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The Worst Invasives in the New York Metropolitan Area
The following list is broken down into three categories, based on degree of invasiveness. It includes both plant species that were introduced intentionally, for horticultural use, and those that arrived unintentionally. For more information on the plants used horticulturally, see the Brooklyn Botanic Garden handbook Invasive Plants: Weeds of the Global Garden.
Category 1: Invasive Species
These plants are clearly invasive in the New York metropolitan area.
Category 2: Potentially Invasive Species
These plants are reproducing in the wild, but more monitoring is required to determine how invasive these plants are in the New York metropolitan region.
Category 3: Watch Species
These plants are found in the wild but currently do not appear to be invasive in the New York metropolitan area. However, they are invasive in other regions and therefore are considered species to watch.
Sorted by common name | Click here to view lists sorted by botanical name
Category 1
| Common Name | Botanical Name |
|---|---|
| Amur honeysuckle | Lonicera maackii |
| Amur river privet | Ligustrum obtusifolium |
| Autumn olive | Elaeagnus umbellata (view image) |
| Beach rose | Rosa rugosa |
| Chinese lespedeza | Lespedeza cuneata |
| Common buckthorn | Rhamnus cathartica |
| Eurasian water-milfoil | Myriophyllum spicatum |
| Fly honeysuckle | Lonicera morrowii |
| Garlic mustard | Alliaria petiolata |
| Japanese barberry | Berberis thunbergii |
| Japanese honeysuckle | Lonicera japonica |
| Japanese knotweed | Polygonum cuspidatum |
| Japanese stilt grass | Microstegium vimineum |
| Mile-a-minute-weed | Polygonum perfoliatum |
| Multiflora rose | Rosa multiflora (view image) |
| Norway maple | Acer platanoides |
| Oriental bittersweet | Celastrus orbiculatus |
| Phragmites | Phragmites communis |
| Porcelainberry | Ampelopsis brevipedicularis |
| Purple loosestrife | Lythrum salicaria |
| Smooth buckthorn | Rhamnus frangula |
| Sycamore maple | Acer pseudo-platanoides |
| Tree-of-heaven | Ailanthus altissima |
| Water chestnut | Trapa natans |
| Wineberry | Rubus phoenicolasius |
Category 2
| Common Name | Botanical Name |
|---|---|
| African weeping lovegrass | Eragrostis curvula |
| Amur cork tree | Phellodendron amurense |
| Annual wildgrass | Poa annua |
| Bird's foot trefoil | Lotus corniculatus |
| Black locust | Robinia pseudoacacia |
| Black swallow wort | Vincetoxicum nigrum |
| Black-eyed susan | Rudbeckia hirta |
| Brazilian water-weed | Egeria densa |
| Bull thistle | Circium vulgare |
| Bushy rock rose | Cardamine impatiens |
| Canada-thistle | Circium arvense |
| Cat's ear | Hypochaeris radicata |
| Celandine | Chelidonium majus |
| Chicory | Cichorium intybus |
| Coltsfoot | Tussilago farfara |
| Common velvet grass | Holcus lanatus |
| Crabapple | Malus species |
| Crown vetch | Coronilla varia |
| Curly pondweed | Potamogeton crispus |
| Dame's rocket | Hesperis matronalis |
| Daylily | Hemerocallis fulva |
| Dog-strangling vine | Vincetoxicum rossicum |
| English Ivy | Hedera helix |
| European privet | Ligustrum vulgare |
| European swamp thistle | Circium palustre |
| Fiveleaf akebia | Akebia quinata |
| Forget-me-not | Myosotis scorpioides |
| Goutweed |
Aegopodium podagraria |
| Greater periwinkle | Vinca minor |
| Japanese black pine | Pinus thunbergii |
| Japanese clover | Lespedeza striata |
| Japanese cork-tree | Phellodendron japonicum |
| Japanese holly | Ilex crenata |
| Japanese hops | Humulus japonica |
| Johnson grass | Sorghum halepense |
| Kentucky bluegrass | Poa pratensis |
| Kudzu | Pueraria lobata |
| Leafy spurge | Euphorbia escula |
| Linden viburnum | Viburnum dilataum |
| Meadow fescue | Festuca pratensis |
| Moneywort | Lysimacia nummularia |
| Motherwort | Leonurus cardiaca |
| Naiad | Najas minor |
| Orchard grass | Dactylus glomerata |
| Princess tree | Paulownia tomentosa (view image) |
| Queen Anne's lace | Daucus carota |
| Siebold viburnum | Virburnum sieboldii |
| Silk tree | Albizia julibrissin (view image) |
| Smooth brome | Bromus inermis |
| Soapwood | Saponaria officinale |
| Spotted knapweed | Centaurea maculosa |
| St. John's wort | Hypericum perforatum |
| Sweet cherry | Prunus avium |
| Tall fescue | Festuca elatior |
| Tartarian honeysuckle | Lonicera tartarica |
| Tea viburnum | Viburnum setigerum |
| Teasel | Dipsacus species |
| Timothy | Phleum pratense |
| Watercress | Nasturtium officinale |
| White daisy | Leucanthemum vulgare |
| White mulberry | Morus alba |
| White poplar | Populus alba |
| White sweet clover | Melilotus alba |
| Wild garlic | Allium vineale |
| Wild parsnip | Pastanaca sativa |
| Winged euonymus | Euonymus alatus |
| Wiregrass | Poa compressa |
| Wisteria | Wisteria species (view image) |
| Yellow Iris | Iris pseudacorus |
| Yellow sweet clover | Melilotus officinalis |
Category 3
| Common Name | Botanical Name |
|---|---|
| Amur maple | Acer ginnala |
| Austrian pine | Pinus nigra |
| Butterfly bush | Buddleia davidii |
| Callery pear | Pyrus calleryana |
| Cinquefoil | Potentilla recta |
| Crack willow | Salix fragilis |
| English hawthorn | Crataegus monogyna |
| English oak | Quercus robur |
| European alder | Alnus glutinosa |
| Fig | Ficus carica |
| Greater periwinkle | Vinca major |
| Mahaleb | Prunus mahaleb |
| Norway spruce | Picea abies |
| Osage orange | Maclura pomifera |
| Paper mulberry | Broussonetia papyrifera |
| Peach | Prunus persica |
| Pear | Pyrus communis |
| Plum | Prunus domestica |
| Russian olive | Elaeagnus angustifolia |
| Scotch broom | Cytisus scoparius |
| Scotch pine | Pinus sylvestris |
| Siberian elm | Ulmus pumila |
| Sour cherry | Prunus cerasus |
| Tamarisk | Tamarix ramosissima |
| Trifoliate orange | Poncirus trifoliata |
| Water hyacinth | Eichhornia crassipes |
| Water lettuce | Pistia stratiotes |
| White willow | Salix alba |
| Wintercreeper | Euonymys fortunei |