Nonnative Invasive Plants of Southern Forests

A Field Guide for Identification and Control

United States

Department 

of Agriculture

Forest Service 

Southern Research Station 

General Technical Report SRS–­­62 James H. Miller
James H. Miller, Research Ecologist, USDA Forest Service, 

Southern Research Station, Auburn University, AL 36849.

Author

Funding support for 2006 reprinting provided by the 

Eastern Forest Environmental Threat Assessment Center, Asheville, NC.

First Printed May 2003

Revised August 2003

Revised December 2004

Revised August 2006

Southern Research Station

P.O. Box 2680

Asheville, NC 28802

Front Cover

Upper left—Chinese lespedeza (Lespedeza cuneata) infestation that developed from dormant seed 

in the soil seed bank after a forest thinning operation.

Upper right—Kudzu (Pueraria montana) infestation on the urban-wildland interface.

Lower left—Chinese privet (Ligustrum sinense) and dormant kudzu invading and replacing a pinehardwood stand.

Lower right—Cogongrass (Imperata cylindrica) infestation under mature slash pine (Pinus elliottii).

Back Cover

Upper left—Stem injection using a hatchet and spray bottle to apply a hack-and-squirt treatment to 

control silktree (Albizia julibrissin).

Upper right—Hand pulling seedlings of Chinese privet (Ligustrum sinense).

Lower left—Prescribed burning can often assist in controlling garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata).

Lower right—Containerized native plants for rehabilitation plantings. 

Available without charge from 

the Southern Research Station


Nonnative Invasive Plants

of Southern Forests

A Field Guide for Identification and Control

James H. Miller
ii

The contributions of Erwin B. Chambliss, USDA Forest Service, Auburn, AL, 

have been invaluable in image management and layout. Kristine Johnson, 

Great Smoky Mountains National Park; Johnny Randall, North Carolina 

Botanical Gardens; Jack Ranney, University of Tennessee; and Fred Nations, 

Weeks Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, made comprehensive 

reviews and provided invaluable recommendations for improvements.

Reviews of control recommendations were made by Ron Cornish, Dow 

ArgroScience; Harry Quicke, BASF Corporation; Carroll Walls, UAP Timberlands; and Michael Link, DuPont Corporation. Their knowledgeable comments greatly strengthened content and clarity. 

All Plant Images by the Author Except for the Contributions by:

Ted Bodner, Southern Weed Science Society, Champaign, IL

Patrick Breen, Department of Horticulture, Oregon State University, 

Corvallis, OR

Charles T. Bryson, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Southern Weed 

Science Research Unit, Stoneville, MS

Thomas Ellis, Jr., Baldwin County Forestry Planning Committee, Bay 

Minette, AL

Chris Evans, University of Georgia, Tifton, GA

John W. Everest, Department of Agronomy & Soils, Auburn University, 

Auburn, AL

Jerry Gibson, Deer Park, AL

Kristine Johnson, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Gatlinburg, TN

Acknowledgments

Keith Langdon, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Gatlinburg, TN 

John Meade, Department of Plant Science, Rutgers, The State University of 

New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ

Fred Nation, Weeks Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Fairhope, 

AL

John M. Randall, The Nature Conservancy, University of California, Davis, 

CA 

Barry A. Rice, The Nature Conservancy, University of California, Davis, CA

Susan Ross, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Gatlinburg, TN

John Schwegman, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Springfield, IL

Jody Shimp, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Springfield, IL 

Warner Park Nature Center, Metropolitan Board of Parks and Recreation, 

Nashville, TN

Hugh Wilson, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX

Plant Names and Plant Distribution Maps from:

USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Plants Database: http://

plants.usda.gov. 

Images by Ted Bodner copyrighted by the Southern Weed Science Society 

for “Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses” and used by 

permission. 

abstract

Invasions of nonnative plants into forests of the Southern United States continue to go unchecked and unmonitored. Invasive nonnative 

plants infest under and beside forest canopies and dominate small forest openings, increasingly eroding forest productivity, hindering

forest use and management activities, and degrading diversity and wildlife habitat. Often called nonnative, exotic, nonindigenous, alien, or 

noxious weeds, they occur as trees, shrubs, vines, grasses, ferns, and forbs. This book provides information on accurate identification and 

effective control of the 33 nonnative plants and groups that are currently invading the forests of the 13 Southern States, showing both 

growing and dormant season traits. It lists other nonnative plants of growing concern, control strategies, and selective herbicide application 

procedures. Recommendations for preventing and managing invasions on a specific site include maintaining forest vigor with minimal 

disturbance, constant surveillance and treatment of new unwanted arrivals, and finally rehabilitation following eradication.

Keywords: Alien plants, exotic plant control, exotic weeds, herbicide weed control, integrated vegetation management, invasive exotic 

plants, invasive nonindigenous plants, noxious plant control.
iii

SH

R

U

B

S TREES VINES

G

RASSES FE

RNS FORB

S

Explanation of Codes and Conventions Used in

Species Descriptions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv

Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Trees

Tree-of-Heaven. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Silktree, Mimosa. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Princesstree, Paulownia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Chinaberrytree. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Tallowtree, Popcorntree. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Russian Olive. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Shrubs

Silverthorn, Thorny Olive. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Autumn Olive. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Winged Burning Bush. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Chinese / European Privet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Japanese / Glossy Privet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Bush Honeysuckles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Sacred Bamboo, Nandina. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Nonnative Roses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Vines

Oriental Bittersweet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Climbing Yams. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Winter Creeper. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

English Ivy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Japanese Honeysuckle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Kudzu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Vincas, Periwinkles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Nonnative Wisterias. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Grasses

Giant Reed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Tall Fescue. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Cogongrass. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Nepalese Browntop. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Contents

Grasses (cont.)

Chinese Silvergrass. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Bamboos. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Ferns

Japanese Climbing Fern. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 

Forbs

Garlic Mustard. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Shrubby Lespedeza. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Chinese Lespedeza. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Tropical Soda Apple. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Other Nonnative Plants Invading Southern Forests 

and Their Margins. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

General Principles for Controlling Nonnative

Invasive Plants. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Effective Treatments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Selective Herbicide Application Methods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Selecting an Effective Herbicide. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Other Treatments for an Integrated Approach. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

The Rehabiliation Phase. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Prescriptions for Specific Nonnative Invasive Plants. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Nonnative Trees. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Nonnative Shrubs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Nonnative Vines. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Nonnative Grasses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Nonnative Ferns. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Nonnative Forbs and Subshrubs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Sources of Control Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

Glossary of Important Terms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Flower Parts, Flower Types, Inflorescences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Leaf Arrangements, Leaf Divisions, Shapes, Margins. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Parts of a Grass Plant. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
iv

Ailanthus altissima (P. Mill.) Swingle AIAL

Synonyms: ailanthus, Chinese sumac, stinking sumac, paradise-tree, copal-tree

Plant. Deciduous tree to 80 feet (25 m) in height and 6 feet (1.8 m) in diameter, with 

long pinnately compound leaves and circular glands under lobes on leaflet bases. 

Strong odor from flowers and other parts, sometimes likened to peanuts or cashews.

Stem. Twigs stout, chestnut brown to reddish tan, and smooth-to-velvety with light 

dots (lenticels) and heart-shaped leaf scars. Buds finely hairy, dome-shaped, and 

partially hidden by the leaf base. Branches light gray to dark gray, smooth and 

glossy, with raised dots becoming fissures with age. Bark light gray and rough with 

areas of light-tan fissures.

Tree-of-Heaven 0341

Scientific name

$

International code

$

Common name

$

Forest Inventory 

and Analysis 

survey code

$

Explanation of Codes and Conventions

Used in Species Descriptions
1

Introduction

Invasions of nonnative plants into southern forests continue to go largely 

unchecked and only partially monitored. Invasive nonnative plants infest 

under and beside forest canopies and occupy small forest openings, 

increasingly eroding forest productivity, hindering forest use and management activities, and degrading diversity and wildlife habitat. Often called 

non-native, exotic, nonindigenous, alien, or noxious weeds, they occur as 

trees, shrubs, vines, grasses, ferns, and forbs. Some have been introduced 

into this country accidentally, but most were brought here as ornamentals 

or for livestock forage. These robust plants arrived without their natural 

predators of insects and diseases that tend to keep native plants in natural 

balance. Many have hybridized. Now they increase across the landscape 

with little opposition, beyond the control and reclamation measures applied 

by landowners and managers on individual land holdings. 

The objective of this book is to provide information on accurate identification and effective control of the 33 plants or groups that are invading 

the forests of the 13 Southern States at an alarming rate, showing both 

growing and dormant season traits. It lists other nonnative invasive plants 

of growing concern and explains control recommendations and selective 

application procedures. The text and photographs were originally 

developed to assist in the first region-wide survey and monitoring of these 

invading species, conducted by the USDA Forest Service’s Forest Inventory 

and Analysis Research Work Unit of the Southern Research Station in 

collaboration with State forestry management agencies. The four-number 

survey codes as well as the international plant codes are given for each 

species (see opposite page). 

Integrated vegetation management programs are needed to combat 

invading nonnative plants. Strategies of surveillance and treatment of new 

arrivals will safeguard lands, and rehabilitation of existing infestations can be 

achieved by concerted control measures and reestablishment of native 

vegetation.

Broadcast treatment of herbicide spray to kudzu.
TREES

Tree-of-Heaven

August July July

August August October October

February

September September
TREES

Tree-of-Heaven 0341

States with suspected 

infestations are 

shown in gray.

July

Ailanthus altissima (P. Mill.) Swingle AIAL

Synonyms: ailanthus, Chinese sumac, stinking sumac, paradise-tree, copal-tree

Plant. Deciduous tree to 80 feet (25 m) in height and 6 feet (1.8 m) in diameter, with 

long pinnately compound leaves and circular glands under lobes on leaflet bases. 

Strong odor from flowers and other parts, sometimes likened to peanuts or cashews.

Stem. Twigs stout, chestnut brown to reddish tan, and smooth-to-velvety with light 

dots (lenticels) and heart-shaped leaf scars. Buds finely hairy, dome-shaped, and 

partially hidden by the leaf base. Branches light gray to dark gray, smooth and 

glossy, with raised dots becoming fissures with age. Bark light gray and rough with 

areas of light-tan fissures.

Leaves. Alternate, odd- or even-pinnately compound, 10 to 41 leaflets on 1- to 

3-foot (30 to 90 cm) light-green to reddish-green stalks with swollen bases. Leaflets 

lanceolate and asymmetric and not always directly opposite, each 2 to 7 inches (5 to 

18 cm) long and 1 to 2 inches (2.5 to 5 cm) wide. Long tapering tips and lobed bases 

with one or more glands beneath each lobe (round dots). Margins entire. Dark 

green with light-green veins above and whitish green beneath. Petioles 0.2 to 0.5 inch 

(5 to 12 mm) long.

Flowers. April to June. Large terminal clusters to 20 inches (50 cm) long of small, 

yellowish-green flowers, with five petals and five sepals. Male and female flower on 

separate trees.

Fruit and seeds. July to February. Persistent clusters of wing-shaped fruit with 

twisted tips on female trees, 1 inch (2.5 cm) long. Single seed. Green turning to tan 

then brown. 

Ecology. Rapid growing, forming thickets and dense stands. Both shade and flood 

intolerant and allelopathic. Colonizes by root sprouts and spreads by prolific windand water-dispersed seeds. Viable seed can be produced by 2- and 3-year-old 

plants.

Resembles hickories, Carya spp., and sumacs, Rhus spp., but neither has glands at 

leaflet bases. Hickories distinguished by a braided bark, sumacs by shrub shape.

History and use. Introduced in 1784 from Europe, although originally from Eastern 

China. Ornamental.
4

trEES

Silktree, Mimosa

T. Bodner

August November November June

June November November January February
TREES

Albizia julibrissin Durazz. ALJU

Synonym: silky acacia

Plant. Deciduous leguminous tree 10 to 50 feet (3 to 15 m) in height with single or 

multiple boles, smooth light-brown bark, feathery leaves, and showy pink blossoms 

that continually yield dangling flat pods during summer. Pods persistent during winter.

Stem. Twigs slender to stout, lime green turning shiny grayish brown with light dots 

(lenticels). No terminal bud. Bark glossy, thin, light brown turning gray with raised 

corky dots and dashes.

Leaves. Alternate, bipinnately compound 6 to 20 inches (15 to 50 cm) long with 

8 to 24 pairs of branches and 20 to 60 leaflets per branch, feathery and fernlike. 

Leaflets asymmetric, 0.4 to 0.6 inch (1 to 1.5 cm) long, dark green, with midvein 

nearer and running parallel to one margin. Margins entire.

Flowers. May to July (and sporadically to November). Terminal clusters at the base 

of the current year’s twigs, each with 15 to 25 sessile flowers 1.4 to 2 inches (3.5 to 

5 cm) long. Pom-pom like with numerous filaments, bright-pink feathery tufts with 

white bases. Fragrant.

Fruits and seeds. June to February. Legume pods in clusters, flat with bulging 

seeds, each pod 3 to 7 inches (8 to 18 cm) long, splitting in winter along the edges to 

release 5 to 10 oval seeds. Initially light green turning dark brown in fall and whitish 

tan in winter.

Ecology. Occurs on dry-to-wet sites and spreads along stream banks, preferring 

open conditions but also persisting in shade. Seldom found above 3,000 feet (900 m). 

Forms colonies from root sprouts and spreads by abundant animal- and water-dispersed seeds. Seeds remain viable for many years. Nitrogen fixer.

Resembles honeylocust, Gleditsia triacanthos L., which has longer leaflets—

1 inch (2.5 cm) long. Seedlings resemble partridge pea, Chamaecrista fasciculata 

(Michx.) Greene, an annual plant with once pinnately compound leaves. 

History and use. A traditional ornamental introduced from Asia in 1745. Potential 

use for forage and biofuel.

Silktree, Mimosa 0345

States with suspected 

infestations are 

shown in gray.

June
TREES

Princesstree, Paulownia

June June October October

October October June March June June
TREES

Paulownia tomentosa (Thunb.) Sieb. & Zucc. ex Steud. PATO2

Synonym: empresstree

Plant. Deciduous tree to 60 feet (18 m) in height and 2 feet (60 cm) in diameter with 

large heart-shaped leaves, fuzzy hairy on both sides, showy pale-violet flowers in 

early spring before leaves, and persistent pecan-shaped capsules in terminal clusters in summer to winter. Abundant flower buds present on erect stalks over winter.

Stem. Twigs and branches stout, glossy gray brown and speckled with numerous 

white dots (lenticels). No terminal bud. Lateral leaf scars raised, circular, and becom-

ing larger, dark, and sunken. Bark light-to-dark gray, roughened, and becoming 

slightly fissured. Stem pith chambered or hollow and wood white.

Leaves. Opposite, heart-shaped and fuzzy hairy on both surfaces, 6 to 12 inches 

(15 to 30 cm) long and 5 to 9 inches (13 to 23 cm) wide. Leaves larger on resprouts, 

16 to 20 inches (40 to 50 cm) across, with extra tips often extending at vein tips. 

Petioles rough hairy, 2 to 8 inches (5 to 20 cm) long.

Flowers. April to May. Covered with showy erect panicles of pale-violet flowers

before leaves in early spring, tubular with five unequal lobes. Fragrant. Flower buds 

fuzzy, linear, and becoming ovoid in summer and persistent on erect stalks over 

winter. 

Fruit and seeds. June to April. Terminal clusters of pecan-shaped capsules 1 to 

2 inches (2.5 to 5 cm) long and 0.6 to 1 inch (1.5 to 2.5 cm) wide. Pale green in 

summer turning to tan in winter and eventually black and persistent into spring. 

Capsules splitting in half during late winter to release tiny winged seeds. 

Ecology. Common around old homes, on roadsides, riparian areas, and forest margins in infested areas. Infrequently planted in plantations. Spreads by wind- and 

water- dispersed seeds. Invades after fire, harvesting, and other disturbances. Forms 

colonies from root sprouts.

Resembles southern catalpa, Catalpa bignonioides Walt., and northern catalpa, 

C. speciosa (Warder) Warder ex Engelm., which have leaves with sparsely hairy

upper surfaces and rough hairy lower surfaces and long slender, persistent beans. 

History and use. Introduced in the early 1800s from East Asia. Has been widely 

planted as an ornamental and grown in scattered plantations for speculative highvalue wood exports to Japan.

Princesstree, Paulownia 0712

States with suspected 

infestations are 

shown in gray.

April
TREES

Chinaberrytree

T. Bodner

May July November November January

July July November November July
TREES

Melia azedarach L. MEAZ

Plant. Deciduous tree to 50 feet (15 m) in height and 2 feet (60 cm) in diameter, 

much branched with multiple boles, lacy dark-green leaves having a musky odor,

and clusters of lavender flowers in spring yielding persistent, poisonous yellow berries. 

Stem. Twigs stout, glossy greenish-brown with light dots (lenticels). No terminal

bud. Numerous broad, V-shaped, raised leaf scars with three bundle scars below a 

domed fuzzy bud. Bark dark chocolate brown and becoming increasingly fissured

with age. Wood soft and white.

Leaves. Alternately whorled, bipinnately compound, 1 to 2 feet (30 to 60 cm) long 

and 9 to 16 inches (23 to 40 cm) wide. Leafstalk lime green with base slightly clasp-

ing stem. Each leaflet lanceolate with tapering tips, 1 to 3 inches (2.5 to 8 cm) long 

and 0.5 to 1.2 inches (1 to 3 cm) wide. Margins varying from entire to coarsely

crenate to serrate and wavy. Glossy dark green with light-green midvein above and 

pale green with lighter-green midvein beneath, becoming golden yellow in fall. 

Flowers. March to May. Showy panicles from lower axils of new stems. Five 

pinkish-lavender to whitish petals, stamens united in dark-purple tube. Five green 

sepals. Fragrant.

Fruit and seeds. July to January. Berrylike spherical drupe 0.5 to 0.7 inch (1.2 to 

1.8 cm) wide persisting through winter and containing a stone with one to six seeds. 

Light green turning yellowish green then yellowish tan. Poisonous to humans and 

livestock. 

Ecology. Common on roadsides, at forest margins, and around old homesites but

rare at high elevations. Semishade tolerant. Forms colonies from root sprouts or 

sprouts from root collars, and spreads by bird-dispersed abundant seeds.

Resembles common elderberry, Sambucus canadensis L., a spreading crowned

shrub with once pinnately compound leaves, margins finely serrate, and green to

dark-purple berries in flat-topped clusters.

History and use. Introduced in the mid-1800s from Asia. Widely planted as a traditional ornamental around homesites. Extracts potentially useful for natural pesticides.

Chinaberrytree 0993

States with suspected 

infestations are 

shown in gray.

June November November
10

TREES

Tallowtree, Popcorntree

T. Bodner

F. Nation

June

December December

September September

September September

September September

November November
11

TREES

Triadica sebifera (L.) Small TRSE6 

Synonym: Chinese tallowtree, Sapium sebiferum (L.) Roxb.

Plant. Deciduous tree to 60 feet (18 m) in height and 3 feet (90 cm) in diameter, with 

heart-shaped leaves, dangling yellowish spikes in spring yielding small clusters of 

three-lobed fruit that split to reveal popcorn-like seeds in fall and winter.

Stem. Terminal clusters of flowers and fruits result in whorled branching from

lateral buds below fruit clusters. Twigs lime green turning gray with scattered brownish 

dots (lenticels) later becoming striations. Numerous semicircular leaf scars becom-

ing raised with age. Bark light gray and fissured. Sap milky.

Leaves. Alternately whorled, distinctively heart-shaped with a rounded wide-angled 

base and a short or long attenuate tip. Blades 2 to 3 inches (5 to 8 cm) long and 

1.5 to 2.5 inches (4 to 6 cm) wide. Dark-green with light-green mid- and lateral veins 

and turning yellow to red in fall. Hairless, lime-green petioles 1 to 3 inches (2.5 to 

8 cm) with two tiny glands on upper side of juncture between blade and petiole 

(requires magnification).

Flowers. April to June. Slender, drooping spikes to 8 inches (20 cm) long of tiny 

flowers. Yellowish-green sepals but no petals. Female flowers at base and males 

along the spike.

Fruit and seeds. August to January. Small terminal clusters of three-lobed capsules (occasionally four to five lobed), each 0.5 to 0.75 inch (1.2 to 2 cm) across. 

Dark green in summer becoming black and splitting to reveal three white-wax coated 

seeds 0.3 inch (0.8 cm) long and 0.2 inch (0.5 cm) wide. Resemble popcorn and 

remain attached until winter.

Ecology. Invades stream banks, riverbanks, and wet areas like ditches as well as 

upland sites. Thrives in both freshwater and saline soils. Shade tolerant, flood

tolerant, and allelopathic. Increasing widely through ornamental plantings. Spread-

ing by bird- and water-dispersed seeds and colonizing by prolific surface root sprouts. 

Resembles cottonwoods, Populus spp., which have wavy margined leaves and flak-

ing bark.

History and use. Introduced from China to South Carolina in the 1700s and then in 

significant numbers to the gulf coast in the early 1900s. Plantings for seed oil recommended by the U.S. Department of Agriculture during 1920 to 1940. Ornamentals 

still sold and planted. Waxy seeds traditionally used to make candles. Honey plant 

for beekeeping.

Tallowtree, Popcorntree 0994

T. Ellis, Jr.

States with suspected 

infestations are 

shown in gray.

May
12

TREES

Russian Olive

P. Breen

© J. Randall

P. Breen

P. BreenP. BreenP. Breen

Spring

Winter

Summer Winter Winter

Summer Fall
13

TREES

Elaeagnus angustifolia L. ELAN

Synonym: oleaster

Plant. Deciduous, thorny tree or shrub to 35 feet (10 m) in height with a single bole, 

many long narrow leaves, and many yellow fruit covered with minute silvery scales. 

Stem. Twigs slender, thorny, and silver scaly becoming glossy and greenish. 

Branches smooth and reddish brown. Pith pale brown to orange brown. Bark dark 

brown and densely fissured. 

Leaves. Alternate, long lanceolate to oblanceolate measuring 1.5 to 4 inches (4 to 

10 cm) long and 0.4 to 1.2 inches (1 to 3 cm) wide. Margins entire (rarely toothed). 

Green to slightly silvery above with dense silver scales beneath. Petioles short and 

silvery.

Flowers. April to July. Axillary clusters, each with 5 to 10 silvery-white to yellow 

flowers. Tubular with four lobes. Fragrant.

Fruit and seeds. August to October. Drupelike, hard fleshy fruit 0.5 inch (1.2 cm) 

wide and long, resembling an olive. Light green to yellow (sometimes tinged with

red). One nutlet in each fruit. 

Ecology. Found as scattered plants in forest openings, open forests, and along

forest edges. Thrives in sandy floodplains. Shade intolerant. Spreads by bird- and 

other animal-dispersed seeds. A nonleguminous nitrogen fixer.

Resembles silverthorn or thorny olive, E. pungens Thunb., which is an evergreen 

with brown scaly and hairy twigs, flowers in late fall producing few reddish silverscaly drupes in spring. Also resembles autumn olive, E. umbellata Thunb., which 

has leaves with nonscaly upper surfaces in summer, flowers in early summer, and 

many reddish, rounded berries in fall and early winter.

History and use. Native to Europe and western Asia, a recent (early 1900s) arrival 

in the upper part of the Southeast. Initially planted as a yard ornamental, for windbreaks, surface mine reclamation, and wildlife habitat.

Russian Olive 0997

P. Breen

Summer

States with suspected 

infestations are 

shown in gray.
14

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Silverthorn, Thorny Olive

T. Bodner

March

April

October October April
15

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Elaeagnus pungens Thunb. ELPU2

Plant. Evergreen, densely bushy shrub 3 to 25 feet (1 to 8 m) in height, with long 

limber projecting shoots, scattered thorny branches. Thick leaves, silver-brown scaly 

beneath. Often found as escaped single plants from animal-dispersed seeds.

Stem. Multiple stems and densely branched. Twigs brown and dense with brown 

scales and hairy when young. Short shoots with small leaves becoming sharpbranched or unbranched thorns 0.4 to 1.6 inches (1 to 4 cm) long, and in second

year producing leafy lateral branches, followed by flowers in fall. Lateral branches 

distinctly long, limber, and in late summer to spring extending beyond bushy crown 

and ascending into trees. Bark dark drab and rough with projecting thorns.

Leaves. Alternate, oval to elliptic and thick, 0.4 to 4 inches (1 to 10 cm) long and 

0.2 to 2 inches (0.6 to 5 cm) wide. Irregular and wavy margins. Blade surfaces silver 

scaly in spring becoming dark green or brownish green above and densely silver 

scaly with scattered brown scales beneath. Petioles 0.1 to 0.2 inch (4 to 5 mm) long, 

grooved above.

Flowers. October to December. Axillary clusters, each with one to three flowers, 

0.4 inch (1 cm) long, silvery white to brown. Tubular with four lobes. Fragrant.

Fruit and seeds. March to June. Oblong, juicy drupe, 0.3 to 0.6 inch (1 to 1.5 cm) 

long, containing one nutlet. Whitish ripening to red and finely dotted with brown

scales. Persistent shriveled calyx tube at tip.

Ecology. Fast-growing, weedy ornamental. Tolerant to shade, drought, and salt. 

Spreads by animal-dispersed seeds and occurs as scattered individuals, both in the 

open and under forest shade. Increases in size by prolific stem sprouts. Can climb 

into trees.

Resembles autumn olive, E. umbellata Thunb., and Russian olive, E. angustifolia L., 

both of which are deciduous and are further described in this book. Autumn olive

has thin leaves with silver scales (not silver brown) and abundant reddish rounded 

berries in fall and early winter. Russian olive has silver scaly twigs and leaf surfaces, 

and many yellow olives in fall and winter.

History and use. Introduced as an ornamental from China and Japan in 1830. 

Frequently planted for hedgerows and on highway right-of-ways and still used for 

landscaping.

Silverthorn, Thorny Olive 2037

States with suspected 

infestations are 

shown in gray.

October October
16

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Autumn Olive

J. Gibson

May April April

October October April December December December December
17

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Elaeagnus umbellata Thunb. ELUM

Plant. Tardily deciduous bushy leafy shrub, 3 to 20 feet (1 to 6 m) in height, with

scattered thorny branches. Leaves silvery scaly beneath, with many red berries in 

fall. 

Stem. Twigs slender and silver scaly, spur twigs common, with some lateral twigs 

becoming pointed like thorns. Branches and main stems glossy olive drab with scattered thorns and many whitish dots (lenticels), becoming light gray to gray brown

with age and eventually fissuring to expose light-brown inner bark.

Leaves. Alternate, elliptic 2 to 3 inches (5 to 8 cm) long and 0.8 to 1.2 inches (2 to

3 cm) wide. Margins entire and wavy. Bright green to gray green above with silver 

scaly midvein and densely silver scaly beneath. Petioles short and silvery.

Flowers. February to June. Axillary clusters, each with 5 to 10 tubular flowers with

4 lobes. Silvery white to yellow. Fragrant.

Fruit and seeds. August to November. Round, juicy drupe 0.3 to 0.4 inch (7 to 

10 mm) containing one nutlet. Red and finely doted with silvery to silvery-brown 

scales.

Ecology. Prefers drier sites. Shade tolerant. Spreads by animal-dispersed seeds 

and found as scattered plants in forest openings and open forests, eventually form-

ing dense stands. A nonleguminous nitrogen fixer.

Resembles silverthorn or thorny olive, E. pungens Thunb., and Russian olive, 

E. angustifolia L. Silverthorn is an evergreen that has brown scaly and hairy twigs, 

flowers in late fall, and few reddish-silver scaly drupes in spring. Russian olive has 

silver scaly twigs and leaves, flowers in early summer, and many yellow olives in fall 

and winter. Also resembles minniebush, Menziesia pilosa (Michx. ex Lam.) Juss. 

ex Pers., a Southern Appalachian native at high elevations, which is distinguished

by glands, not scales, on the midvein and leaves with finely serrate margins.

History and use. Introduced from China and Japan in 1830. Widely planted for

wildlife habitat, strip mine reclamation, and shelterbelts. 

Autumn Olive 2038

States with suspected 

infestations are 

shown in gray.

J. Gibson

October October
18

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Winged Burning Bush

October October May November November December December

April April April
19

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Euonymus alatus (Thunb.) Sieb. EUAL8

Synonyms: wahoo, winged euonymus, burning bush

Plant. Deciduous, wing-stemmed, bushy shrub to 12 feet (4 m) in height, multiple 

stemmed and much branched. Canopy broad and leafy. Small and obovate leaves 

green and turning bright scarlet to purplish red in fall. Paired purple fruit in fall.

Stem. Four corky wings or ridges appearing along young lime-green squarish twigs 

and becoming wider with age. Numerous opposite branches, with bases encircled

by corky rings. Larger branches and bark becoming light gray.

Leaves. Opposite, obovate, and thin, only 1 to 2 inches (2.5 to 5 cm) long and 

0.4 to 0.8 inch (1 to 2 cm) wide. Tips tapering to an acute point. Margins finely

crenate. Both surfaces smooth and hairless. Dark green with whitish midvein above 

and light green beneath turning bright crimson to purplish red in fall. Petioles 0.04 to 

0.16 inches (1 to 4 mm) long.

Flowers. April to May. Axillary pairs of small flowers at the ends of a Y-shaped 

1-inch (2.5-cm) stem. Flowers inconspicuous, 0.2 to 0.3 inch (6 to 8 mm) across, 

greenish-yellow, five-lobed, pistil elongating as fruit forms.

Fruit and seeds. August to January. Dangling paired (or single) reddish capsules

in leaf axils turning purple and splitting in fall to reveal an orange fleshy-covered 

seed.

Ecology. Shade tolerant. Colonizes by root suckers and spreads by animal-dispersed seeds. 

Resembles the larger leaved species of blueberry, Vaccinium spp., but their leaves 

are alternate. Possibly resembles rusty blackhaw, Viburnum rufidulum Raf., which 

also has opposite leaves, but distinguished by their larger size and leathery texture. 

Dormant twigs may resemble winged elm, Ulmus alata Michx., and sweetgum, Liquidambar styraciflua L., which are usually two-winged instead of four-winged.

History and use. Introduced from northeast Asia in the 1860s. Widely planted as 

an ornamental and for highway beautification.

Winged Burning Bush 2042

States with suspected 

infestations are 

shown in gray.

April
20

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Chinese/European Privet

T. Bodner

Chinese privet shown in all images

May September September April

August January September September January T. Bodner T. Bodner

Chinese

privet

Chinese

privet

Glossy

privet

Glossy

privet

October October
21

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Ligustrum sinense Lour./L. vulgare L. LISI/LIVU

Plant. Semievergreen to evergreen, thicket-forming shrubs to 30 feet (9 m) in 

height that are multiple stemmed and leaning-to-arching with long leafy branches. 

Essentially indistinguishable except at flowering. Chinese privet is the most widely 

occurring.

Stem. Opposite or whorled, long slender branching that increases upward with

twigs projecting outward at near right angles. Brownish gray turning gray green and 

short hairy (rusty or grayish) with light dots (lenticels). Leaf scars semicircular with

one bundle scar. Bark brownish gray to gray and slightly rough (not fissured).

Leaves. Opposite in two rows at near right angle to stem, thin, ovate to elliptic with 

rounded tip (often minutely indented), 0.8 to 1.6 inches (2 to 4 cm) long and 0.4 to 

1.2 inches (1 to 3 cm) wide. Margins entire. Lustrous green above and pale green 

with hairy midvein beneath (European privet not hairy beneath). Petioles 0.04 to 

0.2 inch (1 to 5 mm) long, rusty hairy. Leaves usually persistent during winter.

Flowers. April to June. Abundant, terminal and upper axillary clusters on short 

branches forming panicles of white flowers. Corolla four-lobed, tube 0.06 to 0.1 inch 

(1.5 to 2 mm) long and equal or shorter than the lobes, with stamens extending from 

the corolla on Chinese privet and within the corolla on European privet. Fragrant.

Fruit and seeds. July to March. Dense ovoid drupes hanging or projecting outward, 

0.2 to 0.3 inch (6 to 8 mm) long and 0.16 inch (4 mm) wide, containing one to four 

seeds. Pale green in summer ripening to dark purple and appearing almost black in 

late fall to winter.

Ecology. Aggressive and troublesome invasives, often forming dense thickets, 

particularly in bottom-land forests and along fencerows, thus gaining access to forests, fields, and right-of-ways. Shade tolerant. Colonize by root sprouts and spread 

widely by abundant bird- and other animal-dispersed seeds.

Resemble Japanese privet, L. japonicum Thunb., which has larger leaves and is

further described in this book. Also resemble upland swampprivet, Forestiera

ligustrina (Michx.) Poir., which occurs mainly on rocky sites and has short twigs and 

sparse flowers and fruit.

History and use. Introduced from China and Europe in the early to mid-1800s.

Traditional southern ornamentals. Deer browse Chinese privet sprouts.

Chinese/European Privet 2103

States with suspected 

infestations are 

shown in gray.

May
22

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Japanese / Glossy PrivetT. Bodner

June

October October

July June December December June

Japanese 

privet

Japanese 

privet

Glossy 

privet

Glossy 

privet

Glossy 

privet

Glossy 

privet

Glossy 

privet
23

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Ligustrum japonicum Thunb./L. lucidum Ait. f. LIJA/LILU2

Plant. Evergreen to 20 feet (6 m) in height for Japanese privet and 35 feet (10 m) in 

height for glossy privet, with spreading crowns, thick opposite leaves, conical clusters 

of white flowers in spring, and green to purple-black fruit in summer and winter.

Stem. Twigs hairless and pale green becoming brownish to reddish tinged. Branches 

opposite and brownish gray with many raised corky dots (lenticels). Bark light gray 

and smooth except for scattered horizontal, discontinuous ridges.

Leaves. Opposite, leathery, ovate to oblong, bases rounded and tips blunt or tapering 

often with a tiny sharp tip. Two to four inches (5 to 10 cm) long and 1 to 2 inches (2.5 to 

5 cm) wide. Margins entire and often yellowish rimmed and turned upward with glossy 

privet and slightly rolled under with Japanese privet. Upper blades lustrous dark green 

with 6 to 8 pairs of light-green veins with glossy privet and 4 to 6 pairs of indistinct veins 

with Japanese privet that protrude slightly from light green lower surfaces. Petioles 0.4 

to 0.8 inch (1 to 2 cm) long for glossy privet and 0.2 to 0.4 inch (6 to 12 mm) long for 

Japanese privet, light green and glossy privet sometimes reddish tinged.

Flowers. April to June. Loosely branching, terminal- and upper-axillary, conical clusters of many small white four-petaled flowers. Fragrant.

Fruit and seeds. July to February. Conical-shaped, branched terminal clusters of 

ovoid drupes, each 0.2 to 0.5 inch (5 to 12 mm) long and 0.2 inch (5 mm) wide. Pale 

green in summer ripening to blue black in winter.

Ecology. Single plants or thicket-forming, occurring in the same habitats as Chinese 

privet, but generally not as abundant, depending upon location. Invade both lowland 

and upland habitats, but usually more prevalent in lowlands. Shade tolerant. Colonize 

by root sprouts and spread by abundant bird- and other animal-dispersed seeds.

Resembles Chinese privet, L. sinense Lour., which has smaller and thinner leaves, is 

further described in this book. Also resembles redtip, also named photinia, Photinia x 

fraseri Dress, an ornamental shrub that has similar but alternate leaves. 

History and use. Introduced from Japan and Korea in 1845 and 1794, respectively. 

Widely planted as ornamentals and escaped.

Japanese / Glossy Privet 2104

States with suspected 

infestations are 

shown in gray.

Glossy privet Glossy privet June
24

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Bush Honeysuckles

J. Schwegman P. Breen Warner Park

September September

Sweet Breath 

of Spring

Sweet reath 

Sweet Breath of Spring

September September

Amur

Spring

Amur

December December December December

Amur

December December

Amur Amur

Spring

May

Amur

December December

Tatarian
25

SHRUBS

Amur honeysuckle, Lonicera maackii (Rupr.) Herder LOMA6 

Morrow’s honeysuckle, L. morrowii Gray LOMO2 Tatarian honeysuckle, L. tatarica L. LOTA

Sweet-breath-of-spring, L. fragrantissimaLindl. & Paxton LOFR

Bell’s honeysuckle, L. xbella Zabel LO

BE

 (hybrid Morrows and Tatarian)

Plant. Tardily deciduous, upright, arching-branched shrubs to small trees. Amur to

30 feet (9 m) in height and spindly in forests, Morrow’s to 6.5 feet (2 m) in height, 

Tatarian and sweet-breath-of-spring to 10 feet (3 m) in height, and Bell’s to 20 feet

(6 m) in height. Much branched and arching in openings, multiple stemmed, darkgreen opposite leaves, showy white to pink or yellow flowers, and abundant orange 

to red berries.

Stem. Opposite branched, light tan with braided-strand appearance. Bark often

flaking. Older branches hollow.

Leaves. Opposite in two rows, ovate to oblong with rounded to subcordate bases,

1.2 to 4 inches (3 to 10 cm) long. Persistent into winter. Margins entire. Amur 

tapering to a long slender tip; Bell’s to a medium tapering tip; and others with short 

pointed tips. Morrow’s with wrinkled upper surface and both Amur and Bell’s softhairy lower surface, others with hairless leaves. Petioles 0.1 to 0.4 inch (2.5 to 10 

mm) long. 

Flowers. February to June. Axillary, bracted short-stemmed clusters, each with one 

to several white to yellow (some pink to red) flowers. Petals tubular flaring to five 

lobes in two lips (upper lip four-lobed, lower lip single-lobed). Five extended

stamen. Fragrant.

Fruit and seeds. June to February. Abundant spherical, glossy berries paired in

leaf axils, each 0.2 to 0.5 inch (6 to 12 mm). Green becoming pink and ripening to

red (sometimes yellow or orange). Usually persistent into winter. 

Ecology. Often forms dense thickets in open forests, forest edges, abandoned

fields, pastures, roadsides, and other open upland habitats. Relatively shade

tolerant. Colonize by root sprouts and spread by abundant bird- and other animaldispersed seeds. Seeds long-lived in the soil. Resemble the woody vine, Japanese honeysuckle, L. japonica Thunb, as far as 

leaves and flowers. Also resemble the native shrub American fly honeysuckle, L. 

canadensis Bartr. ex Marsh., which has hairy margined leaves, blue fruit, and found 

at high elevations in mountains. Also resemble the native bush honeysuckles, 

Diervilla spp., which have similar leaves but terminal flowers in cymes and capsules 

for fruit.

History and use. All introduced from Asia in the 1700s and 1800s. Mistakenly used 

as ornamentals and wildlife plants.

Bush Honeysuckles 2105

States with suspected 

infestations are 

shown in gray.

Warner Park

Amur honeysuckle November November
26

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Sacred Bamboo, Nandina

F. Nation

December December August September September

May

May September September December December
27

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Nandina domestica Thunb. NADO

Plant. Evergreen erect shrub to 8 feet (2.5 m) in height, with multiple bushy stems 

that resemble bamboo, glossy bipinnately compound green (or reddish) leaves, white 

to pinkish flowers in terminal clusters, and bright red berries in fall and winter.

Stem. Large compound leaves resembling leafy branches, woody leafstalk bases 

persisting as stubby branches, and overlapping sheaths encasing the main stem. 

Stubby branches whorled alternately up the stem and tightly stacked near terminals 

for a given year’s growth. The overlapping sheaths on the main stem give the appearance of bamboo, thus, the common name. Stem fleshy and greenish gray near 

terminal, becoming woody barked and tan to brown with fissures towards the base. 

Wood bright yellow. 

Leaves. Alternately whorled, bipinnately compound on 1.5 to 3 feet (0.5 to 1 m) 

slender leafstalks, often reddish tinged with joints distinctly segmented. Leafstalk 

bases clasping stems with a V-notch on the opposite side of attachment. Nine to 

eighty-one nearly sessile leaflets, lanceolate to diamond-shaped, 0.5 to 4 inches 

(1.2 to 10 cm) long and 0.4 to 1.2 inches (1 to 3 cm) wide. Glossy light green to dark 

green sometimes red tinged or burgundy. 

Flowers. May to July. Terminal (or axillary) panicles of several hundred flowers, 

4 to 10 inches (10 to 25 cm) long. Pink in bud, opening to three (two to four) lanceolate deciduous petals, white to cream, with yellow anthers 0.2 to 0.3 inch 

(6 to 8 mm) long. Fragrant.

Fruit and seeds. September to April. Dense terminal and axillary clusters of fleshy, 

spherical berries 0.2 to 0.3 inch (6 to 8 mm). Light green ripening to bright red. Two 

hemispherical seeds.

Ecology. Occurs under forest canopies and near forest edges. Shade tolerant.

Seedlings frequent in vicinity of old plantings. Varying leaf colors in the various

cultivars, some of which do not produce viable seeds. Colonizes by root sprouts and 

spreads by animal-dispersed seeds.

History and use. Introduced from eastern Asia and India in the early 1800s. Widely 

planted as an ornamental, now escaped and spreading from around old homes and 

recent landscape plantings. Sterile seeded reddish cultivars available. 

Sacred Bamboo, Nandina 2113

States with suspected 

infestations are 

shown in gray.

March
28

SH

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B

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Nonnative Roses

T. Bodner

Multiflora rose

shown in all images

August September September

April May October October

December December

June October October
29

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R

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B

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Multiflora rose, Rosa multiflora Thunb. ex Murr. ROMU

Macartney rose, R. bracteata J.C. Wendl. ROBR

Cherokee rose, R. laevigata Michx. ROLA

Plant. Evergreen except multiflora. Erect climbing, arching, or trailing shrubs to 

10 feet (3 m) in height or length. Clump forming. Pinnately compound leaves, frequent 

recurved and straight thorns, clustered or single white flowers in early summer, and 

red rose hips in fall to winter. 

Stem. Long arching or climbing by clinging using recurved or straight thorns. 

Green with leaf and branch scars linear and spaced like nodes. Flower buds of 

multiflora often red in winter. Bark dark brown with streaks of light brown or green.

Leaves. Alternate, odd-pinnately compound with three to nine elliptic to lanceolate 

leaflets, each 1 to 3 inches (2.5 to 8 cm) long. Margins finely and sharply serrate. 

Leafstalk bases clasping, channeled, and often bristled on margins with toothed 

hairs.

Flowers. April to June. Terminal or axillary branched clusters or single flowers. Five 

white petals. Many yellow anthers in center.

Fruit and seeds. July to December. Rose hip, spherical, and fleshy, 0.25 to 0.4 inch 

(0.6 to 1 cm). Green to yellow and ripening to glossy red.

Ecology. Form small-to-large infestations often climbing up into trees. Multiflora 

widely planted and often spreading along right-of-ways and invading new forests

and forest margins. Colonize by prolific sprouting and stems that root, and spread 

by animal-dispersed seeds.

Resemble native Carolina rose, R. carolina L., swamp rose, R. palustris Marsh., and 

climbing rose, R. setigera Michx., all of which have pink flowers in spring and

nonbristled leafstalk bases, but none forming extensive infestations except swamp 

rose in wet habitat.

History and use. Introduced from Asia. Traditionally planted as ornamentals, livestock containment, and wildlife habitat. Multiflora widely planted for “living fences” or 

screening.

Nonnative Roses 2160

States with suspected 

infestations are 

shown in gray.

May

Multiflora rose
30

VINES

Oriental Bittersweet

May May October October

October October August December December December December October October October October
31

VINES

Celastrus orbiculatus Thunb. CEOR7

Synonym: Asian bittersweet

Plant. Deciduous, twining and climbing woody vine to 60 feet (20 m) in tree crowns, 

forming thicket and arbor infestations. Elliptic to rounded leaves, axillary dangling 

clusters of inconspicuous yellowish flowers in spring, and green spherical fruit that 

split to reveal three-parted showy scarlet berries in winter.

Stem. Woody vine to 4 inches (10 cm) diameter, twining and arbor forming, with 

many alternate drooping branches growing at angles and eventually becoming 

straight. Olive drab with many raised whitish corky dots (lenticels) becoming tan to 

gray. Branch scars of fruit clusters semicircular, each with a tiny corky shelf 

projection.

Leaves. Alternate, 1.2 to 5 inches (3 to 12 cm) long. Variable shaped, long tapering 

tipped when young becoming larger and round tipped when mature. Margins finely 

blunt toothed. Dark green becoming bright yellow in late summer to fall. Base taper-

ing into 0.4- to 1.2-inch (1- to 3-cm) petiole.

Flowers. May. Numerous tiny-branched axillary clusters (cymes), each with three 

to seven inconspicuous orange-yellow flowers. Five petals.

Fruit and seeds. August to January. Dangling clusters of spherical 0.5-inch 

(1.2-cm) capsules, tipped with a persistent pistil. Green turning yellow orange then 

tan. In winter, splitting and folding upward to reveal three fleshy scarlet sections, 

each containing two white seeds. Persistent in winter at most leaf axils. 

Ecology. Occurs on a wide range of sites mainly along forest edges. Found as 

scattered plants to extensive infestations in forest openings, margins, and roadsides 

as well as in meadows. Shade tolerant but densest infestations along forest edges 

and in openings. Colonizes by prolific vine growth and seedlings, and spreads by 

bird- and other animal-dispersed seeds and humans collecting decorative fruitbearing vines.

Resembles American bittersweet, C. scandens L., which has only terminal flowers 

and fruit, and leaves usually twice as large but absent among the flowers and fruit. 

Hybridization suspected between the two species. Also resembles grape vines, 

Vitis spp., in winter, but can be distinguished by persistent scarlet fruit versus grapes.

History and use. Introduced from Asia in 1736. Very showy ornamental with

berried vines that are traditionally collected as home decorations in winter, which 

promotes spread when discarded.

Oriental Bittersweet 3026

States with suspected 

infestations are 

shown in gray.

October October
32

VINES

Climbing Yams

F. Nation

F. Nation

F. Nation

Air Yam Air Yam Air Yam

Air Yam Water Yam Air Yam

July Chinese Yam July July

December December August December December

September September
33

VINES

Climbing Yams 3030

F. Nation

States with suspected 

infestations are 

shown in gray.

Air yam, Dioscorea bulbifera L. DIBU

Chinese yam, Cinnamon vine, D. oppositifolia L., formerly D. batatas Dcne. DIOP

Water yam, D. alata L. DIAL2

Synonym: air potato

Plant. Herbaceous, high climbing vines to 65 feet (20 m) long, infestations covering shrubs and 

trees. Twining and sprawling stems with long-petioled heart-shaped leaves. Spreading by dangling potato-like tubers (bulbils) at leaf axils and underground tubers. Monocots.

Stem. Twining and covering vegetation, branching, hairless. Internode cross sections round for 

air yam to angled for Chinese and water yams. Water yam nodes winged and reddish. All stems 

dying back in winter leaving some small bulbils attached. 

Leaves. Alternate (air) or combination alternate and opposite (Chinese and water). Heart-shaped 

to triangular with elongated tips, thin and hairless, 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 cm) long and 2 to 

6 inches (5 to 15 cm) wide. Long petioled. Basal lobes broadly rounded (air) or often angled 

(Chinese and water). Margins smooth. Veins parallel and converging at base. Dark green with 

slightly indented curved veins above (quilted appearing) and lighter green beneath. Chinese yam 

leaves turning bright yellow in fall.

Flowers. May to August. Rare, small, male and female flowers in panicles or spikes on separate 

plants, to 4.5 inches (11 cm) long in axils. Green to white. Fragrant, with Chinese yam having a 

cinnamon fragrance (thus the common name cinnamon vine).

Fruit and seeds. June to September (and year-round). Aerial tubers (bulbils) resembling miniature potatoes being the most notable fruit with 1 to 4 occurring at leaf axils that drop and sprout to 

form new plants. Shape spherical (air and Chinese) to oblong (water). Texture smooth (air) to 

warty (Chinese) to rough (water). Air yam to 5 inches (12 cm) long, Chinese yam to 1 inch (2.5 cm) 

long, and water yam to 1.2 inches (3 cm) long and 4 inches (10 cm) wide. Very rarely have 

capsules and winged seeds, which have questionable viability. 

Ecology. Rapid growing and occurring on open to semishady sites: water yams in Florida, air 

yams extending from Florida to adjacent States, and Chinese yams in all States except Florida. 

All dying back during winter but able to cover small trees in a year, with old vines providing trellises for regrowth. Spread and persist by underground tubers and abundant production of aerial 

yams, which drop and form new plants and can spread by water.

Resemble greenbrier, Smilax spp., which has thorns and green-to-purple berries but no aerial 

potatoes. Also resemble several native Dioscorea species that do not form dense vine infestations nor have aerial tubers (bulbils): fourleaf yam, D. quaternata J.F. Gmel.; wild yam, D. villosa L.,

with hairy upper leaf surfaces; native Florida yam, D. floridana Bartlett; and, only in Florida, nonnative Zanzibar yam, D. sansibarensis Pax. 

History and use. Introduced from Africa (air) and Asia (Chinese and water) as possible food 

sources in the 1800s. Ornamentals often spread by unsuspecting gardeners intrigued by the

dangling yams. Presently cultivated for medicinal use.

Air Yam September September
34

VINES

Winter Creeper

K. Langdon

May October October May May

May May December December
35

VINES

Euonymus fortunei (Tursz.) Hand.-Maz. EUFO5

Synonyms: climbing euonymus, gaity

Plant. Evergreen woody vine climbing to 40 to 70 feet (12 to 22 m) and clinging by 

aerial roots or rooting at nodes, or standing as a shrub to 3 feet (1 m) in height. 

Leaves thick and dark green or green-white variegated on green stems. Pinkish-tored capsules splitting open in fall to expose fleshy orange seeds.

Stem. Twigs stout, lime green, and hairless becoming increasingly dusted and 

streaked with light-gray reddish corky bark. Patches or lines of protruding aerial 

roots underneath or along surfaces used for attachment. Branches opposite, leaf 

scars thin upturned white crescents, and branch scars jutting and containing a light 

semicircle. Older stems covered with gray corky bark becoming fissured and then 

checked.

Leaves. Opposite broadly oval, moderately thick, with bases tapering to petiole. 

One to 2.5 inches (2.5 to 6 cm) long and 1 to 1.8 inches (2.5 to 4.5 cm) wide. Margins 

finely crenate, somewhat turned under, to wavy. Blades smooth glossy, hairless, 

dark green with whitish mid- and lateral veins (or variegated green white above and 

light green beneath). Petioles 0.15 to 0.4 inch (0.4 to 1 cm) long.

Flowers. May to July. Axillary clusters of small greenish-yellow inconspicuous flowers 

at the ends of Y-shaped stems, each flower 0.1 inch (2 to 3 mm) wide. Five petals. 

Pistils soon elongating with fruit.

Fruit and seeds. September to November. Dangling paired or single pinkish-to-red 

capsules, 0.2 to 0.4 inch (5 to 10 mm) long, splitting to reveal a fleshy orange-to-red 

covered seed.

Ecology. Forms dense ground cover and can climb trees eventually overtopping 

them. Shade tolerant occurring under dense stands but avoiding wet areas. Colonizes by trailing and climbing vines that root at nodes, and spreads by bird-, other 

animal-, and water-dispersed seeds.

Resembles the larger leaved species of blueberry, Vaccinium spp., but their leaves 

are alternate. Possibly resembles the opposite- and thick-leaved rusty blackhaw, 

Viburnum rufidulum Raf., which is distinguished by dark buds in each axil.

History and use. Introduced from Asia in 1907. Ornamental ground cover.

Winter Creeper 3042

States with suspected 

infestations are 

shown in gray.

May
36

VINES

English Ivy

July July June

June July July July January
37

VINES

Hedera helix L. HEHE

Plant. Evergreen woody vine climbing to 90 feet (28 m) by clinging aerial roots and 

trailing to form dense ground cover. Thick dark-green leaves with whitish veins and three 

to five pointed lobes when juvenile. Maturing at about 10 years into erect plants or branches 

with unlobed leaves and terminal flower clusters that yield purplish berries. Toxic to 

humans when eaten and triggering dermatitis in sensitive individuals.

Stem. Woody slender vines when a ground cover and growing to 10 inches (25 cm) in 

diameter when climbing infested trees and rocks by many fine to stout aerial rootlets. 

Vines pale green (sometimes reddish tinged), rooting at nodes, becoming covered with 

gray-brown shiny bark, segmented by encircling and raised leaf scars, and roughened by 

tiny ridges. Bark light gray to brown, bumpy and gnarly, with aerial rootlets developing 

along the side where clinging to vertical structures. Aerial rootlets exuding a gluelike 

substance. Older vines sometimes grown together where crossed. 

Leaves. Alternate, with shapes varying according to age—typical juvenile plants having 

three to five pointed lobes and mature plants broadly lanceolate and unlobed, 2 to 

4 inches (5 to 10 cm) long and 2.5 to 5 inches (6 to 12 cm) wide. Thick and waxy, smooth 

and hairless, dark green with whitish veins radiating from the petiole and pale green 

beneath. Petioles to 6 inches (15 cm) long, pale green and often reddish tinged.

Flowers. June to October. Terminal hairy-stemmed umbel clusters of small greenishyellow flowers on mature plants. Five thick and pointed petals, 0.1 inch (3 mm) long. 

Each petal radiating from a five-sided domed green floral disk, 0.1 inch (3 mm) wide,

 tipped by a short pistil.

Fruit and seeds. October to May. Clusters of spherical drupes, 0.2 to 0.3 inch (7 to 8 mm). 

Pale green in late summer ripening to dark blue to purplish in late winter to spring.

Ecology. Thrives in moist open forests, but adaptable to a range of moisture and soil 

conditions, including rocky cliffs. Shade tolerance allowing early growth under dense 

stands, but becoming adapted to higher light levels with maturity. Avoids wet areas. 

Amasses on infested trees, decreasing vigor, and increasing chance of windthrow. Serves 

as a reservoir for bacterial leaf scorch that infects oaks (Quercus spp.), elms (Ulmus

spp.), and maples (Acer spp.). Spreads by bird-dispersed seeds and colonizes by trailing 

and climbing vines that root at nodes. Drupes mildly toxic, discouraging over consumption by birds. 

Resembles grape, Vitis spp., which has a leaf that is similarly shaped but not thick and 

often hairy.

History and use. Introduced from Europe in colonial times. Traditional ornamental and 

still widely planted as an ornamental. Source of varnish resin, dye, and tanning substances.

English Ivy 3071

States with suspected 

infestations are 

shown in gray.

June
38

VINES

Japanese Honeysuckle

T. BodnerT. Bodner

May October October November November

May September September
39

VINES

Lonicera japonica Thunb. LOJA

Plant. Semievergreen to evergreen woody vine, high climbing and trailing to 

80 feet (24 m) long, branching and often forming arbors in forest canopies and/or 

ground cover under canopies and forming long woody rhizomes that sprout frequently.

Stem. Slender woody vine becoming stout to 2 inches (5 cm) in diameter, with cross 

section round and opposite branching. Brown and hairy becoming tan barked, fissured, and sloughing with age. Rooting at low nodes.

Leaves. Opposite, broadly ovate to elliptic to oblong, base rounded, tips blunt-pointed 

to round. Length 1.6 to 2.6 inches (4 to 6.5 cm) and width 0.8 to 1.5 inches (2 to 

4 cm). Margins entire but often lobed in early spring. Both surfaces smooth to rough 

hairy, with undersurface appearing whitish.

Flowers. April to August. Axillary pairs, each 0.8 to 1.2 inches (2 to 3 cm) long, on 

a bracted stalk. White (or pink) and pale yellow. Fragrant. Thin tubular flaring into 

five lobes in two lips (upper lip four-lobed and lower lip single-lobed), with the longest lobes roughly equal to the tube. Five stamens and one pistil, all projecting outward and becoming curved. Persistent sepals.

Fruit and seeds. June to March. Nearly spherical, green ripening to black, glossy 

berry 0.2 inch (5 to 6 mm) on stalks 0.4 to 1.2 inches (1 to 3 cm) long. Two to three 

seeds.

Ecology. Most commonly occurring invasive plant, overwhelming and replacing native 

flora in all forest types over a wide range of sites. Occurs as dense infestations 

along forest margins and right-of-ways as well as under dense canopies and as 

arbors high in canopies. Shade tolerant. Persists by large woody rootstocks and 

spreads by rooting at vine nodes and animal-dispersed seeds.

Resembles yellow jassamine, Gelsemium sempervirens (L.) St. Hil., which has thinner leaves and hairless stems. Also resembles native honeysuckles, Lonicera 

spp., that usually have reddish hairless stems and hairless leaves and do not form 

extensive infestations.

History and use. Introduced from Japan in the early 1800s. Traditional ornamental, 

valued as deer browse, with some value for erosion control. Still planted in wildlife 

food plots.

Japanese Honeysuckle 3101

States with suspected 

infestations are 

shown in gray.

April
40

VINES

Kudzu

T. Bodner

T. BodnerT. Bodner

October October June April

July July November November November November
41

VINES

Pueraria montana (Lour.) Merr. PUMOL

Synonyms: P. lobata (Willd.) Ohwi, P. montana var. lobata (Willd.) Maesen & 

S. Almeida

Plant. Deciduous twining, trailing, mat-forming, ropelike woody leguminous vine, 

35 to 100 feet (10 to 30 m) long with three-leaflet leaves. Large semiwoody tuberous 

roots reaching depths of 3 to 16 feet (1 to 5 m). Leaves and small vines dying with 

first frost and matted dead leaves persistent during winter.

Stem. Woody vines to 10 inches (25 cm) in diameter, round in cross section, with 

infrequent branching. Stems yellow green with dense erect golden hairs and upward 

matted silver hairs, aging to ropelike, light gray, and hairless. Frequent unswollen 

nodes that root when on the ground. Mature bark eventually rough, rigid, and usually 

dark brown. 

Leaves. Alternate, pinnately compound three-leaflet leaves, each leaflet 3 to 7 inches 

(8 to 18 cm) long and 2.5 to 8 inches (6 to 20 cm) wide. Usually slightly lobed 

(unless in shade): a two-lobed symmetric middle leaflet and two one-lobed side leaflets, all petioles swollen near leaflets. Tips pointed. Margins thin membranous and 

fine golden hairy. Leafstalks 6 to 12 inches (15 to 30 cm) long, long hairy, base 

swollen, with deciduous stipules.

Flowers. June to September. Axillary slender clusters (racemes), 2 to 12 inches 

(5 to 30 cm) long, of pealike flowers in pairs (or threes) from raised nodes spiraling 

up the stalk, opening from the base to top. Petals lavender to wine colored with 

yellow centers.

Fruit and seeds. September to January. Clustered dry, flattened legume pods 

(bulging above the seeds) each 1.2 to 3 inches (3 to 8 cm) long and 0.3 to 0.5 inch 

(8 to 12 mm) wide. Green ripening to tan with stiff golden-brown hairs. Splitting on 

one to two sides to release a few ovoid seeds.

Ecology. Occurs in old infestations, along right-of-ways and stream banks. Forms 

dense mats over the ground, debris, shrubs, and mature trees forming dense patches 

by twining on objects less than 4 inches (10 cm) in diameter. Colonizes by vines 

rooting at nodes and spreads by wind-, animal-, and water-dispersed seeds. Seed 

viability variable. Leguminous nitrogen fixer. 

History and use. Introduced from Japan and China in early 1900s with continued 

seed importation. Erosion control, livestock feed, and folk art.

Kudzu 3123

States with suspected 

infestations are 

shown in gray.

July
42

VINES

Vincas, Periwinkles

B. Rice

Bigleaf periwinkle

Bigleaf periwinkle Bigleaf periwinkle

Common periwinkle

leaves and flower

Bigleaf periwinkle

leaves and flower

April May

April April Summer Summer
43

VINES

Common periwinkle, Vinca minor L. VIMI2 

Bigleaf periwinkle, V. major L. VIMA

Plant. Evergreen to semievergreen vines, somewhat woody, trailing or scrambling 

to 3 feet (1 m) long and upright to 1 foot (30 cm). Violet pinwheel-shaped flowers.

Stem. Slender (common periwinkle) to stout (bigleaf periwinkle), succulent becom-

ing somewhat woody (tough to break) with flowering branches erect and jointed at 

axils. Hairless and smooth. Dark green at base to light green upward with a reddish 

tinge.

Leaves. Opposite. Glossy and hairless, somewhat thick, with margins slightly rolled 

under. Common periwinkle narrow elliptic, 0.8 to 1.8 inches (2 to 4.5 cm) long and 

0.4 to 1 inch (1 to 2.5 cm) wide, with petioles 0.1 inch (1 to 3 mm) long. Bigleaf 

periwinkle heart-shaped to somewhat triangular to elliptic, 1.5 to 2.5 inches (4 to 

6 cm) long and 1 to 1.5 inches (2.5 to 4 cm) wide, with petioles 0.2 to 0.4 inch (5 to 

10 mm) long. Blades dark green with whitish lateral and midveins above and lighter 

green with whitish midveins beneath. Some varieties variegated.

Flowers. April to May (sporadically May to September). Axillary, usually solitary. 

Violet to blue lavender (to white), with five petals radiating pinwheel-like at right 

angles from the floral tube. Common periwinkle 1 inch (2.5 cm) wide with a 0.3- to 

0.5-inch (8- to 12-mm) long tube. Bigleaf periwinkle 1.5 to 2 inches (4 to 5 cm) wide 

with a 0.6- to 0.8-inch (1.5- to 2-cm) long tube. Five sepals long lanceolate, about 

0.4 inch (1 cm), hairy margined. 

Fruit and seeds. May to July. Slender, cylindrical fruit to 2 inches (5 cm) long. 

Becoming dry and splitting to release three to five seeds.

Ecology. Found around old homesite plantings and scattered in open to dense 

canopied forests. Form mats and extensive infestations even under forest canopies 

by vines rooting at nodes, with viability of seeds yet to be reported.

Resemble partridgeberry, Mitchella repens L., which has cordate leaves, white twin 

flowers, and red berries. Also, may resemble yellow jasmine, Gelsemium 

sempervirens (L.) St. Hil., which has wider spaced leaves and reddish stems, often 

white waxy.

History and use. Introduced from Europe in 1700s. Ornamental ground cover, 

commonly sold and planted by gardeners.

Vincas, Periwinkles 3211

States with suspected 

infestations are 

shown in gray.

Bigleaf periwinkle April
44

VINES

Nonnative Wisterias

T. Bodner

Chinese wisteria shown in images

T. Bodner

T. Bodner

May March

September September May
45

VINES

Chinese wisteria, Wisteria sinensis (Sims) DC. WISI

Japanese wisteria, W. floribunda (Willd.) DC. WIFL

Plant. Deciduous high climbing, twining, or trailing leguminous woody vines (or 

cultured as shrubs) to 70 feet (20 m) long. Chinese and Japanese wisteria difficult to 

distinguish due to possible hybridization.

Stem. Woody vines to 10 inches (25 cm) in diameter with infrequent alternate branch-

ing. Twigs densely short hairy. Older bark of Chinese wisteria tight and dark gray 

with light dots (lenticels) compared to white bark of Japanese wisteria.

Leaves. Alternate, odd pinnately compound 4 to 16 inches (10 to 40 cm) long, with 

7 to 13 leaflets (Chinese) or 13 to 19 leaflets (Japanese), and stalks with swollen 

bases. Leaflets oval to elliptic with tapering pointed tips 1.6 to 3 inches (4 to 8 cm) 

long and 1 to 1.4 inches (2.5 to 3.5 cm) wide. Hairless to short hairy at maturity but 

densely silky hairy when young. Margins entire and wavy. Sessile or short petioled.

Flowers. March to May. Dangling and showy, stalked clusters (racemes) appearing 

when leaves emerge, 4 to 20 inches (10 to 50 cm) long and 3 to 3.5 inches (7 to 

9 cm) wide. All blooming at about the same time (Chinese) or gradually from base 

(Japanese). Pealike flowers, corolla lavender to violet (to pink to white). Fragrant.

Fruit and seeds. July to November. Flattened legume pod, irregularly oblong to 

oblanceolate, 2.5 to 6 inches (6 to 15 cm) long and 0.8 to 1.2 inches (2 to 3 cm) wide. 

Velvety hairy, greenish brown to golden, splitting on two sides to release one to eight 

flat round brown seeds, each 0.5 to 1 inch (1.2 to 2.5 cm) in diameter.

Ecology. Form dense infestations where previously planted. Occur on wet to dry 

sites. Colonize by vines twining and covering shrubs and trees and by runners 

rooting at nodes when vines covered by leaf litter. Seeds water-dispersed along 

riparian areas. Large seed size a deterrent to animal dispersal.

Resemble native or naturalized American wisteria, W. frutescens (L.) Poir., which 

does not form extensive infestations, occurs in wet forests, flowers in June to August 

after leaves developed, and has 6-inch (15-cm) flower clusters, 9 to 15 leaflets, hairless pods, and slender old vines. Also may resemble trumpet creeper, Campsis 

radicans (L.) Seem. ex Bureau, which has leaflets with coarsely toothed margins.

History and use. Introduced from Asia in the early 1800s. Traditional southern 

porch vines.

Nonnative Wisterias 3251

States with suspected 

infestations are 

shown in gray.

Chinese wisteria April
46

G

RASSES

Giant Reed

June June August

July December December
47

G

RASSES

Arundo donax L. ARDO4

Plant. Giant reed grass, cornlike stems, thicket forming in distinct clumps to 20 feet 

(6 m) in height, with gray-green and hairless stems, long-lanceolate leaves alternately jutting from stems and drooping at the ends, and large plumelike terminal 

panicles. Seed infertile. Spreading from tuberous rhizomes. Dried grass remaining 

standing in winter and spring.

Stem. Somewhat succulent and fibrous, with round cross section to 1 inch (2.5 cm). 

Solid jointed every 1 to 8 inches (2.5 to 20 cm) and covered by overlapping leaf 

sheaths. Gray to yellowish green. Initially white pithed and becoming hollow 

between joints. Old stems sometimes persistent into the following summer.

Leaves. Alternate, cornlike, long lanceolate with both surfaces hairless, and clasp-

ing stem with conspicuous whitish base. Eighteen to thirty inches (45 to 76 cm) long 

and 1 to 4 inches (2.5 to 10 cm) wide near base. Margins and ligule membranous 

(about 1 mm). Midvein whitish near base becoming inconspicuous towards tip. Veins 

parallel. Sheaths overlapping, hairless, and semiglossy. 

Flowers. August to September. Terminal erect dense plumes of whorled stemmed 

flowers to 36 inches (1 m) long. Husks hairy, membranous with several veins, and 

greenish to whitish to purplish.

Seeds. October to March. Dense terminal plume, spindle-shaped, densely hairy. 

Grain never appears.

Ecology. Occurs mainly on upland sites as scattered dense clumps along roadsides 

and forest margins, migrating from old home plantings by displaced rhizome fragments. Persistent infestations by dense branching tuberous rhizome growth. Probable spread by movement of stem parts in soil or by road shoulder grading. Plants 

believed to be sterile and not producing viable seeds. 

Resembles golden bamboo, Phyllostachys aurea Carr. ex A.& C. Rivière, another 

large grasslike plant that is woody in character. Closely resembles common reed, 

Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steud., which has similar large hairy seed heads, 

but not erect and fanned in a loose plume, and which occurs mainly near swamps, 

marshes, and wet habitats.

History and use. Introduced from western Asia, northern Africa, and southern Europe 

in the early 1800s. Ornamental.

Giant Reed 4008

States with suspected 

infestations are 

shown in gray.

November November
48

G

RASSES

Tall Fescue

T. Bodner T. BodnerT. Bodner

April May

May January July
49

G

RASSES

Lolium arundinaceum (Schreb.) S.J. Darbyshire LOAR10

Synonyms: Festuca arundinacea Shreb., F. elatior L., meadow fescue, Kentucky 31 fescue, 

Schedonorus phoenix (Scop.) Holub

Plant. Erect, tufted cool-season perennial grass 2 to 4 feet (60 to 120 cm) in height, green in 

winter and spring, during which it is the most common green bunchgrass. Dark-green leaves 

appearing in late winter, usually flowering in spring (infrequently in late summer). Semidormant 

during heat of summer, with whitish seedstalks persisting. Growth resuming in fall and continuing into early winter.

Stem. Moderately stout, unbranched, hairless with round cross section and one to three 

swollen light-green nodes widely spaced near the base. 

Leaves. Mostly basal and a few alternate, flat and long-lanceolate, 4 to 18 inches (10 to 

45 cm) long and 0.1 to 0.3 inch (3 to 8 mm) wide. Whitish to yellow-green flared collars, with 

collar backs often at an angle to the stem. Blades smooth to rough, with one to two leaves 

along the stem becoming smaller upward. Midvein not apparent. Ligule a tiny white membrane. 

Flowers. March to June (to October). Loosely branched terminal panicles, 4 to 12 inches 

(10 to 30 cm) long, that are erect or nodding at tips, narrow then spreading in spring, and then 

narrow again in summer. Spindle-shaped clusters along branches. Branches shorter upward, with four to seven flowers per branch. Flowers greenish white and shiny becoming 

purplish. Spikelets hairless, ellipsoid with a pointed tip. 

Seeds. May (to November). Husked grain, spindle-shaped, 0.1 to 0.2 inch (3 to 5 mm) long. 

Whitish straw-colored husks, usually tipped with a short hair. 

Ecology. The predominant cool-season bunchgrass. Occurs as tufted clumps or small to 

extensive colonies along forest margins and right-of-ways, and widely escaped to invade new 

forest plantations, roads, openings, and high-elevation balds. Grows on wet to dry sites. 

Spreads by expanding rootcrowns and less by seeds. Replaces warm season grassland 

communities and prairies to the detriment of unique plants and birds. Certain varieties 

poisonous to livestock and wildlife by infecting them with an endophytic fungus.

Resembles other grasses, especially other fescues and ryegrasses (Lolium spp.) but distinguished by forming extensive colonies and infestations, growing green in late winter, and 

having long rounded stems with lower swollen nodes and whitish-flared collars at the base of 

leaves. Ryegrasses distinguished by producing alternate seed heads on opposite sides of 

seedstalks in spring.

History and use. Introduced from Europe in the early to mid-1800s. Recognized as a 

valuable forage grass in 1930s when the ecotype Kentucky 31 was discovered. Now widely 

distributed most everywhere in the World. Established widely for turf, forage, soil stabilization, and wildlife food plots.

Tall Fescue 4051

States with suspected 

infestations are 

shown in gray.

May
50

G

RASSES

Cogongrass

T. Bodner 

T. Bodner 

September September

September September

May September September

September September January

C. Bryson

March
51

G

RASSES

Imperata cylindrica (L.) Beauv. IMCY

Synonyms: japgrass, bloodroot grass (red varieties), Red Barron (red varieties)

Plant. Aggressive, colony-forming dense perennial grass 1 to 6 feet (30 to 150 cm) in height, 

often leaning in mats when over 3 feet (90 cm) in height. Stemless tufts of long leaves, 

blades yellow green, with off-center midveins and silver-plumed flowers and seeds. Plants 

arising from branching sharp-tipped white-scaly rhizomes.

Stem. Upright to ascending, stout, not apparent, and hidden by overlapping leaf sheaths.

Leaves. Mainly arising from near the base, long lanceolate, 1 to 4 feet (30 to 120 cm) 

long and 0.5 to 1 inch (12 to 25 mm) wide, shorter upward. Overlapping sheaths, with 

outer sheaths often long hairy and hair tufts near the throat. Blades flat or cupped ­inward, 

bases narrowing, tips sharp and often drooping. Most often yellowish green. White 

midvein on upper surface slightly-to-mostly off center (varies in an area). Margins translucent and minutely serrated (rough). Ligule a fringed membrane to 0.04 inch (1.1 mm). 

Flowers. February to May (or year-round in Florida). Terminal, silky spikelike panicle, 

1 to 8 inches (2.5 to 20 cm) long and 0.2 to 1 inch (0.5 to 2.5 cm) wide, cylindrical and 

tightly branched on a reddish slender stalk. Spikelets paired, each 0.1 to 0.2 inch (3 to 6 

mm) long, obscured by silky to silvery-white hairs to 0.07 inch (1.8 mm).

Seeds. May to June. Oblong brown grain, 0.04 to 0.05 inch (1 to 1.3 mm) long, released 

within silvery hairy husks for wind dispersal.

Ecology. Grows in full sunlight to partial shade, and, thus, can invade a range of sites. Often 

in circular infestations with rapidly growing and branching rhizomes forming a dense mat to 

exclude most other vegetation. Aggressively invades right-of-ways, new forest plantations, 

open forests, old fields, and pastures. Absent in areas with frequent tillage. Colonizes by 

rhizomes and spreads by wind-dispersed seeds and promoted by burning. Highly flammable 

and a severe fire hazard, burning extremely hot especially in winter.

Resembles Johnsongrass, Sorghum halepense (L.) Pers.; purpletop, Tridens flavus (L.) 

A.S. Hitchc.; silver plumegrass, Saccharum alopecuroidum (L.) Nutt.; and sugarcane 

plumegrass, S. giganteum (Walt.) Pers.—all having a stem and none having an off-center 

midvein.

History and use. Introduced from Southeast Asia into Florida and southern Louisiana, 

southern Alabama, and southern Georgia in the early 1900s. Initially for soil stabilization. Expectations for improved forage unrealized. A Federal listed noxious weed.

Cogongrass 4055

States with suspected 

infestations are 

shown in gray.

C. Evans

March

Stem not

apparent

Leaves arise

near base

Stem not

apparent

New plants arise from

sharp-tipped rhizomes

Overlapping leaf sheaths

Leaves 1-6 feet long

Leaves

1⁄2-1 inch wide
52

G

RASSES

Nepalese Browntop

T. Bodner 

T. Bodner T. Bodner 

June September September December December

May May September September
53

G

RASSES

Microstegium vimineum (Trin.) A. Camus MIVI

Synonyms: Japanese stilt grass, Mary’s grass, basketgrass

Plant. Sprawling, annual grass, 0.5 to 3 feet (15 to 90 cm) in height. Flat short leaf 

blades, with off-center veins. Stems branching near the base and rooting at nodes 

to form dense and extensive infestations. Dried whitish-tan grass remains standing

in winter.

Stem. Ascending to reclining, slender and wiry, up to 4 feet (120 cm) long, with 

alternate branching. Covered by overlapping sheaths with hairless nodes and internodes. Green to purple to brown. Aerial rootlets descend from lower nodes.

Leaves. Alternate (none basal) projecting out from stem, lanceolate to oblanceolate, 

2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 cm) long and 0.07 to 0.6 inch (2 to 15 mm) wide. Blades flat, 

sparsely hairy on both surfaces and along margins. Midvein whitish and off center.

Throat collar hairy. Ligule membranous with a hairy margin.

Flowers. July to October. Terminal, thin and spikelike raceme, to 3 inches (8 cm) 

long. Unbranched or with one to three lateral branches on an elongated wiry stem.

Other thin racemes of self-pollinating flowers enclosed or slightly extending from lower 

leaf sheaths. Spikelets paired, with the outer stemmed and inner sessile.

Seeds. July to December. Husked grain, seed head thin, grain ellipsoid, 

0.1 inch (2.8 to 3 mm) long, with seedstalks partially remaining during winter.

Ecology. Flourishes on alluvial floodplains and streamsides, mostly colonizing floodscoured banks, due to water dispersal of seed and flood tolerance. Also common at 

forest edges, roadsides, and trailsides, as well as damp fields, swamps, lawns, and 

along ditches. Occurs up to 4,000 feet (1200 m) elevation. Very shade tolerant.

Consolidates occupation by prolific seeding, with each plant producing 100 to 1,000 

seeds that can remain viable in the soil for 3 years. Spreads on trails and 

recreational areas by seeds hitchhiking on hikers’ and visitors’ shoes and clothes.

Resembles crabgrass, Digitaria spp., and nimblewill, Muhlenbergia schreberi J.F. 

Gmel., both having broad short leaves, but distinguished from Nepalese browntop 

by branching seed heads and stout stems. Also resembles whitegrass, Leersia 

virginica Willd., which is a perennial with flat, compressed seed heads.

History and use. Native to temperate and tropical Asia, and first identified near 

Knoxville, TN, around 1919. Ground cover with little wildlife food value.

Nepalese Browntop 4080

States with suspected 

infestations are 

shown in gray.

T. Bodner 

September September
54

G

RASSES

Chinese Silvergrass

September September September September October October

October October September September September September March
55

G

RASSES

Miscanthus sinensis Anderss. MISI

Plant. Tall, densely bunched, perennial grass, 5 to 10 feet (1.5 to 3 m) in height. 

Long-slender upright-to-arching leaves with whitish upper midveins. Many loosely 

plumed panicles in late summer turning silvery to pinkish in fall. Dried grass stand-

ing with some seed heads during winter, but seed viability spotty.

Stem. Upright-to-arching, originating in tufts from base and unbranched. Covered 

with overlapping leaf sheaths until stem appears with flower plume in late summer.

Leaves. Alternate, long linear, upright-to-arching (persisting and curly tipped when 

dried) to 40 inches (1 m) long and less than 0.8 inch (2 cm) wide. Blades green to 

variegated (light green striped) with whitish collars. Midvein white above and green 

ridged beneath. Tufted hairs at throat, sheath margins, and ligule, but otherwise 

hairless. Margins rough.

Flowers. August to November. Much branched and drooping terminal plumed 

panicles, 4 to 15 inches (10 to 38 cm) long and 2 to 8 inches (5 to 20 cm) wide. 

Silvery to pinkish, showiest in fall. Stalk appressed rough hairy.

Seeds. September to January. Grain hidden, husks membranous, yellowish brown 

to slightly reddish, sparsely hairy, with twisted tip.

Ecology. Forms extensive infestations by escaping from older ornamental plantings 

to roadsides, forest margins, and adjacent disturbed sites, especially after burning. 

Shade tolerant. Highly flammable and a fire hazard.

History and use. Introduced from eastern Asia. Still widely sold and increasingly 

planted as an ornamental. Several varieties imported and sold. Cultivars vary widely 

in fertility and percent of seed viability.

Chinese Silvergrass 4085

States with suspected 

infestations are 

shown in gray.

November November
56

G

RASSES

Bamboos

Golden

bamboo

shown in

all images

July

July July

July

July

July
57

G

RASSES

Golden bamboo, Phyllostachys aurea Carr. ex A.& C. Rivière PHAU8

and other invasive bamboos, Phyllostachys spp. and Bambusa spp.

Plant. Perennial infestation-forming bamboos, 16 to 40 feet (5 to 12 m) in height, 

with jointed cane stems and bushy tops of lanceolate leaves in fan clusters on grasslike stems, often golden green. Plants arising from branched rhizomes.

Stem. Solid jointed canes 1 to 6 inches (2.5 to 15 cm) in diameter. Hollow between 

joints. Golden to green to black. Branches wiry and grasslike from joints. Lower 

shoots and branches with loose papery sheaths that cover the ground when shed.

Leaves. Alternate, grasslike, often in fan clusters. Blades long and lanceolate, 3 to 

10 inches (8 to 25 cm) long and 0.5 to 1.5 inches (1.3 to 4 cm) wide. Veins parallel. 

Often golden, sometimes green or variegated. Hairless except for large hairs at 

base of petiole, which shed with age. Sheaths encasing stem. 

Flowers. Flowers very rarely.

Seeds. Seeds very rarely.

Ecology. Common around old homesites and now escaped. Colonize by rhizomes 

with infestations rapidly expanding after disturbance. General dieback periodically 

after flowering and seeding (about every 7 to 12 years) resulting in standing dead 

canes and new shoots. 

Resemble switchcane, Arundinaria gigantea (Walt). Muhl., the only native bamboolike cane in the South, distinguished by its lower height—usually only 6 to 8 feet (2 to 

2.5 m)—and its persistent sheaths on the stem and absence of long opposite branches. 

Also resemble giant reed, Arundo donax L., also described in this book.

History and use. All native to Asia. Widely planted as ornamentals and for fishing 

poles.

Bamboos 4130

States with suspected 

infestations are 

shown in gray.

Golden bamboo July
58

FE

RNS

Japanese Climbing Fern

T. Bodner

September September

September September January July
59

FE

RNS

Lygodium japonicum (Thunb. ex Murr.) Sw. LYJA

Plant. Perennial viney fern, climbing and twining, to 90 feet (30 m) long, with lacy 

finely divided leaflets along green to orange to black wiry vines, often forming mats 

of shrub- and tree-covering infestations. Tan-brown fronds persisting in winter, while 

others remain green in Florida and in sheltered places further north. Vines arising as 

branches (long compound leaves) from underground, widely creeping rhizomes that 

are slender, black, and wiry.

Stem. Slender but difficult to break, twining and climbing, wiry. Green to strawcolored or reddish. Mostly deciduous in late winter.

Leaves (fronds). Opposite on vine, compound once- or twice-divided, varying in 

appearance according to the number of divisions, generally triangular in outline. 

Three to 6 inches (8 to 15 cm) long and 2 to 3 inches (5 to 8 cm) wide. Highly 

dissected leaflets, appearing lacy. Light green turning dark to tan brown in winter. 

Flowers. Fertile fronds usually smaller segments with fingerlike projections around 

the margins, bearing sporangia (spore producing dots) in double rows under margins.

Seeds. Tiny, wind-dispersed spores.

Ecology. Occurs along highway right-of-ways, especially under and around bridges, 

invading into open forests, forest road edges, and stream and swamp margins. Scattered in open timber stands and plantations, but can increase in cover to form mats, 

smothering shrubs and trees. Persists and colonizes by rhizomes and spreads rap

idly by wind-dispersed spores. Dies back in late winter in the more northern areas, 

with dead vines providing a trellis for reestablishment.

Resembles Old World climbing fern, L. microphyllum (Cav.) R. Br., and American 

climbing fern, L. palmatum (Bernh.) Sw., both of which are distinguished by five to 

seven palmately lobed, finger-like fronds. American climbing fern—a native occurring in swamps, stream beds, and ravines—does not spread beyond small areas to 

form extensive infestations. Old World climbing fern, also introduced, is a major 

invasive pest in southern Florida.

History and use. Native to Asia and tropical Australia and introduced from Japan in 

1930s. An ornamental still being spread by unsuspecting gardeners.

Japanese Climbing Fern 5171

States with suspected 

infestations are 

shown in gray.

July
60

FORB

S

Garlic Mustard

S. Ross

J. Meade

J. ShimpH. WilsonJ. Shimp

May

May

May May May
61

FORB

S

Alliaria petiolata (Bieb.) Cavara & Grande ALPE4

Plant. Cool-season biennial forb with a slender taproot found in small to extensive 

colonies. Basal rosettes of leaves in the first year remaining green during winter and 

producing one to several 2- to 4-foot (60- to 120-cm) tall flower stalks in the second 

year, and then dying after seed formation in midsummer. Dead plants remain standing 

after June as long slender seedstalks with many upturned thin seed capsules and a 

characteristic crook at the stalk base. A faint to strong garlic odor emitted from all parts 

of the plant when crushed, becoming milder as fall approaches.

Stem. Erect, slightly ridged, light green, hairless above and hairy below. One to 

several stems from the same rootstock.

Leaves. Early basal rosette of kidney-shaped leaves and later alternate heart-shaped 

to triangular leaves, 1.2 to 3.6 inches (3 to 9 cm) long and 1 to 4 inches (2.5 to 10 cm) 

wide. Margins shallow to coarsely wavy toothed. Tips elongated on stem leaves. 

Petioles 0.4 to 3 inches (1 to 8 cm) long and reduced upward.

Flowers. April to May. Terminal, tight clusters of small white four-petaled flowers, 

each 0.2 to 0.3 inch (5 to 7 mm) long and 0.4 to 0.6 inch (10 to 14 mm) wide. Flowering 

progressing upward as seedpods form below.

Fruit and seeds. May to June. Four-sided, erect-to-ascending, thin pod, 1 to 

5 inches (2.5 to 12 cm) long and 0.06 inch (1.5 mm) wide. Initially appearing to be 

stem branches that are alternately whorled along the stalk. Green ripening to tan 

and papery, exploding to expel tiny black seeds arranged in rows.

Ecology. Occurs in small to extensive colonies on floodplains, under forest canopies, and at forest margins and openings. Shade tolerant. Capable of ballistic seed 

dispersal of up to 10 feet (3 m). Spreads by human-, animal-, and water-dispersed 

seeds, which lie dormant for 2 to 6 years before germinating in spring. Experiences 

year to year variations in population densities. Allelopathic, emitting chemicals to kill 

surrounding plants and microbes.

History and use. Introduced from Europe in the 1800s and first sighted as an 

escaped weed in 1868 on Long Island, NY. Originally cultivated for medicinal use, but 

no known value now.

Garlic Mustard 6002

States with suspected 

infestations are 

shown in gray.

© J. Randall

May
62

FORB

S

Shrubby Lespedeza

July July

July January

February

July
63

FORB

S

Lespedeza bicolor Turcz. LEBI2

Synonyms: bicolor lespedeza, bicolor, shrub bushclover

Plant. Perennial much branched, leguminous forb or ascending shrub, 3 to 10 feet 

(1 to 3 m) in height with three-leaflet leaves, many small purple-to-white pea flowers, 

and single-seeded pods from a woody rootcrown. Dormant brown plants remain 

upright most of the winter.

Stem. Arching branched, upright-to-ascending stems, 0.2 to 0.8 inch (0.5 to 2 cm) 

in diameter. Often gray green. Appressed hairy to hairless.

Leaves. Alternate, three-leaflet leaves. Each leaflet elliptic to ovate with a hairlike 

tip, 0.8 to 2 inches (2 to 5 cm) long and 0.4 to 1.2 inches (1 to 3 cm) wide. Lower 

surface lighter green than upper surface. Petioles 0.8 to 1.6 inches (2 to 4 cm) long. 

Stipules narrowly linear, 0.04 to 0.3 inch (1 to 8 mm) long.

Flowers. June to September. Clusters (racemes) 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 cm) long—

each subtended by a tiny ovate bract—of 5 to 15 well-spaced, pealike flowers. Each 

flower 0.3 to 0.4 inch (8 to 11 mm) long, growing from upper leaf axils and beyond 

the upper leaves. Petals usually rosy purple in center and often grading to lighter 

shades, but can vary to white. Calyx (sepals) sparsely to very hairy with lobes 0.1 to 

0.2 inch (2.5 to 4.5 mm) long.

Fruit and seeds. August to March. Flat legume pod 0.2 to 0.3 inch (6 to 8 mm) long, 

broadly elliptic with pointed hairlike tip. Green becoming gray and densely appressed 

hairy. Single black seed 0.12 to 0.16 inch (3 to 4 mm) long.

Ecology. Planted widely in forest openings for wildlife food plots and soil stabilization to later encroach into adjoining stands. Reproduces and spreads even under a 

medium-to-dense overstory. Spread encouraged by burning. Leguminous nitrogen 

fixer.

History and use. Introduced from Japan as an ornamental in the late 1800s. Later 

programs promoted use for wildlife food and soil stabilization and improvement. Still 

planted for quail food plots.

Shrubby Lespedeza 6052

States with suspected 

infestations are 

shown in gray.

August

T. Bodner 
64

FORB

S

Chinese Lespedeza

July February

July July

September September
65

FORB

S

Lespedeza cuneata (Dum.-Cours.) G. Don LECU

Synonym: sericea lespedeza

Plant. Perennial ascending-to-upright leguminous forb, 3 to 6 feet (1 to 2 m) in 

height, with one-to-many leafy slender stems often branching at midplant, threeleaflet leaves, and tiny whitish flowers. Plant arising from a woody rootcrown. Dormant 

brown plants remaining upright during most of the winter.

Stems. Often gray green with lines of hairs along the stem.

Leaves. Alternate, crowded and numerous, three-leaflet leaves. Each leaflet oblong 

to linear with a hairlike tip, 0.4 to 0.8 inch (1 to 2 cm) long and 0.1 to 0.3 inch (3 to 

8 mm) wide. Green above and dense whitish hairy to light gray green beneath. 

Hairy petioles 0.2 to 0.6 inch (5 to 15 mm) long, absent for upper leaves. Stipules 

narrowly linear.

Flowers. July to September. Clusters of 1 to 3 pealike flowers crowded in upper leaf 

axils. Flowers white with purple marks, 0.1 to 0.3 inch (4 to 7 mm) long and shorter 

than leaves. Hairy five-lobed calyx shorter than petals.

Fruit and seeds. October to March. Flat ovate to round single-seeded legume pod 

0.12 to 0.15 inch (3 to 4 mm) wide. Pods clustered in terminal axils, scattered along 

the stem, and clasped by persistent sepals. Green becoming tan. 

Ecology. Occurs in new and older forest openings, dry upland woodlands to moist 

savannas, old fields, right-of-ways, and cities. Flood tolerant. Forms dense stands 

by sprouting stems from rootcrowns that prevent forest regeneration and land access. 

Cross- and self-pollinates. Spreads slowly from plantings by seeds that have low 

germination, but remain viable for decades. Nitrogen fixer.

Resembles native lespedeza, L. virginica (L.) Britt., which grows in tufted clumps 

instead of infestations, has crowded clusters of pink-purple to violet flowers and 

somewhat larger leaflets 0.6 to 1.2 inches (1.5 to 3 cm) long, and brown stems.

History and use. Introduced from Japan in 1899—first near Arlington, VA, and soon 

afterwards in north-central Tennessee—and escaped. Benefited from government 

programs that promoted plantings for erosion control. Still planted for quail food 

plots, soil stabilization, and grazing. Plant improvement breeding programs still 

underway.

Chinese Lespedeza 6053

T. Bodner

States with suspected 

infestations are 

shown in gray.

July
66

FORB

S

Tropical Soda Apple

J. Everest C. Bryson C. Bryson

J. Everest

C. Bryson

J. Everest

May

May July

June November November

June

May May May
67

FORB

S

Solanum viarum Dunal SOVI2

Plant. Upright, thorny perennial subshrub or shrub, 3 to 6 feet (1 to 2 m) in height, 

with leaves shaped like oak leaves, clusters of tiny white flowers, and green-to-­yellow 

golf-ball size fruit. Fruit sweet smelling and attractive to livestock and wildlife. Remains 

green over winter in most southern locations. 

Stem. Upright-to-leaning, much branched, hairy, covered with broad based whiteto-yellow thorns.

Leaves. Alternate, 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 cm) long and 2 to 6 inches (5 to 15 cm) 

wide. Margins deeply lobed (shaped like oak leaves). Velvety hairy with thorns 

projecting from veins and petioles. Dark green with whitish midveins above and 

lighter green with netted veins beneath.

Flowers. May to August (year-round in Florida). Terminal small clusters of fivepetaled white flowers. Petals first extended, then becoming recurved. Yellow-towhite stamen projecting from the center.

Fruit and seeds. June to November (year-round in Florida). Spherical, hairless, 

pulpy berry 1 to 1.5 inches (2.5 to 4 cm). Mottled green ripening to yellow. Each 

berry producing 200 to 400 reddish-brown seeds.

Ecology. Occurs on open to semishady sites. Viable seed in green or yellow fruit 

but not in white fruit. Reaches maturity from seed within 105 days. Persists by green 

stems or rootcrowns in warmer areas. Rapidly spreading by cattle and other livestock transportation and by wildlife-dispersed seeds as well as seed-contaminated 

hay, sod, and machinery.

Resembles horsenettle, S. carolinense L., an 8- to 30-inch (20- to 80-cm) forb, which 

has similar but smaller fruit, long elliptic-to-ovate lobed leaves 3 to 5 inches (8 to 

12 cm) long and 1 to 3 inches (2.5 to 8 cm) wide, and prickly yellow spines on stems 

and lower leaf veins.

History and use. Native to Argentina and Brazil and introduced into Florida in the 

1980s. No known use. A Federal listed noxious weed with an eradication program 

underway.

Tropical Soda Apple 6095

States with suspected 

infestations are 

shown in gray.

May
68

Other Nonnative Plants Invading Southern Forests and Their Margins

State

Species AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC OK SC TN TX VA

Trees

Norway maple, Acer platanoides L. X X X X

Paper mulberry, Broussonetia papyrifera (L.) L’Hér. ex Vent. X X X X X X X X X X X X X

Camphortree, Cinnamomum camphora (L.) J. Presi X X X X X X X X

Glossy buckthorn, Frangula alnus P. Mill. X X

White mulberry, Morus alba L. X X X X X X X X X X X X X

White poplar, Populus alba L. X X X X X X X X X X X X X

Siberian elm, Ulmus pumila L X X X X X X X X X X

Tungoil tree, Vernicia fordii (Hemsl.) Airy-Shaw X X X X X

Shrubs

Coral ardisia, Ardisia crenata Sims X X X

Japanese barberry, Berberis thunbergii DC. X X X X X X

Japanese knotweed, Polygonum cuspidatum Sieb. & Zucc. X X X X X X X X X X

Callery pear, Pyrus calleryana Dcne. X X X X X X X X X X X X X

Wineberry, wine raspberry, Rubus phoenicolasius Maxim. X X X X X X X

Japanese spiraea, meadowsweet, Spiraea japonica L. f. X X X X X X

Saltcedar, Tamarix ramosissima Ledeb. X X X X X X X X X

Vines

Fiveleaf akebia, chocolate vine, Akebia quinata (Houtt.) Dcne. X X X X X X

Purple crownvetch, Coronilla varia L. X X X X X X X X X X X

Porcelain berry, Amur peppervine, Ampelopsis brevipedunculata 

 (Maxim.) Trautv. X X X X

Grasses

Torpedo grass, Panicum repens L. X X X X X X X

Vasey’s grass, Paspalum urvillei Steud. X X X X X X X X X X X X X

Johnsongrass, Sorghum halepense (L.) Pers. X X X X X X X X X X X X X

Forbs and subshrubs

Spotted knapweed, Centaurea biebersteinii DC. X X X X X X X X X

Dames rocket, Hesperis matronalis L. X X X X X X

Purple loosestrife, Lythrum salicaria L. X X X X X X X X X X

Mile-a-minute, Asiatic tearthumb, Polygonum perfoliatum L. X
69

The best defense against nonnative plant takeovers is constant surveillance of right-of-ways, streambanks, and internal roads and trails followed

by effective control measures at the first appearance of new arrivals. Early 

detection and treatment will minimize efforts and costs that come with 

treating well-established plants or full-blown infestations. More effort is 

required for successful eradication of established infestations, but it still can 

be accomplished with proper treatments, although costs may be prohibitive. 

In severe cases, large-scale conversion of existing infestations is the only 

solution, involving eradication procedures that incorporate integrated 

management treatments and reestablishment of native plants. Fortunately,

in southern forests native plants in the soil seed bank or plants from 

surrounding areas will naturally reestablish once the invaders are eliminated.

Effective Treatments

If an infestation is spotted or already occurs, then proper and aggressive 

eradication measures should be undertaken to avoid the inevitable spread. 

Continued treatment and retreatments will be necessary. Most nonnative 

invasive plants are perennials, having extensive tough roots and runners. 

This means that effective herbicide applications offer the best means of 

containment or eradication, because herbicides can kill roots and do so 

without baring soil for reinvasion or erosion. To be successful with herbicide 

treatments:

1. Use the most effective herbicide for the species.

2. Follow the application methods prescribed on the label.

3. Choose an optimum time period to apply treatments; for foliar-applied 

herbicides this is usually mid-summer to early fall and not later than a 

month before expected frost. Evergreens and semi-evergreens with 

leaves can be treated effectively in the winter.

4. Adhere to all label prohibitions, precautions, and Best Management 

Practices during herbicide transport, storage, mixing, and application.

5. Remember that some herbicides require up to a month or more before 

herbicidal activity is detectable as yellowing of foliage or leaves with 

dead spots or margins. Thus, after application, be patient; allow 

herbicides to work for several months before resorting to other 

treatment options.

Selective Herbicide Application Methods

Although treating extensive inaccessible infestations may require broadcast treatments of herbicide sprays or pellets by helicopter or tractormounted application systems, the best approach is usually selective 

applications of herbicides to target nonnative 

plants while avoiding or minimizing application to desirable plants. The selective 

methods described are directed foliar 

sprays, stem injection, cut-treat, basal 

sprays, and soil spots.

Directed Foliar Sprays

Directed foliar sprays are herbicide-water 

sprays aimed at target plant foliage to cover 

all leaves to the point of run off, usually 

applied with a backpack sprayer (use low 

pressure, drift retardants, and spray shields 

to avoid drift). Herbicide application by 

directed foliar spray is the most costeffective method for treating most types of 

invasive plant species. With this method, 

herbicides are thoroughly mixed in water, 

General Principles for Controlling Nonnative Invasive Plants

Directed foliar sprays with a backBroadcast treatment of herbicide spray to kudzu. pack sprayer.
70

often with a non-ionic surfactant, and applied to the foliage and growing tips 

of woody plants or to completely cover herbaceous plants. Foliar sprays are 

usually most effective when applied from midsummer to late fall, although 

spring and winter applications have use on specific plants and situations. 

Selective treatment is possible because the applicator directs the spray 

towards target plants and away from desirable plants. The addition of a 

water-soluble dye can assist in tracking treatment and detecting spray drift 

on desirable plants. Although dyes are messy and short-lived as a visible 

marker, they are helpful in training and tracking critical applications. 

Another safeguard is to only use foliar active herbicides, because directed 

sprays of soil-active herbicides can damage or kill surrounding plants when 

their roots are within the treatment zone. Never use herbicides with soil 

activity to treat invasive plants under desirable trees or shrubs.

Directed sprays are usually applied with a backpack sprayer and a spray 

wand equipped with a full cone, flat fan, or adjustable cone spray tip. These 

tips and spraying pressures of 20 to 30 pounds per square inch can ensure 

productivity with only a few fine droplets that may drift to surrounding plants. 

To safeguard surrounding plants from damage by spray drift, suspend 

applications during windy conditions. A spray shield that attaches to the 

end of the wand can further minimize drift. Adding a drift retardant to the 

spray mixture can eliminate drift although effectiveness may be diminished. 

Plants up to 6 feet tall can be treated with this equipment, while the 

addition of a commercially available wand extension can slightly increase 

height capabilities. To treat plants up to about 18 feet tall, use higher spray 

pressures with a straight-stream or narrow flat fan tip. 

Directed foliar sprays are also applied using wands on hoses attached to 

spraying systems mounted on all-terrain vehicles, trucks, or tractors. Also,

a spray gun with a narrow flat fan tip can replace a wand for some applications. Another useful alternative for treating different sized woody plants is 

a spray gun with a swivel that holds two tips—narrow and wide-angled—

that can be quickly changed during application.

Stem Injection

Stem injection (including 

hack-and-squirt) involves 

herbicide concentrate or 

herbicide-water mixtures 

applied into downward 

incision cuts spaced around 

woody stems made by an 

ax, hatchet, machete, brush 

ax, or tree injector. Tree 

injection, including the hackA spray shield fashioned from a used gallon milk jug 

(bottom removed and cap bored.)

Higher spray heights achieved 

with narrow-angle nozzle, wand 

extension, and higher pressure.

Spray gun with swivel that holds two tips—narrow and 

wide angle.

Stem injection using a hatchet and spray bottle for hack-and-squirt (A) and a tree 

injector (B).

A B
71

and-squirt technique, is a selective method of controlling larger trees and 

shrubs (more than 2 inches in diameter) with minimum damage to surround-

ing plants. It requires cuplike downward incisions spaced around the stem 

with a measured amount of herbicide applied into each of the incisions. 

Special tree injectors are available to perform this operation, or a narrow-bit 

ax, hatchet, or machete along with a spray bottle can be used in sequence 

to perform the hack-and-squirt method. Completely frilling the stem with 

edge-to-edge cuts or injections is required for very large stems or difficult-tocontrol species. The herbicide should remain in the injection cut to avoid 

wasting herbicide on the bark and to prevent damage of surrounding plants. 

All injected herbicides can be transferred to untreated plants by root grafts 

and uptake of root exudates. Herbicides with soil activity can damage 

nearby plants when washed from incisions into the soil by unexpected 

rainfall soon after application. Avoid injection treatments if rainfall is 

predicted within 48 hours.

Tree injection treatments are most effective when applied in late winter 

and throughout the summer. Heavy spring sap flow in spring can wash 

herbicide from incision cuts, making this an ineffective period.

Cut-Treat

Cut-treat involves herbicide concentrates or herbicide-water mixtures 

applied to the outer circumference of freshly cut stumps or the entire top 

surface of cut stems, applied with a backpack sprayer, spray bottle, wick, or 

paint brush. Freshly cut stems and stumps of woody stems, including 

canes and bamboo, can be treated with herbicide mixtures to prevent 

resprouting and to kill roots. Cutting is usually by chainsaw or brush saw, 

but can be accomplished by handsaws or cutting blades. To minimize 

deactivation of the herbicide, remove sawdust from stumps before treatment. Treat stems and stumps as quickly as possible after cutting with a 

backpack sprayer or utility spray bottle for spray applications or a wick 

applicator, lab wash bottle, or paintbrush for small stems. Add a non-ionic 

surfactant to the mix to aid in penetration, if permitted by the label.

For stumps over 3 inches in diameter, completely wet the outer edge with 

the herbicide or herbicide mixture. Completely wet the tops of smaller 

stumps and all cut stems in a clump. Apply a basal spray mixture of 

herbicide, oil, and penetrant to stumps that have remained untreated for over 

2 hours or use Pathfinder II and wet stump sides too.

The most effective time for the stump spray method is late winter and 

summer. Although winter treatments are slightly less effective than growing 

season applications, the absence of foliage on cut stems and branches 

produces some offsetting gains in application efficiency.

Basal Sprays

Basal sprays are herbicide-oil-penetrant mixtures sprayed or daubed onto 

the lower portion of woody stems, usually applied with a backpack sprayer 

or wick applicator. Full basal treatments require that the lower 12 to 20 

inches of target woody stems be completely wetted on all sides with an oilbased spray mixture. Application is to smooth juvenile bark. Full basal 

sprays are usually effective in controlling woody stems less than about 6 

inches in diameter or larger diameters of 

susceptible species, before bark becomes 

thick, corky, and furrowed. The appropriate 

equipment for this treatment is a backpack 

sprayer with a wand or spray gun fitted with 

a narrow-angle flat fan, cone, or adjustable 

tip. A wick applicator can also be used. 

Herbicides that are soluble in oil (mainly 

Garlon 4) are mixed with a commercially 

available basal oil, vegetable oil, crop oil, 

diesel fuel, or kerosene often adding a 

special penetrant. Some herbicides, such 

as Pathfinder II and Vine-X, are sold readyto-use with these ingredients. 

A modified method, streamline basal 

sprays, is effective for many woody species 

up to 2 inches in diameter, as well as trees 

and shrubs up to 6 inches in diameter if the 

species is susceptible. Equipment for this Cut-treat the circumference of large stems (A) and the entire top of small stems (B).

A B Basal sprays applied by spray gun 

and straight-stream nozzle to low 

stem.

A
72

treatment is a backpack sprayer with a 

spray gun and a low-flow straight-stream or 

narrow-angle spray tip. To prevent waste, 

maintain pressure below 30 pounds per 

square inch with a pressure regulator. At 

this pressure, an effective reach of 9 feet is 

possible while bark splash is minimized. 

For treating stems less than 2 inches in 

diameter, apply the stream of spray up-anddown single stems for about 6 to 8 inches, 

or apply across multiple stems creating 2- 

to 3-inch-wide bands. This same multipleband treatment can be effective on larger 

stems. Direct the spray stream to smooth 

juvenile bark at a point about 4 to 18 inches from the ground. Stems that 

are thick barked or near 3 inches in diameter require treatment on all sides. 

Applications are usually in late winter and early spring, when leaves do 

not hinder spraying the stem. Summer applications are effective but more 

difficult. Avoid ester herbicide formulations on hot days to prevent vapor 

drift injury to nontarget plants.

Soil Spots

Soil spots are Velpar L herbicide applied as metered amounts to the soil 

surface around target woody stems or in a grid pattern for treating many 

stems in an area; they are usually applied with a spot gun or with a backpack sprayer equipped with a straight-stream nozzle. Spots of soil-active 

herbicide (mainly Velpar L) are applied to the soil surface in grid patterns or 

around target woody stems. This method requires exact amounts and 

prescribed spacings that are 

specified on the herbicide 

label or label supplements. 

It is only effective on specific 

nonnative plant species and 

usually only when applied in 

spring and early summer. 

Equipment is a special spot 

gun, utility spray bottle, or a 

backpack sprayer with a 

spray gun equipped with a 

straight-stream spray tip.

Selecting an Effective Herbicide 

Only herbicides registered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

for forestry use and noncroplands in the Southern States will be discussed 

here, although herbicides for other “land use areas,” such as right-of-ways, 

pastures, and rangelands, may be just as effective or may contain the same 

active ingredient. The herbicides that will be identified by trade name (and 

common active-ingredient name) are:

Foliar active (mostly) herbicides Foliar and soil-active herbicides

Glyphosate herbicides (glyphosate) Arsenal AC (imazapyr)

such as: Accord Concentrate, Escort XP (metsulfuron)

Gly-Flo Herbicide, and etc. Pathway (2,4-D + picloram)

Garlon 3A (triclopyr) Plateau (imazapic)

Garlon 4 (triclopyr) Tordon 101 (2,4-D + picloram)

Krenite S (fosamine) Tordon K (picloram)

Pathfinder II (triclopyr) Transline (clopyralid)

Milestone VM (aminopyralid) Vanquish (dicamba)

Velpar L (hexazinone)

Because nonnative invasive plants are usually difficult to control, select-

ing the most effective herbicide(s) is important. Often herbicides that have 

both soil and foliar activity are most effective with the least number of 

applications. However, applying herbicides with soil activity can damage 

desirable plants when their roots are present within the treatment zone or 

when herbicides move downhill to untreated areas following heavy rainfall. 

Garlon herbicides are mainly foliar active, but they have some soil activity 

at high rates or when mixed with oils. Garlon 4 and Vanquish can volatilize 

at high temperatures and their residues can move by air currents to affect 

surrounding plants; therefore, avoid application on days when temperatures 

exceed 80° F. If possible, also avoid applications when rainfall is anticipated 

within 8 hours, unless soil activation is needed, and during periods of severe 

drought as effectiveness can be reduced during these times. 

When possible, use selective herbicides that target specific nonnative 

species, such as Transline that controls mainly legumes and composites, 

and minimize damage to surrounding desirable plants even though they 

receive herbicide contact. Minimizing damage to desirable cohorts can also 

be achieved by making applications when the cohorts are dormant. For 

example, apply basal sprays to the bark of invasives in late winter before 

most other plants emerge, or foliar spray evergreen or semievergreen

invasives after surrounding plants have entered dormancy. Remember that 

desirable woody plants can be damaged through transfer of herbicides by 

Soil spots applied as metered herbicide amounts to the 

soil surface.

Basal spray mixture applied by a 

wick applicator to safeguard nearby 

plants.
73

root exudates following stem injection and cut-treat treatments or when soilactive herbicides wash off treated stems. Damage to surrounding native 

plants can be minimized with care and forethought during planning and 

application.

Read and thoroughly understand the herbicide label and its prohibitions 

before and during use. Many herbicides require the addition of a non-ionic 

surfactant to the spray tank. Always use clean water in a herbicide mixture 

and mix spray solutions thoroughly before applying. Do not mix in the 

sprayer but in a bucket with a stirring stick—stirring for several minutes or 

more—before transferring to the sprayer. Water that is highly basic (pH 

greater than 6) and contains high amounts of calcium and magnesium 

interferes with glyphosate herbicide effectiveness, requiring the addition of 

ammonium sulfate or appropriate additives. When changing from a waterbased mix to an oil-based mix in a backpack sprayer, thoroughly evacuate 

the water from the pump and run a small amount of oil through the pumping 

system before filling with the oil-based mix, otherwise, a white sludge will 

clog the sprayer. And, always wear personal protective equipment prescribed on the label and in supplementary materials.

Other Treatments for an Integrated Approach

Overgrazing is a way to reduce the vigor of palatable invasive plants like 

kudzu, but this rarely yields eradication and may spread seeds (as with 

tropical soda apple). Mechanical treatments and prescribed burning can 

assist eradication measures, but are limited in effectiveness. Prescribed 

burning cannot control rootcrowns or rhizomes of perennial plants and 

usually only deadens small aboveground shoots, providing only temporary 

aboveground control. In a similar way, cutting woody plants (by chainsaw 

and brush saw felling or brush mowing) and mowing vines and herbs 

without killing roots remove

only aboveground plant 

parts. Mechanical root 

raking and disking can 

actually intensify and 

spread infestations of 

invasive plants with runners by chopping them into 

resprouting segments and 

transporting them on the 

equipment. Fireplows can 

also spread invasive plant 

rhizomes and roots. 

However, root raking, piling, brush mowing, 

or burning may be the only way to start 

controlling dense infestations of multiple 

woody invasive plants. Small infestations 

may respond to hand pulling, grubbing with 

a stout hoe, or shrub pulling with newly 

introduced devices. Hand pulling or grubbing may be the quickest and easiest way 

to halt invaders when first spotted and stop 

them from gaining a foothold. String 

trimmers can reduce infestation densities 

and injure thick waxy leaves to improve 

herbicide uptake and effectiveness.

Although ineffective by themselves to achieve eradication, both mechanical and burning treatments can give added kill of herbicide-weakened plants 

and have a place in an integrated pest management program. The 

stumps and stems of 

nonnative trees, shrubs, 

and bamboos can be 

treated with herbicides 

immediately after cutting to 

kill roots. Resprouts of 

trees, shrubs, and vines 

that are topkilled by 

burning or brush mowing 

can be more easily treated 

with foliar sprays, often the 

most cost-effective way to 

use herbicides. Herbicide 

applications should be 

delayed after burning, 

disking, or mowing to 

permit adequate 

resprouting of target plants 

and, thereby maximizing 

herbicide uptake and 

effectiveness. Prescribed 

burning can also destroy 

invasive plant seeds (and 

bulbils of air yams) and 

often stimulate germination 

for efficient herbicide Wildland disk. Overgrazing for kudzu control.

Hand pulling privet.

Prescribed burn.
74

control treatments. Burning can prepare the site for effective herbicide 

applications by clearing debris and revealing application hazards, such as 

old wells and pits. Disking and root raking, if applied correctly, can dislodge 

herbicide-damaged woody roots and large runners, leaving them to dry and 

rot. With mechanical and burning treatments, take precautions, such as 

burning in late winter or spring leaf-out, to minimize the period of bare soil. 

The most effective time for controlling woody invasive plants and their 

germinants with fire is after plants have initiated growth in spring. 

An eradication program for infestations of invasive plants usually requires 

several years of treatment and many more years of surveillance to check 

for rhizome sprouts, root sprouts, seed germination, or new invasions. 

Following these steps in a planned manner and with persistence is the only 

successful strategy to safeguard land access, productivity, native plants, 

and suitable habitats for wildlife.

The Rehabilitation Phase

Rehabilitation is the most important final 

phase of an integrated invasive plant 

eradication and reclamation program. The 

rehabilitation phase requires establishment 

and/or release of fast-growing native plants 

that can outcompete and outlast any surviv-

ing nonnative plants while stabilizing and 

protecting the soil. If the soil seed bank 

remains intact, native plant communities 

may naturally reinitiate succession after 

eradication of nonnative plants. Lightseeded native species are usually present in 

the seed bank while heavier seeded plants 

will gradually be deposited on a site by birds 

and other animals. In recent years, native 

plant seed and seedlings have become 

increasingly available for rehabilitation 

sowing and planting, but a limited number of Containerized native plants for rehabilitation plantings.

species and absence of well-developed establishment procedures often 

hinder use. Tree nurseries operated by State forestry agencies are a good 

source of many species of native trees and shrubs. Often it is necessary to 

establish fast-growing tree species during the later control phase to hinder 

reestablishment of shade intolerant nonnative invasive plants. Reestablish-

ing native grasses and forbs is equally ­important. These species are 

available from commercial nurseries specializing in native plants, utilizing 

local sources when possible. Native plant seeds will require proper treatments to assure timely germination. Seedling native plants can be also 

collected and transplanted from suitable field sites. Their establishment will 

be more challenging than the commonly available nonnative plants so often 

used for soil stabilization and wildlife food plots. Constant surveillance, 

maintaining forest vigor with minimal disturbance, treatment of new unwanted arrivals, and finally rehabilitation following eradication are critical to 

preventing and controlling invasions on a specific site.

Sowing native plant seed.
75

The following are herbicide prescription summaries for prevalent invasive 

plants, detailing mainly selective application treatments. These prescriptions have been assembled from published research results, unpublished 

trials, State reports, weed council manuals, magazines, and Web sites. In 

general, very few species-specific experiments have been reported that 

compare a full array of treatments for nonnative invasive plant species. But 

until further specific understanding is gained, we must proceed with current 

knowledge and technology to combat this invasion. Herbicides are mentioned in order by effectiveness when comparative information is available 

or alphabetically when such information is lacking. Remember to follow the 

label-specified maximum herbicide amounts that are permissible for an acre 

of land when using selective application treatments.

Nonnative Trees

Nonnative tree species hinder reforestation and management of right-ofways and natural areas as well as dramatically altering habitats. Some 

occur as scattered trees while others form dense stands. Most spread by 

prolific seed production and abundant root sprouts. They can be eliminated 

with herbicides by stem injection, cut-treat, and soil spots, with basal and 

foliar sprays for seedlings and saplings. Following stem control, total 

elimination requires surveillance and treatment of root sprouts and plant 

germinants that originate from the soil seed bank.

Tree-of-Heaven, Ailanthus

Tree-of-heaven or ailanthus (Ailanthus altissima) is a 

deciduous tree to 80 feet (25 m) tall with long pinnately 

compound leaves, gray slightly fissured bark, and large 

terminal clusters of greenish flowers in early summer. 

Flowers and other parts of the plant have a strong odor. 

Viable seed are produced by 2- to 3-year-old plants. Immature appearing 

seeds are capable of germination. Root sprouts may appear after the main 

stem is deadened, and root segments left in soil after pulling treatments will 

sprout. Tree-of-heaven sprouts have been found to have 10 to 14 feet (3 to 

4 m) of first year height growth, while seedlings can grow 3 to 6 feet (1 to 

2 m) in the first year. This vigorous growth can continue for 4 or more 

years.

Recommended control procedures:

Large trees. Make stem injections and then apply Garlon 3A, Pathway*, 

Pathfinder II, or Arsenal AC* in dilutions and cut spacings specified on the 

herbicide label (midsummer best, late winter somewhat less effective). For 

felled trees, apply these herbicides to stem and stump tops immediately 

after cutting. 

Saplings. Apply Garlon 4 as a 20-percent solution in basal oil, vegetable 

oil, crop oil concentrate, diesel fuel, or kerosene (2.5 quarts per 3-gallon 

mix) or apply undiluted Pathfinder II to young bark as a basal spray.

Seedlings and saplings. Thoroughly wet all leaves with one of the follow-

ing herbicides in water with a surfactant (July to October): Arsenal AC* as a 

1-percent solution (4 ounces per 3-gallon mix), Krenite S as a 15-percent 

solution (3 pints per 3-gallon mix), Garlon 4 as a 2-percent solution 

(8 ounces per 3-gallon mix), or Escort XP* at 1 ounce per acre.

Silktree, Mimosa

Silktree or mimosa (Albizia julibrissin) is a small legume 

tree to 10 to 50 feet (3 to 15 m) tall that reproduces by 

abundant seeds and root sprouts. It has feathery deciduous leaves, smooth light-brown bark, and showy pink 

blossoms that yield dangling flat pods. Seedpods float and 

seed remain viable for many years.

Recommended control procedures:

Large trees. Make stem injections using Arsenal AC* or Garlon 3A in 

dilutions as specified on the herbicide label (anytime except March and 

April). For felled trees, apply these herbicides to stem and stump tops 

immediately after cutting. 

Saplings. Apply Garlon 4 as a 20-percent solution in basal oil, vegetable 

oil, crop oil concentrate, diesel fuel, or kerosene (2.5 quarts per 3-gallon 

mix) or apply undiluted Pathfinder II to young bark as a basal spray. 

Resprouts and seedlings. Thoroughly wet all leaves with one of the 

following herbicides in water with a surfactant: 

n July to October—Garlon 3A, Garlon 4, or glyphosate herbicide as a 

2-percent solution (8 ounces per 3-gallon mix) 

n July to September—Transline† as a 0.2- to 0.4-percent solution (1 to 

2 ounces per 3-gallon mix) 

*Nontarget plants may be killed or injured by root uptake. † Transline controls a narrow spectrum of plant species.

Prescriptions for Specific Nonnative Invasive Plants
76

Princesstree, Paulownia

Princesstree or paulownia (Paulownia tomentosa) is a 

deciduous tree to 60 feet (18 m) tall with large heartshaped leaves that are fuzzy hairy on both sides and 

pecan-like nuts in clusters (containing many tiny winged 

seeds) following showy pale-violet flowers in early spring. 

Stump sprouts and root sprouts may eventually emerge 

after main stems are deadened.

Recommended control procedures:

Large trees. Make stem injections using Arsenal AC* or a glyphosate 

herbicide in dilutions and cut spacings specified on the herbicide label 

(anytime except March and April). For felled trees, apply these herbicides 

to stem and stump tops immediately after cutting. 

Saplings. Apply Garlon 4 as a 20-percent solution in basal oil, vegetable 

oil, crop oil concentrate, diesel fuel, or kerosene (2.5 quarts per 3-gallon 

mix) or apply undiluted Pathfinder II to young bark as a basal spray. 

Resprouts and seedlings. Thoroughly wet all leaves with one of the 

following herbicides in water with a surfactant (July to October): Arsenal AC*

as a 1-percent solution (4 ounces per 3-galllon mix); a glyphosate 

herbicide, Garlon 3A, or Garlon 4 as a 2-percent solution (8 ounces per 

3-gallon mix).

Chinaberrytree 

Chinaberrytree (Melia azedarach) is a deciduous tree 

growing to about 50 feet (15 m) tall. It has lacy, manydivided leaves that are dark green and blue flowers in 

spring that yield round yellow fruit that persist during winter. 

Stump sprouts and root sprouts may eventually emerge 

after main stems are deadened.

Recommended control procedures:

Trees. Make stem injections using Arsenal AC* , Pathway*, Pathfinder II, or 

Garlon 3A in dilutions and cut spacings specified on the herbicide label 

(anytime except March and April). For felled trees, apply these herbicides 

to stem and stump tops immediately after cutting. 

Saplings. Apply Garlon 4 as a 20-percent solution in basal oil, vegetable 

oil, crop oil concentrate, diesel fuel, or kerosene (2.5 quarts per 3-gallon 

mix) or apply undiluted Pathfinder II to young bark as a basal spray. 

Sprouts and seedlings. Thoroughly wet all leaves with one of the following 

herbicides in water with a surfactant (July to October): Garlon 3A or Garlon 4 

as a 2-percent solution (8 ounces per 3-gallon mix); Arsenal AC* as a 1-percent solution (4 ounces per 3-gallon mix).

Tallowtree, Popcorntree 

Tallowtree or popcorntree (Triadica sebifera, formerly 

Sapium sebiferum) is a deciduous tree growing to 60 feet 

(18 m) tall that has heart-shaped leaves turning scarlet in 

fall, long drooping flowers in spring, and bundles of white 

waxy “popcorn-like” seeds in fall and winter. Three-year-old 

plants can produce viable seed and small seedlings can be 

easily hand pulled. Burning results in abundant seedlings.

Recommended control procedures: 

Large trees. Make stem injections using Arsenal AC*, Garlon 3A, or 

Pathfinder II in dilutions and cut spacings specified on the herbicide label 

(anytime except March and April). For felled trees, apply the herbicides to 

stem and stump tops immediately after cutting (at least a 10-percent 

solution for Garlon 3A). Ortho Brush-B-Gone (triclopyr) and Enforcer Brush 

Killer (triclopyr) are effective for treating cut stumps and readily available to 

homeowners in retail garden stores. For treatment of extensive infestations 

in forest situations, apply Velpar L* to the soil surface within 3 feet of the 

stem (one squirt of spot gun per 1-inch stem diameter) or in a grid pattern 

at spacings specified on the herbicide label.

Saplings. Apply Garlon 4 as a 20-percent solution in basal oil, vegetable 

oil, crop oil concentrate, diesel fuel, or kerosene (2.5 quarts per 3-gallon 

mix) or apply undiluted Pathfinder II to young bark as a basal spray.

Seedlings and saplings. Thoroughly wet all leaves with one of the follow-

ing herbicides in water with a surfactant (July to October): Arsenal AC* as a 

1-percent solution (4 ounces per 3-gallon mix), Krenite S as a 20-percent 

solution (2 quarts per 3-gallon mix), or Garlon 4 as a 2-percent solution 

(8 ounces per 3-gallon mix).

Russian Olive

Russian olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia) is a small thorny 

tree to 35 feet (10 m) tall that has microscopic silvery 

scales covering leaves, twigs, and fruits. Leaves are long 

and narrow with entire margins. Bark is fissured and 

reddish brown. Olive-like fruit are yellow and appear in late 

*Nontarget plants may be killed or injured by root uptake. summer to fall.
77

Recommended control procedures:

Trees. Make stem injections using Arsenal AC* or Garlon 3A in dilutions 

and cut spacings specified on the herbicide label (anytime except March 

and April). For felled trees, apply the herbicides to stem and stump tops 

immediately after cutting. 

Saplings. Apply Garlon 4 as a 20-percent solution in basal oil, vegetable 

oil, crop oil concentrate, diesel fuel, or kerosene (2.5 quarts per 3-gallon 

mix) or apply undiluted Pathfinder II to young bark as a basal spray. 

Seedlings and saplings. Thoroughly wet all leaves with one of the follow-

ing herbicides in water with a surfactant (July to October): Arsenal AC* as a 

1-percent solution in water (4 ounces per 3-gallon mix); a glyphosate herbi­cide, Garlon 3A, or Garlon 4 as a 2-percent solution in water (8 ounces per 

3-gallon mix) for directed spray treatments that have limited or no soil activity.

Nonnative Shrubs

Nonnative shrubs often occur with nonnative tree species and present 

similar problems. Herbicide control options are similar to trees, with the 

exception that foliar sprays can be used more often and are more effective. 

All are shade tolerant with bird-dispersed seeds resulting in scattered 

plants under existing forest canopies (except nonnative roses), which 

requires additional surveillance within the interior of forest stands. 

Silverthorn, Thorny Olive 

Silverthorn or thorny olive (Elaeagnus pungens) is an 

evergreen, densely bushy shrub 3 to 25 feet (1 to 8 m) in 

height. It has long limber projecting shoots, scattered 

thorny, dense alternate leaves silver scaly in spring on both 

top and bottom becoming dark green above and silvery 

beneath by midsummer. Oblong fruit red and brown scaly 

appear in spring.

Recommended control procedures:

n Thoroughly wet all leaves with Arsenal AC* or Vanquish* as a 1-percent 

solution in water (4 ounces per 3-gallon mix) with a surfactant; Garlon 3A 

and Garlon 4 as a 2-percent solution (8 ounces per 3-gallon mix).

n For stems too tall for foliar sprays, apply Garlon 4 as a 20-percent solution in commercially available basal oil, diesel fuel, or kerosene (2.5 quarts 

per 3-gallon mix) with a penetrant (check with herbicide distributor) to young 

bark as a basal spray (January to February or May to October). Or, cut 

large stems and immediately treat the stumps with one of the following 

herbicides in water with a surfactant: Arsenal AC* as a 10-percent solution 

(1 quart per 3-gallon mix) or a glyphosate herbicide as a 20-percent solution (2.5 quarts per 3-gallon mix).

Autumn Olive 

Autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellata) is a tardily deciduous 

bushy leafy shrub, 3 to 20 feet (1 to 6 m) in height, with 

scattered thorny branches. It has alternate leaves green 

above and silvery scaly beneath, with many red berries in 

fall having silvery scales.

Recommended control procedures: 

n Thoroughly wet all leaves with Arsenal AC* or Vanquish* as a 1-percent 

solution in water (4 ounces per 3-gallon mix) with a surfactant (April to 

October).

n For stems too tall for foliar sprays, apply Garlon 4 as a 20-percent solution in basal oil, vegetable oil, crop oil concentrate, diesel fuel, or kerosene 

(2.5 quarts per 3-gallon mix) or apply undiluted Pathfinder II to young bark 

as a basal spray (January to February or May to October). Or, cut large 

stems and immediately treat the stumps with one of the following herbicides 

in water with a surfactant: Arsenal AC* as a 10-percent solution (1 quart per 

3-gallon mix) or a glyphosate herbicide as a 20-percent solution (2.5 quarts 

per 3-gallon mix).

Winged Burning Bush 

Winged burning bush (Euonymus alata) is a deciduous, 

wing-stemmed, bushy shrub to 12 feet (4 m) in height, 

multiple stemmed and much branched, canopy broad and 

leafy. It has small and obovate opposite leaves, green 

turning bright scarlet to purplish red in fall, along stems with 

four corky wings. Many orange fruit appear as stemmed pairs in leaf axils 

and turning purple in fall.

Recommended control procedures: 

n Thoroughly wet all leaves with Arsenal AC* or Vanquish* as a 1-percent 

solution in water (4 ounces per 3-gallon mix) with a surfactant (April to 

October).

n For stems too tall for foliar sprays, apply Garlon 4 as a 20-percent solu-

*Nontarget plants may be killed or injured by root uptake. tion in basal oil, vegetable oil, crop oil concentrate, diesel fuel, or kerosene 
78

Recommended control procedures:

n Thoroughly wet all leaves with one of the following herbicides in water 

with a surfactant (August through March): Arsenal AC* as a 1-percent 

solution (4 ounces per 3-gallon mix); Garlon 4 as a 3-percent solution (12 

ounces per 3-gallon mix); or a glyphosate herbicide as a 3-percent solution 

(12 ounces per 3-gallon mix). 

n For stems too tall for foliar sprays, apply Garlon 4 as a 20-percent solution in basal oil, vegetable oil, crop oil concentrate, diesel fuel, or kerosene 

(2.5 quarts per 3-gallon mix) or apply undiluted Pathfinder II to young bark 

as a basal spray (January to February or May to October). Or, cut large 

stems and immediately treat the stumps with Arsenal AC* or Velpar L* as 

a 10-percent solution in water (1 quart per 3-gallon mix) with a surfactant. 

When safety to surrounding vegetation is desired, immediately treat stumps 

and cut stems with a glyphosate herbicide or Garlon 3A as a 20-percent 

solution in water (2.5 quarts per 3-gallon mix) with a surfactant.

Bush Honeysuckles

Amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii), Morrow’s honeysuckle (L. morrowii), Tatarian honeysuckle (L. tatarica), and 

sweet-breath-of-spring (L. fragran­tissima) are all tardily 

deciduous, upright, arching-branched shrubs. Amur is to 

30 feet (9 m) in height and spindly in forests, Morrow’s is to 

6.5 feet (2 m) in height, and Tatarian and sweet-breath-ofspring are to 10 feet (3 m) in height. All are much branched 

and arching in openings, multiple stemmed, with dark-green oval-to-oblong 

distinctly opposite leaves 0.8 to 2.4 inches (2 to 6 cm) long. Fragrant showy 

tubular white-to-pink or yellow paired flowers appear from May to June. 

Abundant paired berries are red to orange during winter. Seeds are longlived in the soil.

Recommended control procedures: 

n Thoroughly wet all leaves with glyphosate herbicide as a 2-percent 

solu­tion in water (8 ounces per 3-gallon mix) with a surfactant (August to 

October). Or, apply Garlon 4 as a 20-percent solution in basal oil, vegetable oil, crop oil concentrate, diesel fuel, or kerosene (2.5 quarts per 3-gallon 

mix) or apply undiluted Pathfinder II to young bark as a basal spray.

n For stems too tall for foliar sprays, cut large stems and immediately treat 

the stumps with one of the following herbicides in water with a surfactant: 

Arsenal AC* as a 10-percent solution (1 quart per 3-gallon mix) or a 

glyphosate herbicide as a 20-percent solution (2.5 quarts per 3-gallon mix).

(2.5 quarts per 3-gallon mix) or apply undiluted Pathfinder II to young bark 

as a basal spray (January to February or May to October). Or, cut large 

stems and immediately treat the stumps with one of the following herbicides 

in water with a surfactant: Arsenal AC* as a 10-percent solution (1 quart per 

3-gallon mix) or a glyphosate herbicide as a 20-percent solution (2.5 quarts 

per 3-gallon mix).

Chinese Privet, European Privet

Chinese privet (Ligustrum sinense) and European privet 

(L. vulgare) are difficult to distinguish except at flowering, 

both are evergreen to semievergreen. Both are thicketforming shrubs to 30 feet (9 m) in height that are soft 

woody, multiple stemmed with long leafy branches and 

opposite leaves less than 2 inches long. Showy clusters of small white 

flowers in spring yield clusters of small ovoid, dark-purple berries during fall 

and winter.

Recommended control procedures: 

n Thoroughly wet all leaves with one of the following herbicides in water 

with a surfactant (August to March): a glyphosate herbicide as a 3-percent 

solution (12 ounces per 3-gallon mix) or Arsenal AC* as a 1-percent 

solution (4 ounces per 3-gallon mix).

n For stems too tall for foliar sprays, apply Garlon 4 as a 20-percent solution in basal oil, vegetable oil, crop oil concentrate, diesel fuel, or kerosene 

(2.5 quarts per 3-gallon mix) or apply undiluted Pathfinder II to young bark 

as a basal spray. Or, cut large stems and immediately treat the stumps 

with Arsenal AC* or Velpar L* as a 10-percent solution in water (1 quart 

per 3-gallon mix) with a surfactant. When safety to surrounding vegetation is desired, immediately treat stumps and cut stems with Garlon 3A or a 

glyphosate herbicide as a 20-percent solution in water (2.5 quarts per 3-gallon mix) with a surfactant.

Japanese Privet, Glossy Privet 

Japanese privet (Ligustrum japonicum) and glossy privet

(L. lucidum) are evergreen to 35 feet (10 m) in height, with 

an upward spreading canopies. They have thick leathery 

opposite leaves 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 cm) long, and 

hairless leaves and stems. Clusters of small showy white 

flowers in spring yield small rounded green to purple fruit.

*Nontarget plants may be killed or injured by root uptake.
79

Sacred Bamboo, Nandina 

Sacred bamboo or nandina (Nandina domestica) is an evergreen erect shrub to 8 feet (2.5 m) in height, with multiple 

bushy stems resembling bamboo, glossy pinnately to 

bipinnately compound green or reddish leaves. Early 

summer terminal clusters of tiny white-to-pinkish flowers 

yield dangling clusters of red berries in fall and winter.

Recommended control procedures:

n Thoroughly wet all leaves with glyphosate herbicide as a 1-percent 

solution in water (4 ounces per 3-gallon mix) with a surfactant (August to 

October). Or, apply Garlon 4 as a 20-percent solution in basal oil, vegetable oil, crop oil concentrate, diesel fuel, or kerosene (2.5 quarts per 3-gallon 

mix) or apply undiluted Pathfinder II to young bark as a basal spray.

n For stems too tall for foliar sprays, cut large stems and immediately treat 

the stumps with one of the following herbicides in water with a surfactant: 

Arsenal AC* as a 10-percent solution (1 quart per 3-gallon mix) or a 

glyphosate herbicide as a 20-percent solution (2.5 quarts per 3-gallon mix). 

n Collect and destroy fruit. 

Nonnative Roses

Multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora), Macartney rose (R. 

bracteata), Cherokee rose (R. laevigata), and other nonnative roses are all evergreen except multiflora and are all 

erect, arching, or trailing shrubs to 10 feet (3 m) in height or 

long, clump forming. They have pinnately compound leaves 

with three to nine leaflets, frequent recurved or straight 

thorns. Clustered or single white-to-pink flowers in early summer yield red 

rose hips in fall to winter.

Recommended control procedures:

n Thoroughly wet all leaves with one of the following herbicides in water 

with a surfactant: April to June (at or near the time of flowering)—Escort* at 

1 ounce per acre in water (0.2 dry ounces per 3-gallon mix); August to 

October—Arsenal AC* as a 1-percent solution (4 ounces per 3-gallon mix) 

or Escort* XP at 1 ounce per acre in water (0.2 dry ounces per 3-gallon mix); 

May to October—repeated applications of a glyphosate herbicide as a 

4-percent solution in water (1 pint per 3-gallon mix), a less effective treatment that has no soil activity to damage surrounding plants.

n For stems too tall for foliar sprays, apply Garlon 4 as a 20-percent solution in basal oil, vegetable oil, crop oil concentrate, diesel fuel, or kerosene 

(2.5 quarts per 3-gallon mix) or apply undiluted Pathfinder II to young bark 

as a basal spray (January to February or May to October). Or, cut large 

stems and immediately treat the stumps with one of the following herbicides 

in water with a surfactant: Arsenal AC* as a 10-percent solution (1 quart per 

3-gallon mix) or a glyphosate herbicide as a 20-percent solution (2.5 quarts 

per 3-gallon mix).

Nonnative Vines

Nonnative vines are some of the most troublesome invaders because they 

often form the densest infestations, making herbicide applications difficult. 

Many of these vines overtop even mature forests and often form mixedspecies infestations with nonnative trees and shrubs. Specific herbicides 

can be effective on certain vines while not controlling, but actually releasing 

any underlying nonnative trees and shrubs. In these situations, select the 

best herbicide or herbicide mixture for controlling all the nonnative species in 

a mixed-species infestation. Vine control is always difficult because foliar 

active herbicides must move through lengthy vines to kill large unseen 

woody roots and tubers. Thus, herbicides that have both soil and foliar 

activity are often the most effective. Only the lower foliage within sprayer 

reach needs to be treated with a herbicide having both foliar and soil activity. 

With all herbicides, spray foliage of climbing stems as high as possible and 

if not controlled, then cut vines before retreatment. 

Oriental Bittersweet 

Oriental bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus) is an attractive 

but very invasive deciduous, twining, and climbing woody 

vine to 60 feet (20 m) with drooping branches in tree 

crowns, forming thicket and arbor infestations. It has alternate elliptic-to-rounded leaves 1.2 to 5 inches (3 to 12 cm) 

long. Its axillary dangling clusters of inconspicuous yellow-

ish flowers yield green spherical fruit that split to reveal 

three-parted showy scarlet fleshy covered seeds, which remain through 

winter at most leaf axils.

Recommended control procedures: 

n Thoroughly wet all leaves with one of the following herbicides in water 

with a surfactant (July to October): Garlon 4, Garlon 3A, or a glyphosate 

herbicide as a 3-percent solution (12 ounces per 3-gallon mix). 

n For stems too tall for foliar sprays, apply Garlon 4 as a 20-percent solution in basal oil, vegetable oil, crop oil concentrate, diesel fuel, or kerosene *Nontarget plants may be killed or injured by root uptake.
80

(2.5 quarts per 3-gallon mix) or apply undiluted Pathfinder II as a basal 

spray to the lower 16 inches of stems. Or, cut large stems and immediately 

treat the cut surfaces with one of the following herbicides in water with a 

surfactant: Garlon 4 or a glyphosate herbicide as a 25-percent solution (32 

ounces per 1-gallon mix).

Climbing Yams

Air yam (Dioscorea bulbifera), Chinese yam or cinnamon 

vine (D. oppositifolia, formerly D. batatas), and water yam 

(D. alata) are herbaceous, high climbing vines to 65 feet 

(20 m) that cover shrubs and trees in infestations. They 

have twining and sprawling stems with long-petioled 

smooth heart-shaped leaves and dangling potato-like 

tubers (bulbils) that appear at leaf axils and drop to form 

new plants. Aerial tubers spread down slope by gravity and by water. All 

species also have large underground tubers that make control difficult.

Recommended control procedures:

n Thoroughly wet all leaves with one of the following herbicides in water 

with a surfactant (July to October): Garlon 3A or Garlon 4 as a 2-percent 

solution (8 ounces per 3-gallon mix). Sometimes the air yams take up the 

herbicide; otherwise, they must be collected and destroyed (not composted). 

n Cut climbing plants just above the soil surface and immediately treat the 

freshly cut stem with undiluted Garlon 3A (safe to surrounding plants). 

Winter Creeper, Climbing Euonymus 

Winter creeper or climbing euonymus (Euonymus fortunei) 

is an evergreen shrub to 3 feet (1 m) in height and woody 

trailing vine to 40 to 70 feet (12 to 22 m) that forms a dense 

ground cover and climbs by clinging aerial roots along the 

stem. It has leaves that are opposite, thick, and dark green 

or green-white variegated on green stems. Pinkish-to-red capsules split 

open in fall to expose orange fleshy covered seeds.

Recommended control procedures: 

n Thoroughly wet all leaves (until runoff) with one of the following herbicides in water with a surfactant (July to October for successive years): 

Tordon 101* ‡ as a 3-percent solution (12 ounces per 3-gallon mix) or 

Tordon K* ‡ as a 2-percent solution (8 ounces per 3-gallon mix). 

n Or, repeatedly apply Garlon 4 or a glyphosate herbicide as a 4-percent 

solution (1 pint per 3-gallon mix) in water with a surfactant, a less effective 

treatment that has no soil activity to damage surrounding plants. 

n Cut all vertical climbing stems to prevent fruiting and spread by birds.

English Ivy 

English ivy (Hedera helix) is an evergreen vine climbing to 

90 feet (28 m) that forms dense ground cover and climbs by 

aerial roots. It has thick dark-green leaves with whitish 

veins when juvenile that are heart-shaped with three to five 

pointed lobes, later becoming broadly lanceolate, and 

terminal flower clusters in summer that yield dark-purple 

berries in winter and spring.

Recommended control procedures: 

n Thoroughly wet all leaves (until runoff) with one of the following herbicides in water with a surfactant (July to October for successive years): 

Garlon 3A or Garlon 4 as a 3- to 5-percent solution (12 to 20 ounces per 

3-gallon mix) or a glyphosate herbicide as a 4-percent solution (1 pint per 

3-gallon mix). Use a string trimmer to reduce growth layers and injure 

leaves for improved herbicide uptake. Cut large vines and apply these 

herbicides to cut surfaces.

n Or, apply Garlon 4 as a 20-percent solution in basal oil, vegetable oil, 

crop oil concentrate, diesel fuel, or kerosene (2.5 quarts per 3-gallon mix) or 

apply undiluted Pathfinder II as a basal spray to large vines being careful to 

avoid the bark of the host tree.

Japanese Honeysuckle 

Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) is a semievergreen to evergreen woody vine, high climbing and trailing to 

80 feet (24 m), branching and often forming arbors in forest 

canopies and/or ground cover under canopies. It has 

opposite leaves and long woody rhizomes that sprout 

frequently and make control difficult.

Recommended control procedures:

n Apply Escort* XP with a surfactant to foliage June to August—either by 

broadcast spraying 2 ounces per acre in water (0.6 dry ounces per 3-gallon 

mix) or by spot spraying 2 to 4 ounces per acre in water (0.6 to 1.2 dry 

ounces per 3-gallon mix). 

n Or, treat foliage with one of the following herbicides in water with a 

surfactant (July to October or during warm days in early winter) keeping 

*Nontarget plants may be killed or injured by root uptake. ‡ When using Tordon herbicides, rainfall must occur within 6 days after application for 

needed soil activation. Tordon herbicides are Restricted Use Pesticides. 
81

spray away from desirable plants: a glyphosate herbicide as a 2-percent 

solution (8 ounces per 3-gallon mix) or Garlon 3A or Garlon 4 as a 3- to 

5-percent solution (12 to 20 ounces per 3-gallon mix). 

n Or, cut large vines just above the soil surface and immediately treat the 

freshly cut stem with a glyphosate herbicide or Garlon 3A as a 20-percent 

solution (2.5 quarts per 3-gallon sprayer) in water with a surfactant July to 

October (safe to surrounding plants). 

n Prescribed burning in spring will reduce dense ground mats and sever 

climbing vines for more effective herbicide treatments to resprouting vines.

Kudzu 

Kudzu (Pueraria montana) is a deciduous twining, trailing, 

mat-forming, woody leguminous vine 35 to 100 feet (10 to 

30 m) with lobed three-leaflet leaves. Large root crowns 

that increase in size with age are difficult to control. Prescribed burning in spring can clear debris, sever climbing 

vines, and reveal hazards before summer applications.

Recommended control procedures:

n Thoroughly wet all leaves (until runoff) with one of the following herbicides in water with a surfactant: July to October for successive years when 

regrowth appears—Tordon 101* ‡ as a 3-percent solution (12 ounces per 

3-gallon mix) or Tordon K* ‡ as a 2-percent solution (8 ounces per 3-gallon 

mix), either by broadcast or spot spray—spraying climbing vines as high as 

possible. July to September for successive years—Escort* XP at 3 to 4 

ounces per acre in water (0.8 to 1.2 dry ounces per 3-gallon mix)—or when 

safety to surrounding vegetation is desired, Transline† as a 0.5-percent solution in water (2 ounces per 3-gallon mix); spray climbing vines as high as 

possible or cut vines that are not controlled after herbicide treatment.

n For partial control, repeatedly apply Garlon 4 or a glyphosate herbicide 

as a 4-percent solution in water (1 pint per 3-gallon mix) with a surfactant 

during the growing season. Cut large vines and immediately apply these 

herbicides to the cut surfaces. Or, apply Garlon 4 as a 20-percent solution 

in basal oil, vegetable oil, crop oil concentrate, diesel fuel, or kerosene (2.5 

quarts per 3-gallon mix) or apply undiluted Pathfinder II as a basal spray 

to large vines as a basal spray (January to April), which controls vines less 

than 2 inches in diameter. 

Vincas, Periwinkles

Common periwinkle (Vinca minor) and bigleaf periwinkle 

(V. major) are evergreen to semievergreen (leaves always 

present) somewhat-woody, trailing or scrambling vines to 

3 feet (1 m) long and upright to 1 foot (30 cm) that form 

dense ground cover. They have opposite lanceolate-toheart-shaped leaves and five-petaled pinwheel-shaped violet single flowers. 

Viable seed appear to be produced only rarely.

Recommended control procedures:

n Thoroughly wet all leaves (until runoff) with one of the following herbicides in water with a surfactant (July to October for successive years): 

Tordon 101* ‡ as a 3-percent solution (12 ounces per 3-gallon mix), Tordon 

K* ‡ as a 2-percent solution (8 ounces per 3-gallon mix), or Garlon 4 as a 

4-percent solution (15 ounces per 3-gallon mix). 

n Or, during the growing season, repeatedly apply Garlon 4 or a glyphosate herbicide as a 2-percent solution in water (8 ounces per 3-gallon mix) 

with a surfactant. In winter, herbicide treatments should be limited to warm 

days.

Chinese Wisteria, Japanese Wisteria 

Chinese wisteria (Wisteria sinensis) and Japanese wisteria 

(W. floribunda) are deciduous high climbing, twining, or 

trailing leguminous woody vines to 70 feet (20 m) with long 

pinnately compound leaves and showy spring flowers. 

Chinese and Japanese wisterias are difficult to distinguish 

due to possible hybridization.

Recommended control procedures:

Thoroughly wet all leaves (until runoff) with one of the following herbicides 

in water with a surfactant: 

n July to October for successive years when regrowth appears—Tordon 

101* ‡ as a 3-percent solution (12 ounces per 3-gallon mix), Tordon K* ‡ as 

a 2-percent solution (8 ounces per 3-gallon mix), or Garlon 4 as a 4-percent 

solution (15 ounces per 3-gallon mix) 

n July to September for successive years when regrowth appears—

Transline* † as a 0.5-percent solution in water (2 ounces per 3-gallon mix) 

when safety to surrounding vegetation is desired 

n September to October with repeated applications—a glyphosate herbicide as a 4-percent solution (1 pint per 3-gallon mix) 

*Nontarget plants may be killed or injured by root uptake. † Transline controls a narrow spectrum of plant species. ‡ When using Tordon herbicides, rainfall must occur within 6 days after application for 

needed soil activation. Tordon herbicides are Restricted Use Pesticides. 
82

Recommended control procedures:

n On forest lands, apply a glyphosate herbicide as a 0.5-percent solution in 

water (2 quarts per 10 gallons mix per acre), or Arsenal AC* as a 1-percent 

solution (25 ounces per 20 gallons mix per acre) in spring. 

n On noncroplands, apply 10 to 12 ounces of Plateau or 20 to 24 ounces 

of Journey per 20 gallons mix per acre (consult the label for additives) in 

spring. Mixing Plateau or Journey with a glyphosate herbicide will improve 

control but may damage associated native plants. Vantage (sethoxydim), 

Poast (sethoxydim), Assure (quizalofop), and Select (clethodim) may be 

useful on pastures, but they are usually more costly than a glyphosate mix 

with Plateau or Journey. 

n Early spring burning—if repeated—inhibits fescue and encourages native 

warm-season grasses.

Cogongrass 

Cogongrass (Imperata cylindrica) is an aggressive, colonyforming dense erect perennial grass 1 to 5 feet (30 to 150 

cm) in height. It has tufts of long leaves, yellow-green 

blades (each with an off-center midvein and finely sawtoothed margins), and silver-plumed flowers and seeds in 

spring, arising from sharp-tipped branching rhizomes. Older infestations 

will be more difficult to control.

Recommended control procedures:

n Thoroughly wet all leaves with one of the following herbicides in water 

with a surfactant (September or October with multiple applications to 

regrowth): Arsenal AC* as a 1-percent solution (4 ounces per 3-gallon mix), 

a glyphosate herbicide as a 4-percent solution (1 pint per 3-gallon mix), or 

combination of the two herbicides. 

n Repeat before flowering in spring to suppress seed production and again 

in successive years for eradication.

Nepalese Browntop 

Nepalese browntop (Microstegium vimineum) is a sprawl-

ing, dense, mat-forming annual grass, 0.5 to 3 feet (15 to 

90 cm) long with stems growing to 1 to 3 feet (30 to 89 cm) 

in height, often bending over and rooting at nodes to form 

extensive infestations. It has alternate, lanceolate leaf blades to 4 inches 

(10 cm) long with off-center veins and thin seed heads in summer and fall. 

Apply treatment to stop seed production.

Nonnative Grasses

Nonnative grasses continue to spread and increasingly reside along highway right-of-ways and thus gain access to adjoining lands. Most nonnative 

invasive grasses are highly flammable, increasing fire intensities, subjecting 

firefighters to increased risk, and spreading even faster after wildfire or a 

prescribed burn. Nonnative grasses have become one of the most insidious problems in the field of wildlife management on pasture and prairie 

lands, because they have little wildlife value and leave no room for native 

plants. Repeated applications of herbicides are required for control.

Giant Reed 

Giant reed (Arundo donax) is a giant leafy reed grass to 

20 feet (6 m) in height that forms thickets in distinct clumps. 

It has cornlike gray-green and hairless leaves jutting from 

stems and drooping at the ends. Erect plumelike terminal 

panicles of flowers and seed heads appear in late summer 

and persist through winter. Seed are not viable.

Recommended control procedures:

Thoroughly wet all leaves with one of the following herbicides in water with 

a surfactant (September or October with multiple applications to regrowth): 

n A glyphosate herbicide as a 4-percent solution (1 pint per 3-gallon mix) 

n Arsenal AC* as a 1-percent solution (4 ounces per 3-gallon mix) 

n A combination of the two herbicides

Tall Fescue 

Tall fescue (Lolium arundinaceum, formerly Festuca 

arundinacea and F. elatior) is an erect, tufted cool-season 

perennial grass, 2 to 4 feet (60 to 120 cm) in height. It has 

whitish-eared areas where leaf blades connect to the stem, 

and the stem has swollen nodes. Dark-green seedstalks 

and leaves appear in late winter, usually flowering in spring 

(infrequently in late summer). This grass is dormant in 

midsummer. Most tall fescue is infected with a fungus that 

can reduce weight gains and lower reproductive rates in livestock, while 

adversely affecting the nutrition of songbirds and Canada geese. Tall fescue 

monocultures are generally poor habitat for wildlife.

*Nontarget plants may be killed or injured by root uptake.
83

Recommended control procedures: 

n Apply a glyphosate herbicide as a 2-percent solution in water (8 ounces 

per 3-gallon mix) with a surfactant in summer. Or, apply Vantage (see 

label) for situations that require more selective control and less impact on 

associated plants. 

n Repeat treatments for several years to control abundant germinating 

seeds. Mowing or pulling just before seed set will also prevent seed buildup 

in the soil seed bank.

Chinese Silvergrass

Chinese silvergrass (Miscanthus sinensis) is a tall, densely 

tufted, perennial grass, upright to arching, 5 to 10 feet (1.5 to 

3 m) in height. It has long, slender, and upright-to-arching 

leaves with whitish upper midveins and many loosely 

plumed panicles turning silvery to pinkish in fall.

Recommended control procedures:

Thoroughly wet all leaves with one of the following herbicides in water with a 

surfactant (September or October with multiple applications to regrowth): 

n Arsenal AC* as a 1-percent solution (4 ounces per 3-gallon mix) 

n A glyphosate herbicide as a 4-percent solution (1 pint per 3-gallon mix) 

n A combination of the two herbicides

Bamboos

Golden bamboo (Phyllostachys aurea) and other nonnative 

bamboos (Phyllostachys spp. and Bambusa spp.) are 

perennial infestation-forming grasslike plants 16 to 40 feet 

(5 to 12 m) in height. They have jointed cane stems and 

bushy tops of lanceolate leaves in fan clusters on grasslike 

stems, often golden green.

Recommended control procedures:

n Thoroughly wet all leaves with one of the following herbicides in water 

with a surfactant (September or October with multiple applications to 

regrowth): Arsenal AC* as a 1-percent solution (4 ounces per 3-gallon mix), 

a glyphosate herbicide as a 4-percent solution (1 pint per 3-gallon mix), or 

combination of the two herbicides.

n Cut just above ground level and treat stems immediately with a doublestrength batch of the same herbicides or herbicide mixture.

Nonnative Ferns

Japanese climbing fern is presently the only nonnative invasive fern in the 

temperate parts of the South.

Japanese Climbing Fern 

Japanese climbing fern (Lygodium japonicum) is a climbing 

and twining, perennial viney fern to 90 feet (30 m), often 

forming mats of shrub- and tree-covering infestations. It 

has lacy finely divided leaves along green-to-orange-toblack wiry vines.

Recommended control procedures:

Thoroughly wet all leaves with one of the following herbicides in water with a 

surfactant (July to October): 

n Escort* XP at 1 to 2 ounces per acre in water (0.3 to 0.6 dry ounces per 

3-gallon mix) and as a mixture with a glyphosate herbicide

n Arsenal AC* as a 1-percent solution (4 ounces per 3-gallon mix)

n Glyphosate herbicide, Garlon 3A, or Garlon 4 as a 4-percent solution 

(1 pint per 3-gallon mix), or a combination of these herbicides

Nonnative Forbs and Subshrubs

Forbs are broadleaf herbaceous plants and subshrubs are short semiwoody plants. Control treatments are usually by foliar sprays of herbicides.

Garlic Mustard 

Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) is an upright biennial forb 

in small-to-extensive colonies under forest canopies, characterized by a faint-to-strong garlic odor from all parts of the 

plant when crushed (odor fading as fall approaches). It has 

basal rosettes of broadly arrow-point shaped leaves with 

wavy margins in the first year (remaining green during 

winter), a 2- to 4-foot (60- to 120-cm) flower stalk and 

terminal clusters of flowers with four white petals in the second year, and 

eventually dead plants with long slender seed pods after June of the second 

year. Stand density varies yearly depending on germination requirements of 

*Nontarget plants may be killed or injured by root uptake.
84

seeds in the soil seed bank, with a single crop germinating over a 2- to 4-

year period.

Recommended control procedures:

n To control two generations, thoroughly wet all leaves with a glyphosate 

herbicide as a 2-percent solution in water (8 ounces per 3-gallon mix) 

during flowering (April through June). Include a surfactant unless plants are 

near surface waters. 

n In locations where herbicides cannot be used, pull plants before seed 

formation. Repeated annual prescribed burns in fall or early spring will 

control this plant, while “flaming” individual plants with propane torches has 

also shown preliminary success.

Shrubby lespedeza, Chinese lespedeza

Shrubby lespedeza (Lespedeza bicolor) and Chinese

lespedeza (L. cuneata) are perennials, with three-leaflet 

leaves, that remain standing dormant most of the winter 

and form dense stands that prevent forest regeneration and

land access. Shrubby lespedeza is a much-branched 

legume up to 10 feet (3 m) in height with small purple-pink 

pealike flowers, and single-seeded pods. Chinese lespedeza is not really a shrub, but a semiwoody ascending-toupright leguminous forb to 6 feet (2 m) in height with many 

leaves feathered along erect slender whitish stems that 

often branch in the upper half and tiny cream-colored 

flowers in leaf axils during summer. Seed of both are long lived in the soil 

seed bank and require long-term monitoring after control treatments. 

Prescribed burning can promote spread of the infestation margins.

Recommended control procedures:

n Thoroughly wet all leaves with one of the following herbicides in water 

with a surfactant (July to September): Garlon 4 as a 2-percent solution 

(8 ounces per 3-gallon mix), Escort* XP at three-fourths of an ounce per 

acre (0.2 dry ounces per 3-gallon mix), Transline† as a 0.2-percent solution 

(1 ounce per 3-gallon mix), a glyphosate herbicide as a 2-percent solution 

(8 ounces per 3-gallon mix), or Velpar L* as a 2-percent solution (8 ounces 

per 3-gallon mix).

n Mowing 1 to 3 months before herbicide applications can assist control.

Tropical Soda Apple 

Tropical soda apple (Solanum viarum) is an upright, thorny 

perennial sub-shrub or shrub, 3 to 6 feet (1 to 2 m) in 

height, characterized by remaining green year-round in 

most southern locations. It has oak-shaped leaves, clusters of tiny white flowers, and golf-ball size fruit that are 

mottled green white turning to yellow in late summer to fall, which have a 

sweet smell attractive to livestock and wildlife. Even green fruit contain 

viable seeds. Report infestations to county agents for treatment under a 

federally sponsored eradication program.

Recommended control procedures for isolated sightings:

n Thoroughly wet leaves and stems with one of the following herbicides in 

water with a surfactant at times of flowering before fruit appear: Garlon 4 

(or Remedy in pastures) or Arsenal AC* as a 2-percent solution (8 ounces 

per 3-gallon mix); Mileston VM as a 0.5-percent solution (2 ounces per 

3-gallon mix) applied as 10 gallons per acre; a glyphosate herbicide as a 

3-percent solution in water (12 ounces per 3-gallon mix).

n Collect and destroy fruit to prevent reestablishment.

n If mowing is used to stop fruit production, delay herbicide applications 

until 50 to 60 days to ensure adequate regrowth.

*Nontarget plants may be killed or injured by root uptake. † Transline controls a narrow spectrum of plant species.
85

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 Bermuda, and bahia grass. Wildland Weeds. 4: 5–8.

Willard, T.R.; Gaffney, J.F.; Shilling, D.G. 1997. Influence of herbicide 

combinations and application technology on cogongrass (Imperata 

cylindrica) control. Weed Technology. 11: 76–80.

Yeiser, J.L. 1999. Japanese honeysuckle control in a minor hardwood bottom 

of southwest Arkansas. Southern Weed Science Society Annual Meeting 

Proceedings. 52: 108–111.

Zeller, M.; Leslie, D. 2004. Japanese climbing fern control trials in planted 

pine. Wildland Weeds 7: 6, 8-9.

Newsletters and Magazines

Florida Exotic Plant Pest Council. 1996–2002. Wildland weeds. Gainesville, 

FL. Quarterly.

Web Sites

Alien Plant Working Group: http://weedsgonewild.org

Bugwood Network: www.bugwood.org

California Exotic Plant Pest Council: www.caleppc.org

Florida Exotic Plant Pest Council: www.fleppc.org

Southeast Exotic Plant Pest Council: www.se-eppc.org

Southern Weed Science Society: www.weedscience.msstate.edu/swss

The Nature Conservancy’s Invasive Species Team’s Control Methods 

Handbook , Tu, M.; Hurd, C.; Randall, J.M. 2001 http://

tncweeds.ucdavis.edu/handbook.html

USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s Federal Noxious Weed 

Program: www.aphis.usda.gov/ppq/weeds

USDA, Forest Service, Southern Research Station: www.srs.fs.fed.us or 

www.srs.fs.usda.gov

USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service’s National Noxious Weed 

Program: http://dogwood.itc.nrcs.usda.gov:90/Weeds

Sources of Native Plants

USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Plant Materials Program: 

http://plant-materials.nrcs.usda.gov/
87

acute tip: terminating in a sharp or well-defined point, with more or less 

straight sides.

allelopathic: referring to a plant known to emit chemicals that retard the 

growth or seed germination of associated plants.

alternate leaves: one leaf at each node and alternating on sides of the 

stem.

alternately whorled leaves: one leaf at each node and their points of 

attachment forming a spiral up the stem.

annual: a plant that germinates, flowers, produces seed, and dies within 

one growing season.

anthers: the pollen-producing portion of the stamen or male reproductive 

part of a flower.

appressed: lying close to or flattened against.

arbor: vine entanglement within the crowns of shrubs or trees.

ascending: tending to grow upward, slightly leaning to somewhat erect.

asymmetric: not identical on both sides of a central line. 

axil: the angle formed between two structures, such as between a leaf and 

the stem.

axillary: located in an axil or angle.

berry: a fleshy or pulpy fruit from a single ovary with one to many 

embedded seeds, such as tomato and grape.

biennial: a plant that lives for about 2 years, typically forming a basal 

rosette in the first year, flowering and fruiting in the second year, and then 

dying.

bipinnately compound: twice pinnately compound; a pinnately compound 

leaf being again divided.

blade: the expanded part of a leaf.

bract: a small leaf or leaflike structure at the base of a flower, inflorescence, 

or fruit.

branch scar: a characteristic marking on a stem where there was once a 

branch.

bud: an undeveloped flower, flower cluster, stem, or branch, often enclosed 

by reduced or specialized leaves termed bud-scales.

bulbil: an aerial tuber.

bunch grass: a grass species with a cluster-forming growth habit; a grass 

growing in an upright large tuft.

bundle scar: tiny raised area(s) within a leaf scar, from the broken ends of 

the vascular bundles, found along a twig.

calyx: the collective term for all of the sepals of a flower, commonly green, 

but occasionally colored and petal-like or reduced to absent.

calyx tube: a tubelike structure formed by wholly or partially fused sepals.

cane: very tall grasses, for example, switchcane and bamboo; tall, stiff 

stem.

capsule: a dry fruit that splits into two or more parts at maturity, for 

example, the fruit of tallowtree.

clasping: base that partly or wholly surrounds another structure, such as a 

leaf base surrounding a stem.

collar: the area of a grass leaf blade where it attaches to the sheath.

colony: a stand or group of one species of plant, from seed origin or those 

connected by underground structures such as rhizomes.

cordate: heart-shaped.

Glossary of Important Terms
88

cordate base: a leaf base resembling the double-curved top of a heart 

shape.

corolla: the collective name of all of the petals of a flower.

cotyledon: the initial leaves on a plant germinant.

crenate: margin with shallow, rounded teeth; scalloped.

cultivar: a form or variety of plant originating under cultivation.

deciduous: falling off or shedding; not persistent; refers to leaves, bracts, 

stipules, and stipels.

dioecous: plants with unisexual flowers and having male and female 

flowers on separate plants.

drupe: a fleshy fruit, surrounding a stone (endocarp) that contains a single 

seed.

ellipsoid: a three-dimensional ellipse; narrow or narrowly rounded at ends 

and widest in the middle.

elliptic: oval-shaped; broadest at the middle and rounded and narrower at 

the two equal ends.

entire: margins without teeth, notches, or lobes.

even pinnately compound: a leaf with two or more leaflets arranged 

opposite along a leafstalk or rachis. 

evergreen: green leaves remaining present through winter.

exotic: foreign; originating on a continent other than North America.

fern: a broadleaf pteridophyte of the order Filicales, typically with muchdivided leaves and spore reproduction.

filament: the long, slender stalk of a stamen that supports the anther.

forb: a broad-leaved herbaceous (nonwoody) plant.

frond: a large, once- or twice-divided leaf, here referring to fern leaves.

gland: a structure which contains or secretes a sticky, shiny, or oily substance.

grain: a grass seed.

grass: plants of the family Poaceae, typically with narrow leaves and jointed 

stems.

hairy: surface features of plants, many protruding filaments or glands that 

give texture; pubescent. 

herb or herbaceous: a plant with no persistent aboveground woody stem, 

dying back to ground level at the end of the growing season.

hip fruit: the fruit of the genus Rosa that is ovoid, fleshy, and usually red 

when ripe.

husk: the outer scalelike coverings of a grass seed.

inflorescence: the flowering portion of a plant; the flower cluster; the 

arrangement of flowers on the stem.

internode: the space on an herb or grass stem between points of leaf 

attachment.

lanceolate: lance-shaped; widest at or near the base and tapering to the 

apex.

lateral: on or at the sides, as opposed to terminal or basal.

leaflet: an individual or single division of a compound leaf.

leaf scar: the scar or marking left on a twig after leaf fall.

leafstalk: the main stem of a compound leaf, rachis.

legume: a plant in the family Fabaceae; a dry, splitting fruit, one-to-many 

seeded, derived from a single carpel and usually opening along two sutures, confined to the Fabaceae.

legume pod: the fruit of a legume.
89

lenticel: a raised dot or short line, usually corky to white in color, on twigs 

and stems.

ligule: a tiny membranous projection, often fringed with hairs, from the 

summit of the sheath (top of the throat), where the leaf attaches, in many 

grasses and some sedges.

linear: long and narrow shaped with roughly parallel sides.

lobed leaf: margins having deep indentations resulting in rounded-topointed portions.

margin: the edge of a leaf blade or flower petal; the edge of a forest.

marsh: a poorly drained portion of the landscape with shallow standing 

water most of the year, most extensive around intertidal zones.

membranous: thin, filmy, and semitransparent.

midvein: the central vein of a leaf or leaflet.

milky sap: sap being opaque white and often of a thick consistency.

monocot: the class of plants having one cotyledon (or monocotyledonous) 

and parallel leaf veins, including grasses, sedges, lilies, and orchids. 

mottled: spotted or blotched in color.

node: the point of leaf or stem attachment, sometimes swollen on grass 

stems where the sheath is attached.

nutlet: a small, dry, nonsplitting fruit with a woody cover, usually containing 

a single seed.

oblanceolate: lance-shaped with the widest portion terminal; inversely 

lanceolate.

oblong: a shape two-to-four times longer than wide with nearly parallel 

sides.

obovate: two-dimensional egg-shaped, with the attachment at the narrow 

end; inverted ovate.

odd pinnately compound: pinnately compound leaves with a terminal 

leaflet rather than a terminal pair of leaflets or a terminal tendril.

opposite: leaves born in pairs at each node on opposite sides of the stem.

ornamental: a plant cultivated for aesthetic purposes.

oval: broadly elliptic in shape, with the width greater than half of the length.

ovate: two-dimensional egg-shaped, with the attachment at the wider end.

ovoid: three-dimensional egg-shaped, with the attachment at the wider 

end.

panicle: an irregularly branched inflorescence with the flowers maturing 

from the bottom upward.

pealike flower: irregular flower characteristic of sweet peas and beans in 

the family Fabaceae.

perennial: any plant that persists for three or more growing seasons, even 

though it may die back to rhizomes or rootstock during the dormant period.

petiole: a stalk that attaches the leaf blade to the stem.

pinnately compound: a compound leaf with leaflets arising at intervals 

along each side of an axis or rachis (leafstalk).

pistil: the female reproductive portion of a flower, usually consisting of an 

ovary, style, and stigma.

pith: the soft or spongy central tissue in some twigs and stems, sometimes 

absent making the stem hollow.

plume: a tuft of simple or branched bristles.

pod: an elongated dry fruit that usually splits open upon maturity, such as a 

legume.

raceme: an elongated, unbranched inflorescence with stalked flowers 

generally maturing from the bottom upward.
90

rachis: the main axis of an inflorescence or compound leaf.

recurved: gradually curved backward or downward.

rhizome: an underground stem, usually horizontal and rooting at nodes.

right-of-way: a narrow corridor of land in straight sections across the 

landscape, repeatedly cleared and kept in low vegetation, to accommodate 

roadway structures, poles and wire for electrical and telephone transmissions, and pipelines.

riparian: situated or dwelling on the bank or floodplain of a river, stream, or 

other body of water. 

root collar: the surface area of a perennial where the stem and roots join.

rootcrown: the part of a perennial plant where the stem and roots join, 

often swollen.

root sprout: a plant originating from a root or rhizome that takes root at 

nodes.

rootstock: the part of a perennial plant near the soil surface where roots 

and shoots originate.

rosette (basal rosette): a circular cluster of leaves on or near the soil 

surface radiating from a rootcrown, as in dandelions.

scaly: covered with minute flattened, platelike structures.

semievergreen: tardily deciduous or maintaining green foliage during 

winter only in sheltered locations.

semiwoody plants: species that have mostly woody stems and deciduous 

leaves, usually shorter than shrubs.

sepal: a single unit of the calyx; the lowermost whorl of flower parts.

serrate: margin with sharp forward-pointing teeth.

sessile: attached without a stalk, such as a leaf attached without a petiole.

shade intolerant: a plant that cannot grow and reproduce under the canopy 

of other plants but needs direct sunlight.

shade tolerant: a plant that can grow and reproduce under the canopy of 

other plants.

sheath: a more or less tubular portion of a structure surrounding another 

structure, such as the tubular portion of leaf bases of grasses that surround 

the stem.

shrub: a wood plant, typically multistemmed and shorter than a tree.

simple: not compound; single; undivided; unbranched.

smooth: not rough to the touch, usually hairless (or only finely hairy) and 

scaleless.

spherical: round in three dimensions, like a ball; synonymous with globose.

spike: an elongated, unbranched inflorescence with sessile or unstalked 

flowers along its length, the flowers generally maturing from the bottom 

upward.

sporangia: the case bearing spores on ferns.

spore: a minute (almost not visible), one-celled reproductive body of ferns, 

asexual.

stamen: the male reproductive portion of a flower, usually consisting of an 

anther and filament.

stipules: the pair of leaflike structures at the base of a leaf petiole in some 

species.

stone: a hard woody structure enclosing the seed of a drupe.

subshrub: a very short woody plant.

subtend: a structure just below another, such as flowers subtended by 

bracts.

succulent: fleshy or soft tissued.
91

swamp: a wooded or brushy area usually having surface water.

synonym: a discarded scientific name for a plant; another common name.

taproot: the main root axis; a long vertical, central root.

tardily deciduous: maintaining at least some green leaves into winter or 

early spring.

terminal: at the end.

thorn: a stiff, curved, sharply pointed modified stem, sometimes branched.

throat: the area inside a flower tube formed from fused petals; the upper 

side of a grass collar where the blade meets the sheath.

toothed: margin with outward pointed lobes; coarsely dentate.

trailing: running along the soil or leaf litter surface.

tuber: a thickened portion of a root or rhizome modified for food storage 

and vegetative propagation, such as a sweet potato.

tubular: a cylindrical structure, such as formed from fused petals or sepals.

twig: short leaf branch.

umbel: a compound flower with stems arising and radiating from one point 

of attachment.

variegated: marked with stripes or patches of different colors.

vine: a long trailing or climbing plant.

whorled: three or more leaves in a circular arrangement arising from a 

single node or radiating at different angles to the main stem.

wiry: thin, flexible, and tough.

yam: a tuber or potato-like organ
92
93

Pesticide Precautionary Statement

Pesticides used improperly can be injurious to humans, animals, and plants. Follow the directions and heed 

all precautions on the labels

Store pesticides in the original containers under lock and key—out of reach of children and animals—and 

away from food and feed.

Apply pesticides so that they do not endanger humans, livestock, crops, beneficial insects, fish and wildlife. 

Do not apply pesticides when there is danger of drift, when honeybees or other pollinating insects are 

visiting plants, or in ways that may contaminate or leave illegal residues.

Avoid prolonged inhalation of pesticide sprays or dust; wear protective clothing and equipment if specified on 

the container.

If your hands become contaminated with a pesticide, do not eat or drink until you have washed them. In 

case a pesticide is swallowed or gets in the eyes, follow the first aid treatment given on the label, and get 

prompt medical attention. If a pesticide is spilled on your skin or clothing, remove clothing immediately and 

wash thoroughly.

Do not clean spray equipment or dump excess spray material near ponds, streams, or wells. Because it is 

difficult to remove all traces of herbicides from equipment, do not use the same equipment for insecticides or 

fungicides that you use for herbicides.

Dispose of empty pesticide containers promptly and in accordance with all applicable Federal, State, 

and local laws.

NOTE: Some States have restrictions on the use of certain pesticides. Check your State and local regulations. Also, because registrations of pesticides are under constant review by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, consult your State forestry agency, county agricultural agent or State extension specialist to be 

sure the intended use is still registered.

Use of trade names is for reader’s information and does not constitute official endorsement or approval by 

the U.S. Department of Agriculture to the exclusion of any suitable product or process.
94

Miller, James H. 2003. Nonnative invasive plants of southern forests: a field guide for 

identification and control. Revised. Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS–62. Asheville, NC: U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station. 93 p.

Invasions of nonnative plants into forests of the Southern United States continue to go 

unchecked and unmonitored. Invasive nonnative plants infest under and beside forest 

canopies and dominate small forest openings, increasingly eroding forest productivity, 

hindering forest use and management activities, and degrading diversity and wildlife 

habitat. Often called nonnative, exotic, nonindigenous, alien, or noxious weeds, they 

occur as trees, shrubs, vines, grasses, ferns, and forbs. This book provides information 

on accurate identification and effective control of the 33 nonnative plants and groups that 

are currently invading the forests of the 13 Southern States, showing both growing and 

dormant season traits. It lists other nonnative plants of growing concern, control 

strategies, and selective herbicide application procedures. Recommendations for 

preventing and managing invasions on a specific site include maintaining forest vigor 

with minimal disturbance, constant surveillance and treatment of new unwanted arrivals, 

and finally rehabilitation following eradication.

Keywords: Alien plants, exotic plant control, exotic weeds, herbicide weed control, 

integrated vegetation management, invasive exotic plants, invasive nonindigenous 

plants, noxious plant control.
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The Forest Service, United States Department of 

Agriculture (USDA), is dedicated to the principle 

of multiple use management of the Nation’s forest 

resources for sustained yields of wood, water, forage, wildlife, and 

recreation. Through forestry research, cooperation with the States 

and private forest owners, and management of the National Forests 

and National Grasslands, it strives—as directed by Congress—to 

provide increasingly greater service to a growing Nation.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination 

in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national 

origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, 

familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic 

information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an 

individual’s income is derived from any public assistance program. 

(Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with 

disabilities who require alternative means for communication of 

program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should 

contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD).

To file a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, Director, Office 

of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 

20250-9410, or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TDD). 

USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
96