A resident enjoying a drive came across an unfortunate sight: a swath of invasive species growing unchecked along the roadside.

In the r/invasivespecies Reddit forum, one poster shared a video of their drive through the middle of Tennessee, depicting “20+ acres” of Bradford (or callery) pear trees along the roadway.

(Click here to watch the video if the embed does not appear.)

“I have never seen it this bad. I was astonished. I don’t think there was [a] single other tree species there,” they commented.

Bradford pear trees have been a popular decorative tree for landscapers for decades, but they’ve proved to have more problems than they’re ultimately worth.

They have a notoriously strong odor, produce large amounts of fruit that litter sidewalks, and can form dense thickets, not unlike the one shared by the poster, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The tree became a popular choice because the original Bradford pear tree was thought to be sterile, meaning it wouldn’t reproduce, according to USA Today. But the Bradford and callery trees were repeatedly modified by breeders, in part to correct Bradford’s tendency to split and break during high winds, and they eventually created a strain that reproduces.

Birds and mammals eat the fruit and spread the seeds far and wide, where the tree can outcompete native species and disrupt biodiversity. The USDA has declared Bradford pears an invasive species, and several states are offering programs to help remove (and, in some cases, replace) them with other species.

Of course, the best option is to plant native species, which don’t require the same level of maintenance as non-native or invasive species do. Native plants also don’t need as much water or other resources like fertilizer and pesticides to assist their growth, as they’re suited to the environment around them and can grow with what’s available.

Native species are also better at attracting pollinators, which are vital to the growth cycle of hundreds of plant species, especially crops.

People in the comments were dismayed by the poster’s discovery of the Bradford pears.

“God I hope one day we get a green New Deal and we can pay an army of young people to have all the invasives removed,” one user wrote.

“Should be illegal to clear cut and then leave invasives to take over. I see this all the time near me in Georgia,” another commenter added.

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