Cardoon is an invasive, pretty weed

Re the July 14 feature on the cardoon [“Exotic, Dramatic, Delicious”]: The suggestion that this handsome flower be installed in a home garden is scary. It is the infamous Cynara cardunculus that infests many a semiarid, Southern California grazed-over hillside. The passage beginning, “But, alas, there is a catch ... “ does responsibly warn the gardener. But it would take only one forgotten flower head blowing its abundant seeds to the winds to begin a population of invasive, difficult-to-eliminate weeds.

Sarah Jayne

President, Orange County

Chapter of the California

Native Plant Society,

Irvine