It’s now that time of year when the Italian Thistles (Carduus pycnocephalus) have gone to seed, so the volunteers have turned their attention to Maltese Star Thistles (Centaurea melitensis, aka Tocalote), which are starting to bloom. You can read about these invasive thistles and our overall Star Thistle management strategy in this post from last year.
On our recent May 18 workday, volunteer community members as well as students from Citrus College and Harvey Mudd College removed Maltese Star Thistles and mustard from around the ‘new’ toad pond and the areas along the trails and fire roads just southeast of pHake Lake. We had worked on this infestation last year (see here and here), and we were pleased to see fewer thistles this year. There were still plenty to pull, however.
Monica Jackson holds a “bouquet” of Maltese Star Thistles while Mike Tschudi searches for more. ©Nancy Hamlett.
Alicia Jackson (Citrus) and Lakota Moon (Citrus). ©Nancy Hamlett.
Lakota Moon (Citrus), Thendral Govindaraj (HMC ’16), Mike Tschudi, Dean McHenry, Ben Stapp, and Paul Stapp (CSU Fullerton) work along the east side of the lake berm next to the fire road. ©Nancy Hamlett.
Thendral Govindaraj (HMC ’16), Mike Tschudi, and Dean McHenry work along the east side of the lake berm next to the fire road. ©Nancy Hamlett.
Alicia Jackson (Citrus) brings down a handful of thistles from the lake berm. ©Nancy Hamlett.
By the end of the workday, you would never have known that there were ever any Maltese Star Thistles or mustard in the area.
The new toad pond after removal of star thistles and mustard. ©Nancy Hamlett.
Road to the toad pond cleared of mustard and star thistles. ©Nancy Hamlett.
East side of the lake berm cleared for mustard and star thistles. ©Nancy Hamlett.
We have will have two more star thistle workdays on June 1 and June 15. Please join us if you can!