Invasive Plants of Wisconsin

The following plants are the most serious invasive species in northeastern Wisconsin. This site is designed to provide images to help in identifying these plants. There are numerous sites on the web with good information on these species, including control methods.

If you find a population of one of the invasive species in Wisconsin you may report it to the Wisconsin invasive plants reporting and prevention project.

For more information and links concerning invasive plants in Wisconsin contact

Common name Latin name
goutweed; bishops weed; (also called snow-on-the-mountain) Aegopodium podagraria
garlic mustard Alliaria petiolata
Japanese barberry

Berberis thunbergii

flowering rush Butomus umbellatus
nodding thistle Carduus nutans
spotted knapweed Centaurea biebersteinii (long known as C. maculosa)
Canada thistle Cirsium arvense
swamp thistle Cirsium palustre
poison-hemlock Conium maculatum
crown vetch Coronilla varia
wild carrot; Queen Anne's-lace Daucus carota
common teasel Dipsacus fullonum
cut-leaved teasel Dipsacus laciniatus
Russian olive Elaeagnus angustifolia

autumn olive

Elaeagnus umbellata
cypress spurge Euphorbia cyparissias
leafy spurge Euphorbia esula
hemp-nettle Galeopsis tetrahit
dame's rocket Hesperis matronalis
hydrilla Hydrilla verticillata
elecampane Inula helenium
motherwort Leonurus cardiaca
perennial peppergrass Lepidium latifolium
lyme grass Leymus arenarius
Amur honeysuckle Lonicera maackii
Asian fly honeysuckle Lonicera morrowi
Tartarian honeysuckle Lonicera tatarica
showy bush honeysuckle Lonicera x bella
purple loosestrife Lythrum salicaria
woodland forget-me-not Myosotis sylvatica
Eurasian water milfoil Myriophyllum spicatum L.
yellow water heart Nymphoides peltata
wild parsnip Pastinaca sativa
reed canary grass Phalaris arundinacea
common reed;
giant reed-grass
Phragmites australis
(=Phragmites communis)
burnet-saxifrage Pimpinella saxifraga
Woods bluegrass Poa nemoralis
Japanese knotweed Polygonum cuspidatum
european buckthorn Rhamnus cathartica
glossy buckthorn Rhamnus frangula
black locust Robinia pseudo-acacia
multiflora rose Rosa multiflora
Japanese hedge_parsley Torilis japonica
black swallow-wort Vincetoxicum nigrum

garlic mustard
Phragmites (common reed)
Rhamnus frangula (glossy buckthorn)
purple loosestrife