Invasive Species

Japanese Barberry

Berberis thunbergii

Japanese barberry is a deciduous shrubs that can grow 8 ft. tall. It has grooved stems with single or paired thorns in the nodes.

Japanese Honeysuckle

Japanese honeysuckle is a woody, perennial vine that can both trail and climb, reaching heights of up to 80 feet. It grows over shrubs and trees, causing them to collapse under the additional weight or girdling the supporting tree.

Japanese Stiltgrass

Microstegium vimineum

Japanese stiltgrass is an annual grass that sprawls along the ground as it grows. The leaves are pale green, narrow and lance-shaped with a distinctive silvery stripe of hairs along the mid-rib.

Jumping Worms

Amynthas spp. and Metaphire spp.

Jumping worms consume organic matter in soil that supplies nutrients to native plant species. The soil disruption leaves soil grainy and damages plant root structures.

Knotweed

Reynoutria spp.

Invasive knotweeds in this region include japanese knotweed, giant knotweed, and bohemian knotweed.

Photo by Kerry Britton, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org

Kudzu

Pueraria lobata

Kudzu is a climbing, woody, perennial vine that has the potential to reach up to 100 ft. in height. Alternately arranged leaves are compound with three leaflets. The vine is yellow-green to grey in color, and may reach a thickness of 10" or more in diameter. Kudzu has purple, highly fragrant flowers that are borne in long, hanging clusters. Its brown, hairy, flattened seed pods are produced from September to January.

Leafy Spurge

Euphorbia esula

Leafy Spurge is a perennial plant that grows up to 4 feet tall. Its leaves are blue grey, simple and oppositely arranged. Greenish-yellow flowers are present from May to June. The roots have pink buds.

Ranunculus ficaria ID, Photo Credit: Leslie J. Mehrhoff, www.bugwood.org

Lesser Celandine

Ficaria verna

Lesser celandine is a low-growing, herbaceous perennial that has the ability to form extensive mats across the ground. It can be identified by its dark and shiny green, kidney-shaped leaves.

Mile-A-Minute Vine

Persicaria perfoliata

Mile-a-minute is an herbaceous, annual, trailing vine that can reach lengths of 6 m or more. Its stems are covered with barbs, which are also present on the underside of its leaf blades.

Artemisia vulgaris Leaves, Photo Credit: Ohio State Weed Lab Archive, The Ohio State University, www.bugwood.org

Mugwort

Artemisia vulgaris

Mugwort is a perennial herb that grows 2-5 ft. tall. The upper surface of the alternate leaves are dark green and smooth, while the undersides are silvery and hairy. Its leaves are variable in shape.