From that, she launched the Duluth Invaders R2ED Team (rapid response and early detection). When Skafte started as volunteer coordinator for the City of Duluth, invasive plants and their impact on the environment were identified as a problem area.
“It could be the focus of a horror film, this giant plant that grows really fast and is indestructible and destroys foundations,” said Cheryl Skafte. The trees can grow 20-25 feet high.Īnd, they take over forests, eliminate plant diversity and create a bad habitat for birds and other animals. They’re very sun- and shade-tolerant, and they hold their leaves late into fall. Buckthorn are spread by birds eating the berries and excreting the seeds.Ĭommon buckthorn have oval leaves with deep veins half have berries. Buckthorn was imported from Eurasia in the mid-1800s, and they were planted as hedges instead of fences.
