Page 22
®‘i' Fortiani» (Observer
October 20. 2010
H ealthmätiebs
Seedlings of
invasive plant
develop quickly
Portland property owners are re­
porting more sigh tings of pokeweed,
an invasive and poisonous plant
relatively new'to the area. Pokeweed
is native to the southeastern United
States, and is also found in the Mid­
west and all along the East Coast.
Now it's popping up around the
Pacific Northwest.
Pokeweed grows from a large,
carrot-shaped tuber to a three to
eight-loot tall shrub with reddish
stems and bright green leaves. It
has white blooms in summer that
develop into clusters of dark berries
when the plant matures in late sum­
mer and early fall. Seedlings de­
velop quickly, and become difficult
to dig up after two or three years.
Problem
If you spot pokeweed on your
property, you should clip the berry
• r
» « *- » *
clusters or blooms and put them in
the trash, not in your yard debris
container.
it
The city of Portland ’ s Early De-
'i ?
tection/Rapid Response program
may be able to help with removal.
The early detection staff is m ap­
••
»“ I
ping known plants, rem oving ber­
•'.4.
ries from those plants, and re­
searching more pokeweed m an­
agem ent methods.
It you th in k y o u ’ve seen
pokeweed growing in Portland, or
you think it’s growing on your prop­
r**"
erty, call the early detection pro­
gram at 503-823-2989.
The invasive Pokeweed plant takes root in Portland gardens. All parts o f the plant are toxic to people.
For more information, visit the 4-
County Cooperative Weed Man­
Birds often eat the berries and whelm native vegetation.
the plant (poke salad is an ex ­
ag em en t A rea
w eb site at
carry the seeds to new locations,
Although birds seem to be im- ample). But preparation is tricky
4countycw m a.org and click on
including natural areas. Left un- niune to the berries, every part o f and ingesting improperly prepared
checked and unmanaged, pokeweed the pokeweed plant is toxic to pokeweed can cause severe nau- “Weed of the Month,” or download
a p o k ew eed fact sh eet at
can form dense patches and over- people. Some people eat parts o f sea, or even death.
portlandonline.com/bes/pokeweed.
f
vu.;
.4
5«
THE LAW OFFICES OF
Patrick John Sweeney, PC.
. '• - 4
Patrick John Sweeney
Attorney at Law
1549 SE Ladd
Portland, Oregon
• Portland:
Hillsoboro:
Facsimile:
Email:
(503) 491-5156
(503) 615-0425
(503) 244-2084
Sweeney @ PDXLawyer.com
V
«
1/
Dr. Billy R. Flowers (above center) and his shilled s ta ff are ready to help those in need
THE____________
SPIN At COOJMN
An ongoing series of questions and answers about Am ericas natural healing profession
Part 24. Osteoarthritis: you needn’t be
frightened about a frightening problem anymore
Sweet Street Food Cart
on the corner of MLK and Lombard
Monday - Saturday, 11:00am - 9:00pm
Wednesday Special: 3 Wings $2.00
Friday Special: Rib Sandwiched Beef or Pork $4.00
call
503-995-6150 to place order
I have been having a lot
of pain in my neck. The
! doctor said that it was osteoarthri­
tis and that I would have learn to
live with it. What is your opinion?
: As you m ight know ,
th ere is a trem en d o u s
amount of health research going
on today Much relates to the spine
and nervous system. You might
ask your doctor if he has read the
latest study on osteoarthritis. The
study showed that there was no
correlation between the amount
of osteo-arthritis and the amount
of pain a person suffers. In fact it
has been found that pain and osteo­
arthritis are both caused by the same
problem. Mechanical stress on the
bone and joints is the biggest cause
of pain and also the cause of that
deformity of the joint your doctor
calls osteoarthritis .
In Chiropractic we evaluate
where the joint and bones are
stresses. Our chief purpose then
is to rem ove the stress or irrita­
tion from the jo in t (and nerves)
- not only to reduce pain but to
allow the bones to be as healthy
as possible as well. If you have
jo in t pain, is n 't it tim e you
stepped up to , effective C hiro­
practic?
Flowers' Chiropractic Office
2124 N.E. Hancock Street
Portland Oregon 97212
Phone: (5 0 3 ) 2 8 7 -5 5 0 4