Invasive Species
The term “native” is used to describe plants that were growing here before the arrival of Europeans. Exotics are those that do not naturally occur in an area but have been introduced by people.
Many exotic species pose no threat, but some are invasive and grow out of control — displacing native plants which provide food and shelter for an assortment of native wildlife. Unfortunately, it is not always possible to predict if or when a species will become a pest plant (for example, Japanese honeysuckle was planted as an ornamental for 80 years before it escaped cultivation!), but a red flag should run up at any non-native with fleshy fruits dispersed by birds.
NameThatPlant.net attempts to make the viewer aware of species which have been found to cause problems in natural areas of the Southeast by labeling that plant as INVASIVE. Some of these plants are a greater threat than others (for more information, explore the links below) but we recommend that they not be planted, expecially near a natural area.
Plant Conservation Alliance: Weeds Gone Wild
Invasive Plants of the Eastern United States: Identification and Control
Nonnative Invasive Plants of Southern Forests — USDA Forest Service
US Fish & Wildlife Service
WeedUS
A database of plants invading natural areas in the United States.
www.invasive.org/weedus/index.html
Alien Plant Invaders of Natural Areas — Fact Sheets
www.nps.gov/plants/alien/factmain.htm
Cogongrass, one of the top ten noxious weeds in the world
www.cofc.edu/~everettj/cogongrass.html
Southeast Exotic Pest Plant Council
Southeast Exotic Pest Plant Council Invasive Plant Manual — SE-EPPC
www.invasive.org/eastern/eppc/
Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council
Georgia Exotic Pest Plant Council
Invasive Exotic Plants of North Carolina
Download a PDF of an 185-page manual compiled by the North Carolina Department of Transportation.
North Carolina Exotic Pest Plant Council
www.se-eppc.org/northcarolina/
Invasive Plant Pest Species of South Carolina
Download a PDF of a 12-page booklet compiled by the Clemson Extension Service, SC-EPPC, SC Forestry Commission, and the US Forest Service.
South Carolina Exotic Pest Plant Council
www.se-eppc.org/southcarolina/
Cogongrass in South Carolina
www.clemson.edu/cafls/departments/forestry/cogongrass/index.html