7 Invasive Species Europe Unleashed on America

[@aslinndhan]

In Appalachia, dandelion is a food source. I can't tell you how often I had dandelion greens, fried with chopped onions in bacon grease and sprinkled with vinegar. Served with fried potatoes and bacon strips and pinto beans with corn bread, either on the side or crumbled and the beans poured over it. Have a veg tray of raw onions, tomatoes and cucumbers and you're eating like a king.

[@ericjamieson]

I've only had them raw in salads and they're great. Never thought to cook them up as greens, gotta try that.

[@aslinndhan]

@@ericjamieson don't fry them till they're mushy, just enough to be sort of stir fried.

[@ericjamieson]

@@aslinndhan Yeah that sounds good, I guess you just toss them in grease till they're crispy? I harvest them out of my yard every spring ie right now so I have plenty to experiment with.

[@aslinndhan]

@@ericjamieson just let the grease kiss them a little and try not to stir them too much, then take them out. Now, here's a wrinkle, I made this recently for my hubs and I used olive oil and just a little garlic and added them to spaghetti noodles. They were delicious that way. So try them the Appalachian style, then try them the Italian style. You won't regret it. Bon Appetit!

[@ericjamieson]

That sounds great. Wouldn't be surprised if that's an actual Italian dish since they grow wild all over Europe.

[@lazyidiotofthemonth]

The United States was not swanless, in fact the largest water fowl in the world, the Trumpeter Swan is native to North America.

[@bullettube9863]

lazyidiotofthemonth I laughed when I heard him say this! There are five of them right now passing across on the water!

[@bullettube9863]

lazyidiotofthemonth I laughed when I heard him say this! There are five of them right now passing across on the water!

[@kalimaxine]

Mute swans are invasive.

[@johnsaia9739]

Correct, the Trumpeter Swan is native to the United States and the Mute Swan is the invader. I saw a Trumpeter Swan thrash a Mute Swan that threatened its young on the Chesapeake Bay. Mute Swans are a big problem as they disturb nesting ducks, chase them out of their dabbling areas near shore and even challenge Canada Geese.

[@georgiancrossroads]

Also Tundra Swans inhabit the arctic. (As well as Russia.)

[@kokomo9764]

Didn't here a word you said. I was to entertained watching your arms flailing in the reflection in the glass behind you.

[@kokomo9764]

Hear not here.

[@pattyputman4409]

After watching your movements reflected behind you, I have realized that my inability to talk without using my hands is my English ancestors coming through, not a recessive Italian relative! 😁

[@aculady1]

I was watching that too.

[@chrishand259]

I was about to comment on that and then I saw this. 🤣

[@kokomo9764]

Ok everyone, I know it is hear not here. Just a typo. Relax

[@dankolar6066]

Re Starlings, Some decades ago, a Midwest city mayor decided to beautify the downtown neighborhood by planting a large number of mulberry trees. For a few years, all was well, until the trees matured enough to bear fruit. Note: Starlings love fresh mulberries. Regrettably, after starlings feast, they shit. And drivers discovered that purple starling droppings are corrosive to auto body paint. So it goes....

[@diarradunlap9337]

That city was Omaha, Nebraska, wasn't it? Well, the removed those trees and the starlings went away.

[@danielfronc4304]

@@diarradunlap9337 A clear case of starlingicide. Cruel.

[@limalicious]

Flying animals rely on their reduced weight to remain airborne for extended periods, so generally they poop very quickly after eating in order to stay alight.

[@1MSally1965]

Dan Kolar starlings also overbreed and take over our native birds. I hate starlings.

[@awakenedpersona6488]

@@1MSally1965 Could always get a nation wide hunt going, have the government give the okay for people to pick off starlings whenever they see one and give a few dollars tax break to everyone that does. Big country with lots of guns, why not put them to use rooting out invasive species of wild life?

[@OMGitsaClaire]

Um, Lawrence, we did have swans before Europe brought them here. Trumpeter swans are native to the US and they nearly went extinct in the 30’s. They were also the subject of one of EB White’s most famous books besides Charlotte’s Web which is The Trumpet of the Swan.

[@jannetteberends8730]

Because I didn’t know the species I googled it. That are beautiful birds!

[@denizalgazi]

Claire, please don't confuse him with facts. /s

[@mariposaenperu5490]

Both Claire and Lawrence are right. Trumpeter swans are native to North America, but mute swans are an exotic species imported from Eurasia around the time he said. birdsna.org/Species-Account/bna/species/mutswa/introduction/

[@shawnmiller4781]

And Tundra Swans are also native

[@petenielsen6683]

We also had a pigeon species that we hunted to extinction - the Passenger Pigeon - because someone discovered they tasted good and people thought they could never be wiped out. The last female died in a zoo in the 1920s.

[@juliebaker6969]

There's absolutely nothing wrong with eating dandelions, as long as they haven't been sprayed with an herbicide . All parts are edible, except the flowers that have turned white and gone to seed. The flowers (when they're still yellow), buds, leaves, stems, and taproot are totally edible and actually highly nutritious. In fact it's one of the most nutritious greens of all. The buds, flowers, leaves, and stems make a great salad. And the leaves can also be cooked as greens. The taproot can be roasted till deep brown in color and dried out. Then it can easily be ground to make a caffeine free coffee substitute. I've eaten dandelions hundreds of times. My favorite way is scalded dandelion salad with bacon, scallions, and hardboiled eggs. It has a sweetened vinegar and oil dressing, only it's made with the hot bacon grease drizzled over the dandelions instead of oil (hence the scalded).

[@jgw5491]

I believe dandelions have quite a bit of vitamin C.

[@TheLionAndTheLamb777]

My great grandmother, and grandmother survived as a child during the great depression by eating dandelion, wild fruit, wild mushrooms. They only had other food while

[@jeffcoat1959]

According to Ray Bradbury, you can even make them into wine.

[@blevin591]

You can buy them at the grocery too...I got them when I briefly fostered guinea pigs

[@neilbuckley1613]

In England we place a bowl or bucket over the young plant and leave a few days, this makes the leaves less bitter if used in salad. I have also made dandelion wine from the flowers, it had honey kind of flavour.

[@ElementofKindness]

Your not alone! Dandelions are a staple for Pennsylvania-Deutsch folks like me. Popular one I don't see in the comments below, dandelion salad with hot bacon dressing, or more typically, shortened to just dandelion dressing.

[@maireadinish]

True story! Typically people ate the dandelion leaves, but my grandmother also liked to eat buds. (Once they flower, the greens become more bitter, or so I'm told.)

[@KristopherBel]

I have eaten dandelion always! The greens are great for salads as mentioned and they definitely get bitter as they get too large, and the flowers can make tea or wine or even candy. There are also recipes for dandelion root and I think people used to roast it and drink it like coffee.

[@travissmith2848]

Heard of such. Also understand that rose hips can make for a good tea.

[@maireadinish]

@@travissmith2848 I love rose hip tea. It's tart and red, and tastes like hot lemonade, which sounds terrible, but is really lovely. It's also high in vitamin c.

[@RoseGma]

My dad used to make dandelion wine!🤢🤢

[@trinkab]

My favorite invasive species: Beatles

[@ronaldblackburn2483]

I read your comment stopped read again busted out laughing and whole heartedly agree .

[@tj_2701]

lol

[@memonk11]

Yeah, yeah, yeah!

[@glennrobinson2014]

Well, I do remember the Summer of the Japanese beetle. They were everywhere, millions of them; eating everything.

[@trinkab]

@@ronaldblackburn2483 😂😎👍👍👍Thank you!

[@billsmith3309]

I can't believe you did not mention the House Sparrow. They are incredibly invasive. The first of many successful introductions to North America occurred when birds from England were released in New York City, in 1852, intended to control the ravages of the linden moth. In North America, the house sparrow now occurs from the Northwest Territories of Canada to southern Panama, and it is one of the most abundant birds of the continent.

[@kirkboswell2575]

You left out the common house sparrow. Definitely invasive. And regarding dandelions, there's wine, jelly, wilted greens, tea, herbal ointments, etc. Pretty useful plant - but DEFINITELY invasive.

[@BeckaReus]

I am late to the party, but the house sparrow was introduced by the same person and reason as the starlings.

[@DianeDfictionfan]

I shout at my bird feeders sometimes, "Scram, no English allowed!" No joke. In my family, these proliferating pests are called *English sparrows* more often than house sparrows, both to emphasize their invasive nature and to be less comfusable with house *finches*.

[@MattLovesVinyl]

Okay, is anyone else completely distracted by the hand-gestures seen mirrored in the glass case behind our corrigible host?

[@bonokat]

well now I am!

[@machintelligence]

Someone is exercising or stretching.

[@doomedmessenger]

I'm glad someone else noticed this! ^^

[@joevalentine2048]

Dear Laurence or is it Lawrence. Be carful where you record you video. 😁

[@lauriestephens4382]

SOOOO distracted!

[@ShonnMorris]

The US was never swanless, just Mute Swanless. We have two native species.

[@Razgriz85]

I remember seeing massive flocks of Tundra Swans in Lancaster PA about a decade ago when we were having some pretty big blizzards.

[@christopherseilaff8665]

I live in Wyoming which is a wintering ground for the trumpeter swan.

[@captainnerd6452]

I like how much he uses his hands that we never see, but look at the glass in the cabinet! :-)

[@the_cheese]

I am tickled by seeing Lawrence's arms waving in the reflection behind him. Great work, mate!!

[@tootz1950]

I don't think it was Lawrence, there were times when the hands and arms were raised straight up.

[@FireCracker3240]

I LOVE Dandelions. They were a big part of my youth. So many wishes were blown on dandelion seeds. Some of them came true, most did not. But they gave me hope on many bleak days of my sad and difficult childhood. One of my favorite flowers, even now. Thank you, UK.

[@JJoy-bk8yr]

Flowing from Kansas into Missouri, there is a river named Marais des Cygnes (marsh of the swans) and there is a town beside it on the Kansas side, named La Cygne (the swan). According to the French traders who named the river and its adjacent wetlands, they had heard an old native legend about a Romeo and Juliet type couple from rival tribes, who drowned together while trying to elope. Their spirits rose out of the river/marsh in the form of two white swans (trumpeters, presumably), and their tribes made peace with each other. Whether there is any truth to legend, it is surely evidence that the area was inhabited by swans for a good long time. The steel water tower in La Cygne has a picture of a swan on it and many residents have swan lawn ornaments. I've not seen a live swan there, though - most of the the marshes were drained for agriculture long ago, and the river flow controlled. Happily, a nature preserve was established by the Fish and Wildlife Service a little over 20 years ago to bring back at least a portion of the wetlands. I hope native swans will return to the area.

[@sststr]

As a Brit, we fully expect you to blame the French whenever the opportunity arises. I'm surprised you don't do it more often ;-)

[@maryrosekent8223]

sststr The French were our allies as we fought for our independence from Britain in the 1700s...

[@jesseberg3271]

There's a BBC comedy sketch where a character representing a generic medieval Englishman says he hates the French because, "They beat us in 1066" (referring to the Norman conquest). Then a character representing a generic modern Englishman says he hates the French because, "They beat us in 1998" (referring to rugby). Finally, a character representing a generic renaissance Englishman says, "I just hate the French, I don't need a reason."

[@keeristdiablo540]

@@maryrosekent8223 Yeah, but what have they done for us lately? ;)

[@travissmith2848]

@@keeristdiablo540 Gave us the pleasure of pulling their collective butts out of the fire back in the 1940s?

[@y_fam_goeglyd]

It's just too easy lol.

[@KatieReadsKoziesAndMore]

Note to self: Do not eat a late dinner while watching Lost in the Pond. It is a choking hazard!

[@jackielinde7568]

Lawrence: You can make Salad out of Dandelions... and a lot of the fancier salad mixes you buy in the store will have dandelions as one of the greens.

[@schatzeeone6230]

Sautéed dandelion greens are tasty as well.

[@johnsaia9739]

Dandelion wine too. My Russian tortoise really likes them, leave, flowers and stems.

[@guiniverejoy9013]

Our geese adore dandelions!

[@brettkelly4575]

Dandelion tea can make you pass a drug test for marijuana don't ask how I know lmao

[@BlueEyedDemonWoman]

Dandelion Jelly and Dandelion Honey are DELICIOUS!!!

[@Zenas521]

The Spaniards released wild boar. Now days we have Hoggzilla roaming the wilds of the deep south.

[@Verumnondominatus]

The collective noun for starlings is "murmuration." The collective noun for those who love large groups of starlings is "heart mumuration."

[@ceterfo]

Nice

[@johnsaia9739]

The Brown Trout is stocked in many rivers, lakes and streams and originates in the UK/Europe. They have become naturalized in many places especially in the Great Lakes.

[@emccoy]

Young dandelion leaves can be used in salad. When I grew up starlings were called by kids as mcdonalds birds cause they were always looking to steal your food.

[@machintelligence]

You missed broadleaf plantain Plantago major. It is a weed that closely followed the colonization of America and is sometimes referred to a settlers' plant. Also the house sparrow Passer domesticus was introduced in 1851 in Brooklyn NY.

[@hectorsmommy1717]

FYI. 2 species of swan ARE native to the US: the Trumpeter and Tundra. Mute swans were introduced.

[@nairbvel]

Well, of course they were introduced -- being mute, they could not introduce themselves. (Awful joke, I know, but I've been home alone for days...)

[@Bribreezzzyy]

nairbvel lolllllll

[@thanksfernuthin]

I can tell you my Grandma's favorite was Dandelions. When I was a kid she once went out to the yard and picked a bunch of the leaves. We thought she was crazy! She boiled them up and ate them with butter and salt. Turns out in tough times in the past they would boil and eat Dandelion "greens". And I guess you acquire a taste for some things no matter if they come from a dark time. It was kind of cool.

[@R.M.MacFru]

I've had dandelion leaves in salad. They're not bad.

[@kimcassetta5538]

My Nana, who came from Sicily, used to put dandelion greens in a mixed greens salad.

[@jbrisby]

Anything tastes good with butter and salt.

[@thanksfernuthin]

@@jbrisby True words!

[@mplwy]

Dandelions are one of the first flowers in Spring that bees can feed from. They're pretty, smell nice and are good in salads or as cooked greens. You can make tea (as Tara said) and wine from them and they are supposed to have medicinal properties, as you mentioned.

[@Mark_Williams300]

Also fizzy pop in a team up with burdock

[@borisgalos6967]

You didn't include Europeans. A few came over from Europe back in the 16th century and now they're everywhere and crowding out everyone else.

[@JennyWinters]

I am a descendent of a Swede and an English woman. Yes i'm now invasive lol . but I only had one child so not too invasive. Just given the world a beautiful fair skinned blue eyed child.

[@Patrick-po6vx]

Most Europeans came in the 19 Century to America.

[@jackgrattan1447]

Besides the '60s American band THE BYRDS, there was a '60s British band called THE BIRDS, led by future Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood, of all people. Maybe Mick does listen, after all.

[@resdyadarkwatch8588]

And let us not forget the German band "Sparrow" that later changed their name to Stephan Wolf....

[@CAP198462]

Hemlock, also toxic to Athenian philosophers

[@PuzzledMonkey]

A telltale feature that distinguishes poison hemlock from queen anne's lace is the reddish purple staining on the stalks, known as Socrates' blood.

[@nairbvel]

@@PuzzledMonkey THANK YOU! My mother loves Queen Anne's Lace, and as soon as I saw that photo I was thinking, "Uh oh...!" :-)

[@neilbuckley1613]

@@nairbvel Hemlock also has an unpleasant smell, "mousy" is the best way I can describe it.

[@timmotz2827]

nairbvel Queen Anne’s lace is a wild carrot. It will have a carroty aroma.

[@Erewhon2024]

@@timmotz2827 And is yet another invasive, though a lot more tolerable than poison hemlock!

[@Regolith86]

Another yellow-flowered plant you guys brought over: Scotch Broom, which is related to the Gorse. It's far worse in Oregon than gorse, to the point I'd never heard of gorse before (though it's very possible that some of the "scotch broom" I've seen was gorse).

[@jamesfan2]

This post reminds me of Shakespeare's famous line in Richard III, I think, "A gorse, a gorse, my kingdom for a gorse".(Staying at home all day can be stressful...)

[@Undomaranel]

Same in Washington. Some months the entire I-5 corridor is yellow with it, and the coastal lowlands are completely invaded. When I worked at Cape Disappointment State Park one of our jobs was to remove some of it. All but impossible; we chained them to our trucks to help root them when the special made 6' puller clamps weren't enough.

[@cooperkauffeld8921]

Thank you for the Dandylions! I love them.

[@GeorgiaGrown90]

you can actually eat and make tea out of dandelion leaves you can easily get some at whole foods. they are medicinal and good for the liver. also anyone else watching the reflection on the china cabinet glass watching his hands and arms swing all over the place? xD

[@elisewebb9810]

Stephanie1119 yes, noticed the reflection & was distracted by it! Lol

[@aeoo371]

I saw it and started to laugh!!!

[@greggwilliamson]

Dandelion greens are eaten like spinach or mustard greens or collards or turnip greens. Usually steamed, but like spinach can be eaten raw. They are really pretty good.

[@keeristdiablo540]

Of course, some of the nice things about the abundance of pigeons, is how tasty they are, and how easy they are to harvest. They're all dark meat, and they taste a bit like wild duck. I like them roasted, personally. And all you need is a reasonably accurate air rifle, some bread crumbs for bait, and a Wal-Mart parking lot. I've eaten a lot of squab since retirement. I have a lot more time on my hands, these days, and pigeon hunting is unregulated in Florida. Now I'M getting hungry!

[@denystull355]

They aren't as tasty as mourning dove.

[@johnsaia9739]

The country pigeons that eat spilled grain on the farm taste great, we shoot them before we go dove hunting so we have something to eat if we don't get any doves. Pan fried with onions and wine. YUM!

[@guiniverejoy9013]

Makes me want to try them. Sounds yummy.

[@Allan_aka_RocKITEman]

I bet the DRUMSTICKS are disappointing...😊😊😊

[@victorwaddell6530]

@Ron Lewenberg The clay pidgeons for shotgun target shooting are usually labled " blue rock " . clay targets .

[@GaryBickford]

Two bits: actually the yellow invasive in Oregon is not gorse but the closely related Scotch Broom. Per my horticultural grandmother, it was originally introduced in the form of more decorative hybrids whose seeds reverted to the base. Also, a plant you might not know about is the famous "tumbleweed" that rolls across the plains and showed up in every Western movie. That is actually a Russian Thistle that came over as weeds in the grain seed stock brought by Russian peasant farmers in the eatly-mid 1800s.

[@richardhulit7884]

It is my understanding that the English colony of Jamestown is the introduction point for both starlings and dandelions. They were supposedly brought over as a food source because they will grow anywhere. What the Pilgrims introduced is feral carrots. The carrots the Pilgrims planted were white as are the wild carrots that grow coast to coast. The worst thing from Russia is the Russian Thistle, also known as the tumble weed.

[@robertstuart480]

But the tumbleweed is iconic in Western films.

[@PuzzledMonkey]

@@robertstuart480 it's iconic to the west now, but didn't arrive until the very end of the era. Russian immigrants to the Dakotas brought seeds of it mixed in with their winter wheat.

[@johnsaia9739]

Jamestown was 13 years prior to Plymouth and many invasives came along for the ride long before the Pilgrims even booked passage to the New World. The Spanish were in St. Augustine, FL prior to the English by a generation and a half.

[@C_MR_WYld307]

Hi Richard, Jamestown was not really a "colony". It was a profit-seeking venture. While they might have brought dandelions with them. "They" could not include the starling. Starlings are small birds, and I do understand that you might have meant that the starlings were stow-aways. At the time (even to this day), "harvesting" a starling would have meant destroying it; thereby making it inedible. Unless it was caught in a trap, plucked, battered, and fried, which would make it the first American (faux)chicken nuggets.

[@nooneyouknowhere6148]

@@robertstuart480 wasn't here at the time the films portray though.

[@WanderingRavens]

So close to 100,000 subs!! Been watching since 20,000 and are so excited to see you cross that line! Thank you for the smiles and laughs - you're helping us survive confinement here in France.

[@brianl8481]

We have a lot of making up to do just for Poison Hemlock.

[@mjbull5156]

"I drank what?" - Last words of Socrates.

[@KristopherBel]

Without further bamboo! Well done sir, well done

[@margeoconnor166]

Dandelion greens are a big deal and crop in Vineland NJ, particularly among Italian Americans. (Vineland is deep down in South Jersey near the shore resorts.) Ps. Starlings flocks often dance in the sky in something called a murmuration.

[@cellgrrl]

Not too long ago I took some interest in learning about my "native" weeds for food and medicinal purposes. One of the things I learned is that most of our common backyard weeds (dandelions) are not native to North America, but were brought over from European settlers, for the same reason I was interested in them. Most of them do have medicinal value.

[@CJoksch]

Star thistle, from Italy, is a major plant pest that puts the dandelion to shame.

[@rclaughlin]

How true. Say what you will about dandelions, they won't kill cows that eat them or force you to pluck thorns out of your socks.

[@judithholt3118]

Absolutely true and unlike the dandelion you can't eat them and they stick you.

[@indy_go_blue6048]

Which brings to mind Russian thistles aka tumbleweeds.

[@rclaughlin]

@@indy_go_blue6048 I'm not unaware of Russian thistle, by any means. But tumbleweeds aren't as bothersome as star thistle.

[@margefoyle6796]

They are the WORST!

[@terriehumphries6028]

"My Dad makes Dandyline wine." Is a quote in one of the episodes of Little House on the prayer. You can make Dandiline whine.

[@realityquotient7699]

Dandelion leaves are tasty in salad, and you can make wine from the flower buds. Side comment, I really enjoy the videos on the differences in language and concepts. My fascination for British terminology began when my Dad bought a 1972 MGB MKII...a fun and pretty car. It's also how I learned the phrase "The best thing about British cars is they need you back." Seriously, you have the check the oil. In the carburettors. Two of them. For a four cylinder engine. Regularly. Side side comment, my dream car is a 1955 MG TF, quite possibly one of the most beautiful cars ever built.

[@elizabeththayer1900]

Love your videos! When I was growing up in my town we had a neighbor that raised homing pigeons!! He probably had a couple hundred that would fly off every morning and return every evening and if he noticed a couple missing he would call out to them and they would fly home as the sun was setting...

[@maryrosekent8223]

What you call gorse we call broom. Scotch Broom.

[@maxpowr90]

And note the "Scotch", so again Britain is to blame.

[@seatbelttruck]

Googled it. They are two different plants that look very similar. Same family, different genus.

[@deepgardening]

Broom: No Spines. Gorse: Every Frickin' Leaf is a spine. Gorse flowers smell better, and Spanish Broom too. Scotch is whiskey, but the hardiest broom belongs to the Scots, eh? The French broom has white flowers. (Why the English got left out and got no broom, quien sabe? So let's blame the gorse on the English! (it's in Winnie the Pooh, right?) ALL of these have bean-pod seeds and fix nitrogen= they do well on poor, disturbed soil & sand, ready for "invasion" And make the situation very fertile if you care to plant trees among them, instead of trying to turn 'em into a lawn.

[@neilbuckley1613]

@@deepgardening In Britain what you call Scotch Broom is called Common Broom as it is found in all parts of the country. Gorse is also found everywhere and as alternative regional common names, Furze and Whin.

[@Jabber-ig3iw]

Rick Valley scotch is whiskey but spelled correctly. Whisky.

[@Aboz]

Took me a bit to realize that the reflection in the cabinet was you waving your arms, and not some invasive species come to carry you off.

[@raymonddavis1370]

Dandelions can be tea,the greens ,though bitter.can be eaten as a green when yound, Also the root can be eaten boiled or roasted and ground into a coffee substitute.The only caveat would be that the leaves should be rinsed in water to lose the milky sap Oh and the best use for Dandelions is Dandelion wine www.allrecipes.com/recipe/162202/dandelion-wine/

[@noelle9429]

Sitting here watching you talk about Starlings with one sitting by me, hes a rescue also Dandelions are so good! especially sauteed.

[@ChristinaRoss7]

I was doing the same! Mine is such a great pal. :)

[@manthony1956]

At one time pigeons were more popular to eat than chicken in the United States. How times have changed. Kentucky Fried Pigeon???

[@1bytor]

exactly right....that's how the Passenger Pigeon became extinct

[@tj_2701]

Ah yes squab(the b is silent) did you know it is slowly making a come back. Also, when it was common chicken was very expensive.

[@georgesakellaropoulos8162]

Rock doves are very good eating. They're sometimes found with other doves that are game birds. They're just as good to eat and they are considered a nuisance species so they don't count against bag limits.

[@indy_go_blue6048]

@@tj_2701 Mild correction. I believe the term for nestling pigeons is "squib."

[@genli5603]

Chickens were only available in spring (young roosters) or as tough old birds so not very good (stewing hens and old cockerels).

[@FrostyThundertrod]

The thing i always think of when it comes to invasive species from Europe I think of carp, Some English noble man was convinced that the peasants in america where starving because we had no carp a staple food of the English peasantry so he had some sent over to feed the peasants.

[@johnbowers6258]

Common carp are a popular fish for anglers in Europe. Cook the fish, rub it through a tamis or other fine sieve, and it makes for a very nice fish cake.

[@joelapp]

How could you miss the honey bee? There were no bees in North America before the Europeans brought them. Not to mention all citrus, peaches, horses and pigs.

[@stphilomena911]

Don't forget the red fox. Brits brought them here because they didn't want to give up their fox hunting as a sport.

[@Revelwoodie]

Actually, horses are native to North America. They evolved here. They crossed over to Asia and Europe when there was still a land bridge, then promptly went extinct here in America until they were brought back again by Europeans. But yeah, the horse was originally an American animal.

[@elizabethhenning778]

I don't think anyone considers honeybees invasive. If anything, it's a lot of work keeping them here and we use them to pollinate crops.

[@keeristdiablo540]

@@Revelwoodie A type of ancestral horse, yes. But that was the three-toed primitive proto-horse, useful only as food.

[@jamesfan2]

@@Revelwoodie amazing you remember that far back. But I can't argue with first person observations

[@raeperonneau4941]

You teach history in such an awesome way. Thank you!

[@pamelascott2424]

Starlings fly in flocks! They can strip cherry trres in a couple minutes

[@ajwinberg]

I couldn't stop watching Laurance's reflexion in the glasses behind him. Lol.

[@trinkab]

I thought they brought the dandelions for dandelion wine!

[@ruthsaunders9507]

My grandfather used to make it. I don't know what it was supposed to taste like. His was pretty rough.

[@robertstuart480]

Ray Bradbury approves.

[@trinkab]

@@ruthsaunders9507 we had six acres of land when I was growing up. And about 2.5 acres of that was mowable lawn, and about 2 acres of that was just *covered* in dandelions. One year, while the dandelions were in full bloom, an elderly couple came to our door and asked if they could pick the dandelions so they could make dandelion wine. We told them they could come back anytime and pick as many as they wanted. Once a year after that, for as long as we lived there, I would look outside and see this sweet couple wandering around our side yard having a blast just picking dandelions. SO CUTE!

[@TheMichaelMonroeDoctrine]

I love seeing your hands and arms talking through the reflection

[@johnulrich5572]

The only invasive species from England I can remember is the alan partridge, a fowel bird at best. Then, of course, was the insect invasion of the beatles.

[@l0ngwaayt0happy]

I love seeing your arm movements in the glass behind you but not seeing them on camera lmao.

[@The_Lone_Outlaw]

Is the person in the mirror practicing to do the YMCA dance or something??? Looked like they were trying to guide a jet in for landing.

[@cruzingracie3081]

I really enjoy your videos! They make quarantine just a little better!

[@cmdrflake]

How do you know Mick Jagger isn’t watching your material...

[@LostinthePond]

I hadn't considered that.

[@DJK1793]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/kGrQnYmef7aaitk

[@timothykeith1367]

Timothy hay probably came from Europe. It spread very rapidly, some think it might have already been here. Because it is beneficial to agriculture its not considered an invasive species

[@kevinmcneill7]

Instead of gorse look up broom, that's it's west coast name, at least up here in the real PNW

[@jeniw8586]

Scotch Broom, specifically.

[@ShellyAnn1a]

Hate the Scotch Broom, (Cytisus scoparius), when it catches fire, the fire spreads really fast. On hot days, the seed pods explode and widely scattering the seeds. It takes so much work to get rid of it once it gets a start, as bad as the Himalayan Blackberry.

[@neilbuckley1613]

@@ShellyAnn1a Gorse is Ulex Europaeus, completely different plant. It flowers before broom, and the flowers are paler yellow than broom and smell of coconut. Biggest difference is that gorse is incredibly spiny, it has no leaves, the spines are green and do the photosynthesing. Like dandelion the flowers can be used to make wine but with those spines I have never tried. My ancient british ancestors used gorse for bedding material!

[@angeliaparish]

great to see the hand gestures in the reflection behind you!

[@jmacd8817]

English (house) Sparrows are another bird brought over here...

[@paulqueripel3493]

Could you catch them and send them back please. They're getting rare here.

[@blueskieskoda2833]

Very entertaining and interesting. Thank you.

[@1bytor]

Starlings absolutely do not eat grapes and tomatoes.....grapes are high in iron and would kill them......beside the fact that they are insectivores.......how do I know you might ask?.....well go on ask.....I have one for a pet and it is the most wonderful bird that I have ever been owned by......it has a vocabulary of about 50 words and sounds that it mimics but can and does put them into sentences such as ...give me a kiss....and because my wife is Russian.....it can speak Russian as well......the only down side.....the food we have to feed it is fairly expensive.....crickets.....meal worms and the occasional dry cat food....any damage they cause is completely offset by the enormous amount of insects they eat .....there are a lot of people that keep them as pets and a quick search here on KZbin will bring up lots of results......one of my favorites is WeeWoo.....fun fact......they do not migrate and are very cold tolerant and spread out in early summer.....then gather up in fall to form those huge flocks know as murations

[@mellonlord4616]

I'm from the west coast and we call Gorse Scot's broom.

[@michaelyoung670]

I'm from the west coast, too. Gorse is NOT Scotch Broom. They're two different plants. They both grow on the west coast. You can walk through Scotch Broom. No way in hell you could walk through a field of Gorse. wmswcd.org/species/scotch-broom-scots-broom/

[@rj-zz8im]

So, nobody is going to mention white man? lol jk

[@alexcarter8807]

Seriously. They came over and set about having all the kids they could, we're talking 10, 15, seriously look up those old "pioneer" families. Bred like rabbits.

[@mloftin6472]

Sadly Europe also brought enslaved people to America.

[@petenielsen6683]

@@mloftin6472 The first of whom were often Irish and Scots.

[@Rioluman10]

We're talking about species. Humanity is a single species with no subspecies.

[@differnet]

In the spring, the leaves of the dandelion ( preferably when small, once the get big they are yucky ) are quite tasty, both in a salad, but also stewed. I worked in a living history museum right out of grad school and we cooked ( and were allowed to eat - at our own risk ) period food. Dandelion leaves are rather nice. But don't eat the flowers or stem.

[@w8stral]

Know what is HILARIOUS? Watching his hands move as he talks being reflected, but not in camera view....

[@markmaki4460]

Fake Brit - he's definitely Italian XD

[@JJoy-bk8yr]

Yes! I had no idea he moves his hands so much until I noticed the reflections.

[@grace7701]

Always look forward to your videos, you're too funny, not to mention educational. 😄

[@PuzzledMonkey]

In our Seattle garden, we have invasive poison hemlock, English Ivy, dandelions, and one other species you forgot to mention, holly.

[@britstickle5698]

We have invasive ivy at our beach cabin at Rosario Beach in Anacortes, Washington. My husband tore some of it out with a rented electric chainsaw this summer.

[@scottmantooth8785]

2:59 *i personally love dandelions and think they are beautiful...actually collect and save the seeds to spread them all over the yard...i do this for the bees and remember that dandelions are typically the first "I love you" flowers that are given to parents by their children* *also guinea pigs absolutely LOVE dandelions and are like little hoovers if you feed the leaves/stalks to them*

[@abrad6901]

A hint: Don't film in front of the reflective surface. Your arm movements were being reflected, and it was distracting. Other than that, could we see a part 2 on invasive species?

[@pjschmid2251]

I thought the reflections were kind of fun. 😁

[@FireCracker3240]

Didn't bother me at all. I'm mesmerized by his Sally Jessy glasses. Love them.

[@dvdraymond]

Spent the entire video watching the reflections, yeah.

[@shawna620]

@@FireCracker3240 Hey, haven't seen you around for quite awhile, hope everything's been okay for you.

[@user-jq8wr8ru2s]

Hahah yes i thought the same. Very funny :)

[@teenystudioflicks1635]

My grandmothers family ate a lot of dandelion greens when they migrated from the Midwest. Many pioneer families used them as a food source when food was short. Unlike turnip greens or other veggie greens that you plant, dandelions grew wild and so did sheep sorrel (an English native too), another greens favorite for families on the move. She was still cooking them in the late 80s or early 90s right before she passed so you are not strange but typical of many American pioneer families, lol.

[@be6715]

They come up so early in the spring, that it is an early vegetable - as well as making a spring tonic out of it. Later in the year, the plant becomes woody, and much tougher to eat.

[@lazerbeam3928]

Could British ex-pats be considered an invasive species? ;-)

[@jamesfan2]

They already are😁🙀😷

[@namelessone3339]

Harry?

[@cindydelbridge2311]

As an American who writes British characters, I love your videos and they’re very helpful!

[@jonjohns8145]

European Invasive Species Unleashed on America: The Beatles, The Who, The Rolling Stones, ABBA .... 😁

[@christelheadington1136]

Isn't ABBA Swedish ?

[@denystull355]

You forgot Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath.

[@travissmith2848]

@@christelheadington1136 Had the same thought, but he _did_ say "European" and Sweden _is_ in Europe.

[@kensperspective]

I live in Oregon and I can tell you that these are pretty accurate. I have personally seen everyone of these except gorse and mute swans. We have Scotch Broom which is incredibly invasive and looks like gorse. I have seen trumpeter swans and tundra swans in the wild, but not mute. Most of the salads in the store have dandelions in them. If there are a few birds in the parking lot they are pigeons. If there’s a birdnado 50,000 strong stripping fields in seconds, they’re starlings. There are entire task forces of people that go around fighting the ivy, but they are losing the battle and our native forests are being destroyed. You forgot the biggest one though: European wild boars. They do millions of dollars in crop damage each year.

[@maximaldinotrap]

It's in the same tribe. Scotch Broom and Gorse I mean

[@PBGetson]

Instead of always using Google to search for things, try alternatives such as duckduckgo.com or others.

[@maryrosekent8223]

Paul Getson I switched to DuckDuckGo a year or so ago and haven’t looked back!

[@davidfrischknecht8261]

@@maryrosekent8223 I use Bing.

[@tj_2701]

You guys know that almost all search sites use Google's search engine

[@flyingninja1234]

Congratulations on 100,000 subscribers.

[@georgeadams1853]

The usual French word for "dandelion" is "pissenlit", so-called because of its diuretic qualities.

[@RoseNZieg]

lit!

[@y_fam_goeglyd]

That's weird, because the name comes from the French dent-de-lion, lion's tooth.

[@dwaynemccobb813]

Loved it, perfect answer to isolation blues.

[@Trifler500]

In grade school my science teacher assigned us all a project to prepare dandelion soup and eat it. He gave us some precautions (you can eat the buds, but not the flowers, so you have to make sure the bud isn't in the process of opening) and basically just left it to us to follow them, because this project was done completely out of school. We then had to turn in a science report. It was a huge pain because I couldn't think of any scientific observations to write down other than I didn't get sick.

[@StamperWendy]

Hi Laurence. Love the vids. You're so funny! Thanks for entertaining us. I'm going to try to entertain you, with some facts. A pigeon is a dove. Same bird, different feathers. And I met a woman who fed them peanut hearts. They never messed on her, her car or in her car. Smart birds! Yes, they went in. I love love love English Ivy! For photography.

[@dinger40]

A bunch of Starlings is a Murmuration, quite spectacular when there's thousands of them.

[@loricooke3423]

They should call it a Hitchcock. There's so many of them you feel like you're in a damn horror movie!

[@Fred82ndAbn]

I see a reflection on the glass of somebody like doing exercises?!!? Oh wait, that's you flapping your arms. Very distracting, LOL Great video!

[@garymcgregor5951]

Garlic mustard as well.

[@mismutt88]

We eat danilion leaves in salad with a sweet dressings like cranberry with walnuts.. I live in Oregon

[@janetd4862]

Though perhaps I shouldn’t encourage it...I have to say that I enjoy your puns. Thanks for the laughs...and the groans, too.

[@ruthm.6071]

Interesting topic, thanks for the video. BTW, I noticed in the reflection in the glass doors behind you that someone is making large gestures during the video. I hope that you did not have a silent heckler while you were filming.

[@cindylee2379]

Dandelion wine is very potent.

[@ethellouise]

Another one to add are sparrows. They take over everything just like starlings.

[@questprotector]

oh grimsby....i think someone has escaped! 😂

[@tae7965]

i love how he as to use his hand to talk and its not even sign language lol another great trivia tube luv the doves

[@newton9837]

you forgot the gypsy moth. every few decades or so they completely defoliate entire regions of the east coast.

[@adamelliott3694]

English ivy is like Galactus. Perfect!