Dracunculoides!

Dracucnuloides is increasing at the CB. It is increasing so much that we put it on the draft plant list. It is unlikely to decrease now that it has increased. Drancunculoides is an increaser.

To know what an increaser is, you really need to have taken an introductory range science class. That’s range as goes with cowboys, not large kitchen appliances. Because only in range science class would you learn that certain plants increase in response to grazing. Those are the increasers as described in RS 101.

However, Crumby is a man of much experience. And Crumby has found out that dracunculoides increases regardless of whether its grassy competitors are grazed. That’s correct. Once dracunculoides gets a foothold it increases regardless. For example, the CB dracunculoides is increasing in parts of the CB that are ungrazed now and were ungrazed before the dracunculoides arrived. It’s just a fact of life. And it's better to have broomweed than grass anyway. Way better.

Dracunculoides is hugely interesting because it changes genera pretty much constantly. However, the genera shell game can make the keying out of your potential drancunculoides specimen an adventure. So it's best, if you collect a broomweed in these parts, to remember dracunculoides and forget the various generic appellations. Also, the disc florets are not fertile even though they may look fertile. You need to have actually fertile ray florets far enough along on your specimen for comparison. Either that or just check out the punky pappus on the respective flowers if you happen to have a good microscope handy.

No opinion on the fly, other than, it’s a very small fly. But Ray is working on the fly so we may have something anon.