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Lawn grasses are very competitive with trees and shrubs, especially young stock, for nutrients and water. Grass roots will slow down and restrict the growth of tree and shrub roots that are planted in a lawn.
Marginal leaf browning or leaf scorch can be caused by several environmental stresses, which I will discuss briefly. Drought stress, a lack of water in the soil, can cause the plant to sacrifice leaf tissues in order to reduce water use.
Lichens are a fungus body, usually one of the Ascomycetes with apothecia, enclosing a green or blue-green alga. The fungus receives some food from the alga and the alga some food and protection from the fungus. This relationship is termed symbiotic.
The genus Lilium contains many species that can cause gastric distress if ingested. Apparently, cats are super-sensitive to some of these toxins. Many plants in nature have evolved defense mechanisms to ward off or resist predation by whatever wishes to consume them.
There are indeed some special factors to keep in mind when homeowners have established oaks on their property or are considering incorporating oaks into an existing landscape. There are twelve species of oak ( Quercus sp.) that are found on the Central Coast. Some, the live oaks, are evergreen.
Mosses are primitive, non-flowering, rootless green plants with simple stems and leaves. They produce a thread-like growth that forms a fine-textured mat on soil or lawn surfaces.
In a shaded, moist area the most likely organisms you might encounter are mosses, alga or slime molds. Mosses are green, and the plant has some identifiable structure. Alga species come in many colors from black to gray to green to yellow or red.
Mulches, with a few exceptions, are good for plants. Straw, wood chips, grass clippings, bark chips, sawdust, leaves, crushed rock and plastic can all be used as a mulch. Mulches, in general, help improve soil structure, and help conserve water.
Fall seems to be mushroom season on the Central Coast. Adequate soil moisture, warm soils, and slightly cooler air temperatures appear to set off mushroom growth. Mushrooms are the reproductive structures of certain fungi that live in the soil of your lawn.
Niger Seed is Guizotia abyssinica. This is an annual herb, which is noteworthy due to its oil-producing seeds. Apparently, it has been researched in the United States as a potential oil crop, but found to be of less promise than other oil seed crops already under cultivation.
