By Ben Parry-Lemon Invasive Plant Project Manager, Tucson Audobon Society
Stinknet (Oncosiphon pilulifer) is a noxious weed found throughout Southern Arizona including Santa Cruz County. Stinknet is a winter annual that can be identified by its green carrot-like leaves, yellow spherical flower heads, strong, pungent smell, and bronze color when dried up. A single flower head can produce hundreds of very small seeds. It easily spreads when vehicles move from one infested location to a new non-infested location where Stinknet can quickly take over.
Stinknet poses many problems for the residents of Southern Arizona as it crowds out native plants and is highly flammable once dried. It grows from a couple of inches to two feet between November and May and, upon flowering, produces thousands of seeds. It will start flowering around February.
Stinknet can also cause headaches, as well as severe skin and respiratory reactions. The best way to treat Stinknet is to manually remove it when you see it, and put it in a trash bag if it has begun flowering to prevent the spread of seed. Stinknet has the capability to take over Southern Arizona if we do not work together to mitigate this ever-growing threat. For more information visit stinknet.org.