Large Stinknet (Photo by Phil Ruttenbur)
Small Stinknet (Photo by Nancy Mumpton)
Nancy Mumpton
Stinknet is a fast-moving, invasive weed in Arizona and locally in Sun Lakes. It has green “carrot-like” leaves and rounded flowers. The leaves smell pungent and can be allergenic. It emerges from November to April and starts flowering in February. Seed is easily spread by wind and traffic. It loves to sprout along in the stones by the cement before the blacktop in your front yard, and also in your driveway cracks. If you do not get rid of it, it will sprout all over the yard and into the desert. When it easily seeds into our Sonoran Desert, it crowds out native plants and grows in mats that are highly flammable during our hot summers. Please remove this noxious weed if you find it in your Sun Lakes yard. Do not be fooled by the bright, round yellow flowers. I have been pulling it all over my local neighborhood in Sun Lakes, so please be vigilant and eliminate it.