dried for hay late in the summer, during seed production. One reason for beefsteak plants’ survival in pastures is that cattle avoid it. Sold as a salad plant for its dark purple foliage, this member of the mint family is extremely invasive by wind-borne seeds."
|Chinese basil or perilla mint - Perilla frutescens|
Purdue Extension Service website control recommendations include "...pulling or digging it up, mowing it, or using herbicides. 2,4-D, Milestone®, Forefront®, Weedmaster®, and glyphosate." Dr. Imlay, however, notes an ominous sign that control of Perilla frutescens, as well as control of Japanese stiltgrass, Microsteigum virineum Camus 1921, is becoming much more difficult. Imlay told me that he and his volunteers removed 100% of the beefsteak plants by hand pulling until 2010 when many newly emergent patches in open space and lightly shaded areas emerged. He also noted that existing patches of Perilla frutescens no longer declined by ~80 % each year in 'weeded' sections of the park as they had in previous years.
"In 2010," Imlay said, " I switched to herbicide treatment and sprayed 20 gallons. A great reduction occurred in 2011 and I only had to spray 2.2 gallons along with modest hand pulling. However, in 2012 many new patches appeared, all of which were treated or hand pulled. But this year many, many new and expanded patches have appeared increasing the coverage of beefsteak plant from about 1/10 th acre to about 1/2 acre. As of September 6 we have already sprayed 60 gallons and only sprayed about half of the beefsteak plant."
While preventing and introduction is the first line of defense, even the best prevention efforts will not stop all harmful invasive species. In the case of beefsteak plant, however, preventing its introduction has been off the table for over 200 years. However using the tools of IPM (Integrated Pest Management), such as early detection and rapid response (EDRR), at a local level can greatly support effective management and even in some cases elimination. EDRR efforts increase the likelihood that invasions that can lead to establishment and spread of harmful species will be halted and eradicated. Once a species becomes widely established in an ecosystem, the only action possible is the partial mitigation of negative impacts. Based on the work of the ISAC/NISC EDRR Subcommittee, NISC has approved Guidelines for Early Detection and Rapid Response.
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|ppi State University|
 Britton, N. L. & Brown, A., 1898. An illustrated flora of the northern United States: Canada and the British possessions from Newfoundland to the parallel of the southern boundary of Virginia, and from the Atlantic ocean westward to the 102d meridian, C. Scribner’s Sons.
 M'Mahon, B., 1804. Seed Catalogue. in: Special Collections of USDA ARS NAL, Beltsville, Maryland.
 Imlay, M., 2013. 'Spray log: Swann Park, Maryland October 1998'. personal communication with John Peter Thompson
Kobell, R., April 30, 2012. Weed warrior Marc Imlay leads the battle to conquer invading plants. Bay Journal. accessed Sept 18, 2013 ] http://www.bayjournal.com/article/weed_warrior_marc_imlay_leads_the_battle_to_conquer_invading_plants
"Weed of the Week" http://www.na.fs.fed.us/fhp/invasive_plants/weeds/beefsteak-plant.pdf Produced by the USDA Forest Service, Forest Health Staff, Newtown Square, PA. WOW 01-23-05 Invasive Plants website: http://www.na.fs.fed.us/fhp/invasive_plants