Sahara Mustard

Sahara mustard, an annual nonnative herb with stems 4 to 40 inches tall, is taking over the Borrego Valley. It's crowding out native flowering plants - the same flowers that bring visitors from all over to San Diego County's desert in the springtime. ''The situation has just gotten worse and worse,'' said Sam Webb, chairman of the newly formed Sahara Mustard Weed Eradication Task Force. ''This plant is just unbelievable. It's like an invader from outer space. Just a really invasive plant.''

The task force has brought together people and organizations from just about every aspect of Borrego Valley life who soon will be going out to the desert floor and ripping out mustard plants wherever they may be.

Sahara mustard is native to semiarid and arid deserts of North Africa and the Middle East, as well as Mediterranean lands of southern Europe.

The plant was probably introduced to North America with date palms brought from the Middle East in the 1900s with the development of the date industry in the Coachella Valley. But it wasn't until about five years ago, Webb said, that the weed started showing up in the valley, both on private land in Borrego Springs and well as in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. It's gotten much worse quickly.

Dense stands of the weed suppress native wildflowers. It grows quickly and blooms before other plants, monopolizing soil moisture as it builds canopy and matures seed long before many native species have begun to flower, according to the California Invasive Plant Council.

During the annual Borrego Days Desert Festival parade, Webb and other task-force volunteers marched and carried signs bearing messages such as, ''Pull the Mustard - Save our Wildflowers.''

''The public just isn't aware of how bad this plant is,'' Webb said.

Every spring tourists come to Borrego Springs with their wallets to view the desert flower bloom. The season is crucial to the economy of the area. No flowers means far less cash.

Webb said everyone is especially worried this year that the mustard plant problem will be terrible because of two recent early heavy rains.

The plants have already started to grow, but it will be a short while yet before they are large enough to be differentiated from good plants.

The task force's main goal is to physically get rid of the plants by pulling them out of the ground. Volunteers will all be given training, Webb said, to make sure they know what the weed looks like ''so they don't pull the good stuff.'' Task force members will also be given identification cards to show to people who might think they are out in the desert pulling good flowers for nefarious reasons.

An aggressive public relations campaign has also been launched. Soon every person with a postal address in Borrego Springs will be getting a flier in the mail explaining the mustard plant problem and what can be done. The local schools will educate children about the weed too, Webb said.

Even bumper stickers are being made.

''This is not a one-year thing,'' Webb said. ''People will have to be committed to this for the long haul.''