1) A characteristic attributed usually to non-native plants that humans really, really, really don’t like.
2) The ability of certain plants (usually non-natives) to exude chemicals into the soil that suppresses the growth of other plants (usually native ones) under laboratory conditions, but not in the real world.
3) A ten-dollar word used to scare people into taking action against non-native plants that have human-like evil intent, such as purposefully poisoning, shading, and/or smothering innocent spring ephemerals (only very, very bad invasive plants can achieve this trifecta).
Did you know that identified allelopathor, Black Walnut (a native tree), is dangerous to other plants that attempt to grow in its personal space? But, it’s not because of any effect from exuded chemicals—it turns out that this tree bonks plants on their apical meristem with these. For those below that are good at dodge ball, they do just fine. The dappled light is especially nice for creating a thriving understory.You are looking at the base of two walnut trees. The property owner was thinking to himself, “Why wait for these allelopathing walnuts to suppress these plants when I can just weed eat the living daylights out of them.” That is so thoughtful of this man not to burden these trees with the embarrassment they will suffer when it is discovered how allelopathetic they truly are. The jig is finally up on this science scam. If a scientist says, “Allelopathy”, you say, “Show me?” That should put the scarenario to bed.Too many different native and non-native plants to count growing at the base of this big, healthy, soil-poisoning ailanthus. Someday, maybe I’ll list them. In the mean time, be on the lookout for a future NPN-allied, scientist pronouncement: “Studies have shown that allelopathic chemicals only suppress the growth of plants that aren’t there.” It can only be a matter of time.
Ailanthus allelopathy…NOT!Tag-team allelopathy? You are looking at the bases of a Walnut and a Tree-of-Heaven. When I was growing up, I thought that the tag-team, heavyweight wrastling was real. The plants surrounding these trees are smarter than I was. They know this tag-team’s negative effect on the soil isn’t real.
