National Park Service U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service National Capital Region Chesapeake Bay Field Office Center for Urban Ecology 177 Admiral Cochrane Drive 4598 MacArthur Boulevard, N.W. Annapolis, MD 21401 Washington, DC 20007 (410) 573-4500 (202) 339-8318 www.fws.gov/chesapeakebay/ www.nps.gov/cue PLANT INVADERS OF MID-ATLANTIC NATURAL AREAS • 5th Edition NATURAL OF MID-ATLANTIC PLANT INVADERS Plant Invaders of National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Maryland Department of Natural Resources 1120 Connecticut Avenue N.W., Suite 900 Wildlife and Heritage Service Mid-Atlantic Washington, DC 20036 580 Taylor Avenue, Tawes State Office Building (202) 857-0166 Annapolis, MD 21401 www.nfwf.org (410) 260-8540 Natural Areas www.dnr.state.md.us Plant Conservation Alliance 1849 C Street N.W., LSB-204 Mid-Atlantic Invasive Plant Council Washington, DC 20240 5617 5th Street S. Revised & Updated – with More Species (202) 912-7232 Arlington, VA 22204 www.nps.gov/plants www.maipc.org and Expanded Control Guidance The Nature Conservancy National Capital Area Garden Clubs, Inc. Maryland/DC Chapter 3501 New York Avenue, N.E. 5410 Grosvenor Lane, Suite 100 Washington, DC 20002-1958 Bethesda, MD 20814 www.ncagardenclubs.org (301) 897-8570 www.nature.org City of Bowie, Maryland Dept of Planning and Economic Development Chesapeake Bay Foundation 2614 Kenhill Drive Philip Merrill Environmental Center Bowie, MD 20715 6 Herndon Avenue (301) 809-3051 Annapolis, MD 21403 www.cityofbowie.org (410) 268-8816 www.cbf.org Worcester County, Maryland Department of Comprehensive Planning Chesapeake Bay Trust One West Market Street, Suite 1302 60 West Street, Suite 200-A Snow Hill, MD 21863 Annapolis, MD 21401 (410) 632-5651 (410) 974-2941 www.co.worcester.md.us www.chesapeakebaytrust.org National Park Service U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Plant Invaders of Mid-Atlantic Natural Areas, 5th ed. Authors Jil Swearingen National Park Service National Capital Region Center for Urban Ecology 4598 MacArthur Blvd., N.W. Washington, DC 20007 Britt Slattery, Kathryn Reshetiloff and Susan Zwicker U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Chesapeake Bay Field Office 177 Admiral Cochrane Dr. Annapolis, MD 21401 Citation Swearingen, J., B. Slattery, K. Reshetiloff, and S. Zwicker. 2014. Plant Invaders of Mid-Atlantic Natural Areas, 5th ed. National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Washington, DC. 168pp. 1st edition, 2002 2nd edition, 2004 3rd edition, 2006 4th edition, 2010 5th edition, 2014 1 Acknowledgements Graphic Design and Layout Olivia Kwong, Plant Conservation Alliance & Center for Plant Conservation, Washington, DC Laurie Hewitt, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Chesapeake Bay Field Office, Annapolis, MD Acknowledgements Funding provided by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation with matching contributions by: Chesapeake Bay Foundation Chesapeake Bay Trust City of Bowie, Maryland Maryland Department of Natural Resources Mid-Atlantic Invasive Plant Council National Capital Area Garden Clubs Plant Conservation Alliance The Nature Conservancy, Maryland–DC Chapter Worcester County, Maryland, Department of Comprehensive Planning Additional Fact Sheet Contributors Laurie Anne Albrecht (jetbead) Peter Bergstrom (European watermilfoil) Kathy Bilton (nodding star-of-Bethlehem) Meghan Fellows (yellow archangel) Richard Hammerschlag & Brent Steury (marsh dewflower) Kerrie Kyde (wavyleaf basketgrass) Roy Miller (hydrilla) Michael Naylor (water chestnut) Kathryn Reshetiloff (Japanese honeysuckle, white mulberry, sawtooth oak, common periwinkle) Rod Simmons (broadleaf helleborine) Julie Slacum (privets) Edith Thompson (butterflybush, Japanese silver grass, daylily) Mary Travaglini (linden viburnum) Alan Whittemore (Callery pear) Reviewers Philip Pannill (control options), Selma Sawaya (general proof-read- ing), John Peter Thompson (various), Joe DiTomaso (ravenna-grass) Cover Image Common periwinkle (Vinca minor) by Bill Johnson 2 Preface Contrary to the title, the focus of Plant Invaders of Mid-Atlantic Natural Areas is native biodiversity. Invasive species, habitat destruction and global climate change are leading causes of environmental degradation and loss of biological diversity worldwide. The ever-expanding human population and associated demand on limited natural resources are driving this worldwide problem. International trade provides a means to satisfy our insatiable appetite for exotic things but has resulted in the introduction of plants, insects and pathogens that threaten our environment and health. Preserving and restoring remaining intact natural habitats, removing invasive plants and animals, managing overabundant white-tailed deer populations and restoring natural hydrologic and other conditions are some steps we can take to mend degraded lands. This fifth edition provides updates on taxonomy, biological control and other information. The fourth edition was greatly expanded and reorganized to provide more information in a more efficient manner. Twenty species were added (80 species up from 60 previously) and a new section called “Plants to Watch” was added. This includes a number of species that may not be widespread but are increasingly catching the attention of ecologists, land managers and others as being invasive in natural habitats. Control guidance was expanded and placed at the end of each section and native plant alternatives were consolidated and placed in a separate section. For the purposes of this manual, the mid-Atlantic region includes the District of Columbia and the states of Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. About 300 exotic plant species have been identified by experts as being invasive in natural areas in this region. A complete list is available from the Invasive Plant Atlas of the United States (see References). As of this printing, the Invasive Plant Atlas shows 1,173 plants having been reported to be invasive in natural areas in the U.S. This guide should be used as an introduction to invasive plants and the impacts they are having on natural habitats and ecosystems. Plants not included here should not be assumed to be non-harmful. This book is dedicated to Gail Sharabi who inspired my first Weed Buster event at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, Maryland on Columbus Day in 1993. 3 Table of Contents Preface ............................................................................................................... 3 Table of Contents ............................................................................................... 4 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 7 Aquatic Plants Eurasian Water-Milfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum) ............................... 14 Giant Salvinia (Salvinia molesta) ............................................................. 16 Hydrilla (Hydrilla verticillata) ................................................................ 17 Parrot-Feather (Myriophyllum aquaticum) .......................................... 19 Water Chestnut (Trapa natans) ............................................................... 21 Grasses and Sedges Bamboos (Bambusa vulgaris, Phyllostachys aurea, aureosuleata and reticulata, Pleioblastus fortunei, Pseudosasa japonica) .................. 23 Bog Bulrush (Schoenoplectus mucronatus) ........................................... 24 Common Reed (Phragmites australis) .................................................... 26 Japanese Stiltgrass (Microstegium vimineum) ..................................... 28 Wavyleaf Basketgrass (Oplismenus hirtellus ssp. undulatifolius) .... 29 Control Options ........................................................................................... 31 Herbaceous Forbs Beefsteak Plant (Perilla frustescens) ...................................................... 36 Canada Thistle (Cirsium arvense) ........................................................... 37 Chinese Lespedeza (Lespedeza cuneata) ................................................ 38 Common Daylily (Hemerocallis fulva) .................................................... 40 Dame’s Rocket (Hesperis matronalis) ..................................................... 41 European Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica) .............................................. 43 Fig Buttercup (Ficaria verna) .................................................................. 44 Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata) .......................................................... 45 Ground Ivy (Glechoma hederacea) ........................................................... 47 Japanese Knotweed (Fallopia japonica) ................................................ 48 Nodding Star of Bethlehem (Ornithogalum nutans) and Sleepydick (Ornithogalum umbellatum) ............................................ 50 Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) .................................................. 51 Spotted Knapweed (Centaurea stoebe ssp. micranthos) ...................... 53 Control Options ........................................................................................... 55 Shrubs and Subshrubs Amur Honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii) .................................................. 61 Autumn Olive (Elaeagnus umbellata) .................................................... 62 Japanese Barberry (Berberis thunbergii) ............................................... 64 Japanese Meadowsweet (Spiraea japonica) ........................................... 65 Linden Viburnum (Viburnum dilatatum) ..............................................