EwA Guide to Common Invasive Species in Middlesex County (MA, US)

Ficaria verna, (formerly Ranunculus ficaria L.) commonly known as lesser celandine or pilewort, is a low-growing, hairless perennial flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae native to Europe and west Asia. It has fleshy dark green, heart-shaped leaves and distinctive flowers with bright yellow, glossy petals. It is now introduced in North America, where it is known by the common name fig buttercup and considered an invasive species. Th less ↑

Robinia pseudoacacia, commonly known in its native territory as black locust, is a medium-sized deciduous tree native to the southeastern United States, but it has been widely planted and naturalized elsewhere in temperate North America, Europe, Southern Africa and Asia and is considered an invasive species in some areas. Another common name is false acacia, a literal translation of the specific name (pseudo meaning fake or false and acacia referring to t less ↑

Rhamnus cathartica, the buckthorn, common buckthorn or purging buckthorn, is a species of small tree in the flowering plant family Rhamnaceae. It is native to Europe, northwest Africa and western Asia, from the central British Isles south to Morocco, and east to Kyrgyzstan. It was introduced to North America as an ornamental shrub in the early 19th century or perhaps before, and is now naturalized in the northern half of the continent, and is classified as... less ↑

Ailanthus altissima /eɪˈlænθəs ælˈtɪsɪmə/, commonly known as tree of heaven, ailanthus, or in Standard Chinese as chouchun (Chinese: 臭椿; pinyin: chòuchūn; literally: "foul smelling tree"), is a deciduous tree in the Simaroubaceae family. It is native to both northeast and central China, as well as Taiwan. Unlike other members of the genus Ailanthus, it is found in temperate climates rather than the tropics. The tree grows rapidly and is capa less ↑

Aegopodium podagraria L. commonly called ground elder, herb gerard, bishop's weed, goutweed, gout wort, and snow-in-the-mountain, and sometimes called English masterwort, and wild masterwort, is a perennial plant in the carrot family (Apiaceae) that grows in shady places. The name "ground elder" comes from the superficial similarity of its leaves and flowers to those of elder (Sambucus), which is unrelated. It is the typ less ↑

Lonicera morrowii, the Morrow's honeysuckle, is a deciduous honeysuckle in the family Caprifoliaceae, native to Japan, Korea, and Northeast China. It is a shrub, reaching a height of 2–2.5 m, with oblong leaves 4–6 cm long. It leafs out quite early in the spring, and in North America is commonly the first deciduous shrub with foliage in March. The flowers are white to pale yellow, and the fruit is a dark red berry 7–8 mm diameter containing numerous seeds.... less ↑

Hesperis matronalis is a herbaceous plant species in the mustard family, Brassicaceae. It has numerous common names, including dame's rocket, damask violet, dame's-violet, dames-wort, dame's gilliflower, night-scented gilliflower, queen's gilliflower, rogue's gilliflower, summer lilac, sweet rocket, mother-of-the-evening and winter gilliflower. less ↑

Acer pseudoplatanus, known as the sycamore in the United Kingdom and the sycamore maple in the United States, is a flowering plant species in the soapberry and lychee family Sapindaceae. It is a large deciduous, broad-leaved tree, tolerant of wind and coastal exposure. It is native to Central Europe and Western Asia, from France eastwards to Ukraine, northern Turkey and the Caucasus and southwards in the mountains of northern Spain and Italy. less ↑

Iris pseudacorus, the yellow flag, yellow iris, or water flag, is a species of flowering plant in the family Iridaceae. It is native to Europe, western Asia and northwest Africa. Its specific epithet pseudacorus means "false acorus", referring to the similarity of its leaves to those of Acorus calamus (sweet flag), as they have a prominently veined mid-rib and sword-like shape. However, the two plants are not closely related. less ↑

Phalaris arundinacea, sometimes known as reed canary grass, is a tall, perennial bunchgrass that commonly forms extensive single-species stands along the margins of lakes and streams and in wet open areas, with a wide distribution in Europe, Asia, northern Africa and North America. Other common names for the plant include gardener's-garters in English, alpiste roseau in French, rohrglanzgras in German, kusa-yoshi in Japanese, < less ↑

Lonicera × bella, known as Bell's honeysuckle and showy fly honeysuckle, is a hybrid species of flowering plant in the family Caprifoliaceae. It was first described by Hermann Zabel in 1889. Zabel reported that he grew it in cultivation from seeds obtained from a plant of Lonicera morrowii, but that its appearance suggested the influence of L. tatarica. It has escaped from cultivation and become an aggressive invasive species in central and eastern parts less ↑

Agrilus planipennis, commonly known as the emerald ash borer, is a green buprestid or jewel beetle native to northeastern Asia that feeds on ash species. Females lay eggs in bark crevices on ash trees, and larvae feed underneath the bark of ash trees to emerge as adults in one to two years. In its native range, it is typically found at low densities and does not cause significant damage to trees native to the area. Outside... less ↑

Hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae), or HWA, is member of the Sternorrhyncha suborder of the Order Hemiptera and native to East Asia. It feeds by sucking sap from hemlock and spruce trees (Tsuga spp.; Picea spp.). In eastern North America, it is a destructive pest that gravely threatens the eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) and the Carolina hemlock (Tsuga caroliniana). Though the range of eastern hemlock extends north of the current range of t less ↑

Rosa multiflora (syn. Rosa polyantha) is a species of rose known commonly as multiflora rose, baby rose, Japanese rose, many-flowered rose, seven-sisters rose, and Eijitsu rose. It is native to eastern Asia, in China, Japan and Korea. It should not be confused with Rosa rugosa, which is also known as "Japanese rose", or with polyantha roses which are garden cultivars derived from hybrids of R. multiflora. less ↑

Frangula alnus, commonly known as the alder buckthorn, glossy buckthorn, or breaking buckthorn, is a tall deciduous shrub in the family Rhamnaceae. It is native to Europe, northernmost Africa, and western Asia, from Ireland and Great Britain north to the 68th parallel in Scandinavia, east to central Siberia and Xinjiang in western China, and south to northern Morocco, Turkey, and the Alborz and Caucasus Mountains; in the northwest of its range (Ireland, Scotland less ↑

Rhamnus cathartica, the buckthorn, common buckthorn or purging buckthorn, is a species of small tree in the flowering plant family Rhamnaceae. It is native to Europe, northwest Africa and western Asia, from the central British Isles south to Morocco, and east to Kyrgyzstan. It was introduced to North America as an ornamental shrub in the early 19th century or perhaps before, and is now naturalized in the northern half of the continent, and is classified as... less ↑

Cynanchum louiseae, a species in the milkweed family, is also known as black swallow-wort, Louise's swallow-wort, or black dog-strangling vine. Cynanchum louiseae is a species of plant that is native to Europe and is found primarily in Italy, France, Portugal, and Spain. It is an invasive plant species in the northeastern United States, parts of the Midwest, southeastern Canada, and California. less ↑

Fallopia japonica, synonym Reynoutria japonica, commonly known as Asian knotweed or Japanese knotweed, is a large, herbaceous perennial plant of the knotweed and buckwheat family Polygonaceae. It is native to East Asia in Japan, China and Korea. In North America and Europe, the species has successfully established in numerous habitats and is classified as an invasive species in several countries. less ↑

Celastrus orbiculatus is a woody vine of the Celastraceae family. It is commonly called Oriental bittersweet. Other common names include Chinese bittersweet, Asian bittersweet, Round-leaved bittersweet, and Asiatic bittersweet. Celastrus orbiculatus was introduced into North America in 1879, and is considered to be an invasive species in eastern North America. It closely resembles the native North American species, Celastrus scandens, less ↑

Berberis thunbergii, the Japanese barberry, Thunberg's barberry, or red barberry, is a species of flowering plant in the barberry family, Berberidaceae, native to Japan and eastern Asia, though widely naturalized in China and in North America. Growing to 1 metre (3.3 ft) tall by 2.5 metres (8.2 ft) broad, it is a small deciduous shrub with green leaves turning red in the autumn, brilliant red fruits in autumn and pale yellow flowers in spring. Numerous cultivars less ↑

Diervilla lonicera, commonly referred to as northern bush honeysuckle, low bush honeysuckle, dwarf bush honeysuckle, or yellow-flowered upright honeysuckle, is a native deciduous shrub found in the northeastern United States and Canada. Its specific epithet, lonicera (the Latin term for ‘honeysuckle’) refers to its similarity in appearance to the true honeysuckles, genus Lonicera. less ↑