Non-Native Plant Task Force

Non-native plants in our open space crowd out native grasses and other plants. Over time, these pest plants reduce the variety of native plant and animal life. To help keep this problem under control, a task force has been formed to assist the park rangers in locating some of the most invasive of the non-native plants. With the information provided by the task force, the rangers can better decide how to deal with and/or eliminate the non-native plants. At this point, the task force is asked to help with locating three invasive, non-native species in the Conejo Open Space: sweet fennel, arundo, and palm trees.

Sweet Fennel (Foeniculum Vulgare), a perennial herb that grows 4 to 10 feet tall. Its feathery leaves smell like licorice when crushed. It is commonly found along roadsides, trails, and in disturbed areas.

Arundo (Arundo Donax), sometimes called Giant Reed, this is a fast growing, bamboo-like, perennial grass that can reach 25 feet or more in height. It is usually found in or near stream beds.

Palm Trees, especially Mexican Fan Palms (Washingtonia Robusta), are common in Southern California, but are not native to the area. Mexican Fan Palms tend to grow in stream beds and in areas where water is near the surface, and they can be quite invasive.

Members of the COSCA Trail Watch, Trail Patrol and Adopt-A-Trail programs are encouraged to learn how to identify these invasive plants, and to note the locations of any observed plants on the reports they file.

Other Conejo Open Space users are also invited to participate by filling out and submitting the "Non-Native Plant Report" below. Please verify that the plants you are reporting are of the listed invasive species, and please give GPS coordinates or an accurate description of the location.

Note that these reports will be verified by volunteers before being submitteded to park rangers and before being listed in the "Observations and Action Taken" table (below). Therefore, there may be a significant time lapse before you see your input on-line.