Killing a Siberian elm is easier said than done.

When people talk about taking out the invasive tree, the methods for extermination sometime sound more like methods to kill a movie monster than a plant: Only a silver bullet or a wooden stake to the heart will do.

Reese Baker, owner of Santa Fe permaculture company The RainCatcher, said the Siberian elm can be difficult to permanently eliminate.

"It's like a Medusa," Baker said. "As soon as you cut it, it's going to grow up like 10 new sprouts, and every one of those sprouts will easily grow into a full-size tree someday. So they're very, very difficult to deal with."

Baker, a doctoral student at the University of New Mexico, is studying the use of fungi to break down Siberian elms.

Baker studs logs of Siberian elm with wooden dowels c

See Full Page