Garlic Mustard F, O Purple Loosestrife W What is an Invasive Plant? Alliaria petiolata Lythrum salicaria • An “invasive” plant is a non-native plant that infests Description: Biennial; first year rosettes of kidney- Description: Perennial with stout stems to 7-feet tall; natural areas and causes environmental or economic shaped leaves overwinter; second year plants grow up to stems are square or octagonal; leaves clasping, lance- harm, or harm to human health. Of the roughly 2,900 4-feet tall with triangular sharp- shaped, opposite, rarely alternate or whorled; rose-pur- plant species growing outside of cultivation in Indiana, toothed leaves and small, white ple flowers with 5-6 petals clustered in terminal spikes. approximately 33% are non-native but only a small frac- 4-petaled flowers in a cluster at Problem: Decreases wetland bird nesting and foraging, tion of those non-native species are invasive. Invasive top of stem; fruits are upright, changes water chemistry, and crowds out native species. plants degrade and destroy thousands of acres of our thin, cylindrical pods; plant has natural plant communities in Indiana. Each year mil- garlic odor. lions of dollars are spent to control them. Problem: Displaces wildflowers; • Many of these invasive species have been used in land- poisons the soil, inhibiting fungi scaping, but to reduce further infestations most are be- that are important to tree and ing considered for a rule that would make it illegal to buy, plant growth; has leaf chemicals sell, or plant them in Indiana. We encourage you to look that kill native butterfly larvae for alternatives (see back panel for more information). that feed on the plant. Why Should I Care? • Invasive plants cost money. A 2012 survey of 120 agen- cies and landowners in Indiana found we spent $5.7 million to manage these species and protect our natu- Habitat codes (found in upper right corner of species descriptions): F: Forest, O: Open Land, W: Wetland ral areas. Nationally, agricultural and control costs due to invasive plants are estimated at $15 billion per year. Each year the cost grows. Callery (Bradford) Pear F, O Japanese Honeysuckle F, O Pyrus calleryana Lonicera japonica • Invasive plants hurt wildlife by crowding out the plants our native animals need for food and cover. Description: Deciduous tree to 30-feet tall; leaves Description: Woody, semi-evergreen, climbing vine; • Most invasive shrubs and trees are little used by native alternate, ovate, smooth, finely toothed and wavy-edged, leaves opposite and oval, smooth margin, sometimes insects. This reduces habitat for beneficial pollinators shiny green above and paler below; flowers white, 5 pet- lobed; flowers white, and predatory insects, as well as reducing the amount of als, in dense clusters, fragrant, in pairs, and food available for birds to feed their nestlings. unpleasant odor; small, turn yellow with age; round, brown fruits. fruits are black berries. • Invasive plants destroy habitat for rare wildflowers and Problem: Produces large Problem: Vines cover animals, threatening two-thirds of all endangered species. number of fruits which native plants and out- • Invasive plants can become weedy in a home garden, are spread by starlings; compete them for light; crowding out other landscaping. can establish densely in root system outcom- • Invasive plants can also decrease your ability to enjoy forest understory and petes native plants for hunting, fishing, mushroom collecting, bird-watching, outcompete native trees. water and nutrients. and many other recreational pursuits by crowding forest floors and choking waterways, making use of these areas difficult.

Other Invasives in Indiana What Can We Do? The official list of invasive plants found in Indiana is at • Avoid using invasive plants in your garden; ask your Invasive Plants http://www.entm.purdue.edu/iisc/invasiveplants.php. nursery for native, non-invasive alternatives, and do the Many of these plants are illustrated in this brochure, but research to ensure that the plants you are purchasing and additional plants from the list that are threatening Indi- installing are not considered invasive in your ecoregion. in Indiana ana natural areas are listed below. Avoid planting these, • Scout your property for invasive species, and remove and learn to recognize and eliminate them before they them before they become a problem. Plant appropriate spread. The habitat where they most often occur is in- non-invasive native species as necessary to replace the dicated. invasive species you remove. F: Forest O: Open Land W: Wetland • Alert people in your neighborhood and work place about Pretty... the problem of invasives and what species to watch for. Flowers: • Volunteer to help remove invasives at local parks and Canada Thistle, Cirsium arvense O natural areas. Lesser Celandine, Ranunculus ficaria F • Report invasive plants through Report IN (website below) Japanese Chaff Flower, Achyranthes japonica F, O Plumeless Thistle, Carduus acanthoides O Crown Vetch, Securigera varia O For More Information Dame’s Rocket, Hesperis matronalis F, O, W Identification and Control: Grasses: http://www.invasive.org/ Common Reed, Phragmites australis australis O, W Indiana Invasive Species Council: Reed Canarygrass, Phalaris arundinacea F, O, W http://www.entm.purdue.edu/iisc/ Vines and Groundcovers: Report IN—Reporting Invasive Species in Indiana: http://www.eddmaps.org/indiana/ Periwinkle, Vinca minor F, W English Ivy, Hedera helix and H. hibernica F Landscaping with Non-Invasive Plants: Japanese Hops, Humulus japonicus F, O, W http://www.inpaws.org/landscaping/ Kudzu, Pueraria montana F, O Porcelain Berry, Ampelopsis brevipendunculata F Sweet Autumn Clematis, Clematis terniflora O Credits Wisteria, Wisteria sinensis and W. japonica F Written by Ellen Jacquart and the Invasive Plant Advi- Shrubs: sory Committee of the Indiana Invasive Species Council. Bicolor Lespedeza, Lespedeza bicolor F, O Printed with funds provided by the Indiana Native Plant Awful! European Black Alder, Alnus glutinosa F, O and Wildflower Society. Designed by Jeffrey E. Belth. Privet, Ligustrum obtusifolium, L. vulgare F We thank the following photographers: Robert E. Barber, Highbush Cranberry, Viburnum opulus v. opulus F, W Jeffrey E. Belth, Jessica Helmbold, Ellen Jacquart, Scott Jetbead, Rhodotypos scandens F Namestnik, Mike Norris, Amy Perry, and Paul E. Roth- Trees: rock. All images are copyrighted by the photographers and may not be reproduced without their permission. European Black Alder, Alnus glutinosa F, O Princess Tree, Paulownia tomentosa F Callery (Bradford) Pear Sawtooth Oak, Quercus acutissima F, O Siberian Elm, Ulmus pumila O Tree of Heaven, Ailanthus altissima F, O White Mulberry, Morus alba F, O, W Multiflora Rose F, O Asian Bush Honeysuckle F, O, W Common and Glossy Buckthorn F, O, W Rosa multiflora Lonicera maacki, L. morrowii, L. tatarica, Rhamnus cathartica and Frangula alnus Description: Multi-stemmed, thorny shrub to 15-feet x bella, x muendeniensis, and x xylosteioides Description: Shrub or small trees. Common buckthorn tall; leaves alternate, pinnately compound with 7-9 leaf- Description: Shrub to 15-feet tall; leaves opposite, sim- leaves (left) subopposite with toothed margin and dis- lets and feathery stipules at the base of the leaf stalk; ple, oval to oblong with smooth margin, L. maacki with tinctive parallel veins; flowers greenish, inconspicuous large clusters of 1/2-1 inch wide white to pink flowers; short pointed tip; flowers in pairs, fragrant, white in L. with 4 petals; fruit (lower left) black. Glossy buckthorn many 1/4 inch round red fruits. maacki and L. morrowii, pink to purplish red in L. tatari- leaves (right) alternate with smooth margin, glossy and Problem: Forms dense thorny thickets that invade pas- ca, variable in the hybrids; berries red, orange, or yellow. oval; leaves have distinc- tures and crowd out native species. Problem: Dense shrub growth shades out plants on the tive parallel veins; stem has forest floor; it reduces the growth and regeneration of speckled appearance; flow- trees, reduces nesting bird success, and increases ticks ers greenish, inconspicuous and tick-related illnesses. with 5 petals; fruit (lower right) red to purplish black. Problem: Common buck- thorn is the overwinter- ing host for soybean aphid L. maacki and alternate host for oat crown/leaf rust; changes nutrient cycling and reduc- es leaf litter layer. Glossy buckthorn reduces growth x bella and survival of young trees.

Burning Bush F, O Japanese Barberry F Autumn Olive F, O Euonymus alatus Berberis thunbergii Elaeagnus umbellata Description: Deciduous shrub to 15-feet tall and wide; Description: Shrub; leaves small, round to ovate, green Description: Deciduous shrub to 20-feet tall; leaves opposite leaves oval to obovate and finely toothed, 1-3 or reddish purple, and in clusters around a spine; cross alternate, oblong, dark green above, and silvery under- inches long and 1/2 to 11/4 inches wide, stalkless or nearly section of stem is bright yellow; yellow, umbrella-shaped neath; stems often have thorn-like shoots; flowers are so; leaves turn bright red in fall, pink in shade; green flowers in clusters of 2-4; fruit small, pendant, bright fragrant, cream turning to yellow, and tube-shaped with to brown stems often have 2-4 prominent corky wings; red, and egg-shaped. four spreading lobes; fruit reddish-pink and speckled. small green flowers with 4 petals. Problem: Significantly increases tick populations and Problem: Increases soil nitrogen, which increases inva- Problem: Creates dense thickets in forest understory, tick-borne illnesses; changes soil microbial community sion by other non-native species. displacing native plants. and nutrient cycling.

Habitat codes (found in upper right corner of species descriptions): F: Forest, O: Open Land, W: Wetland

Norway Maple F Asian Bittersweet F, O Wintercreeper F, O Acer platanoides Celastrus orbiculatus Euonymus fortunei Description: Deciduous tree; leaves opposite and Description: Woody, deciduous, climbing vine; leaves Description: Evergreen, woody, clinging vine; dark palmate with 5-7 lobes, can be purple-leaved; widely alternate, ovate to round, abruptly sharp-pointed and green or variegated thick, egg-shaped opposite leaves spreading winged glossy; small greenish flowers occur in clusters in the leaf with toothed margins; stems narrow, warty, with root- fruit; milky sap in axils; yellow, papery coat surrounding capsule splits to lets; flowers green-white on long stalks; fruits pinkish petioles which are reveal red-orange fruit in to red capsules that split open to ex- 3-4 inches long; leaf axils in fall. American pose orange fruits. gray bark. Bittersweet (C. scandens) Problem: Outcompetes native veg- Problem: Regen- is similar but fruit reddish, etation by depleting soil moisture erates prolifically with orange papery coats, and nutrients, blocking sunlight, under forest can- and in terminal clusters, and by forming a dense vegetative opy and displaces not in leaf axils. mat that impedes the growth of native trees, shrubs Problem: Climbs up and seedlings of native species. and herbs. overtops trees, making them more vulnerable to windthrow; twining stems girdle or kill trees; hybridizes with native bit- tersweet, with the hybrids out-competing the native species.

Japanese Stiltgrass F, O Chinese Maiden Grass O Japanese and Giant Knotweed F, O Microstegium vimineum Miscanthus sinensis Reynoutria japonica, R. sachalinensis, and R. x bohemica Description: Annual, sprawling grass to 4-feet tall; Description: Perennial to 8-feet tall; long leaves have Description: Rhizomatous perennial to 10-feet tall; leaves pale green, lance-shaped, 1-4 inches long, with a silver midrib; flower spikes 8-10 inches long, persist into aggressively spreads by rhizomes; stems hollow with silvery stripe on midrib; small flower spikes appear in winter as silvery plumes. membranous sheath surrounding stem above swollen late summer. Problem: This common landscaping plant can spread nodes; leaves alternate, oval, and pointed at tip; flowers Problem: Grows densely, displacing native plants; in- easily out of plantings, displacing native vegetation. are small greenish-white, in clusters in leaf axils. creases heat and duration of forest flames, killing tree Problem: Forms dense thickets; causes serious damage seedlings. to building foundations, decreases wildlife habitat, in- creases erosion and sedimentation.