So it seems: Foreign plant spreading rapidly in national forest
CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — The Francis Marion National Forest has a foreign invader and it's killing everything around it.
The invader is called cogongrass and "it's even worse than kudzu," said Jean Everett, a College of Charleston biology instructor who discovered three patches last month deep in the forest. "This is the plant from hell."
With long emerald-colored leaves that feel like razor blades, the plant also tends to be highly flammable providing fuel for forest fires. [...]
Scientists think the plant emits a poison to kill other plants and its roots grow into the roots of neighboring plants, Everett said. Its leaves contain silica, making them sharp. Animals won't eat the leaves and avoid traveling through areas thick with them.
It's hard to kill with herbicides, Everett said. [...]