It may look pretty, but the invasive stinknet is a big problem. And it's spreading like wildfire

Stinknet, that invasive plant with bright, little yellow balls, is once again spreading fast in Arizona — and it’s a big problem for our environment.

And once again, it's spreading like wildfire. The plant has bright, little yellow balls and a distinct smell.

Challie Facemire is with the Central Arizona Conservation Alliance at the Desert Botanical Garden.

“It can look really pretty but it's not good for the environment and not good for the people. It will fill in all the gaps in the desert where we naturally have fire breaks, and when it dries out, it is very flammable.”

Chelsey Heath

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KJZZ

She says stinknet comes from South Africa and arrived in the U.S. a couple of decades ago. Now it's here and spreading to other parts of the state.

"Those little tiny round flowers, they don’t look like much, but they hold thousands of seeds. So they will spread quickly, they will get tracked around by people on their shoes, or get picked up by pets or wildlife," Facemire said.

Stinknet poses another danger: When it dries out, it becomes very flammable. Facemire says if you have stinknet in your yard, put on some gloves, pull it by the roots and place it in a bag so it doesn't spread in the landfill.