Sunday, November 16, 2014

Native invasive plants

Can a "native" species be called an invader? Whether an invader is native or not is irrelevant. If it spreads into an area, forms monocultures, and results in a marked decrease in diversity, it is undesirable and should be controlled.



Here are a few native invaders that under some conditions meet these criteria.

Latin name
Common name
Clonal?
Comments




Shrubs and trees



Celastrus scandens
American bittersweet
No
Twining; forms berries
Cornus racemosa
Gray dogwood
Yes
Prairies and open savannas
Cornus stolonifera
Red-osier dogwood
Yes
Wet areas
Corylus Americana
Hazel
Under some conditions
Definitely invasive in Minnesota; probably in Wisconsin
Juniperus communis
Common juniper
No
Fire-sensitive; forms berries
Populus grandidentata
Big-toothed aspen
Yes
Root suckers
Populus tremuloides
Quacking aspen
Yes
Root suckers
Rhus glabra
Smooth sumac
Yes
Probably allelopathic; prefers sunny areas; root suckers; can dominate a site
Rhus hirta
Staghorn sumac
Yes
Probably allelopathic; prefers sunny areas; root suckers; can dominate a site
Rubus allegheniensis
Blackberry
Yes
Forms patches
Rubus flagellaris
Dewberry
Yes
Spreads close to ground
Rubus idaeus
Red raspberry
Yes
Forms very dense clones;
Rubus occidentalis
Black-cap, black raspberry
Yes
Tip roots
Salix exigua
Sandbar willow
Yes
Wetlands; root suckers; forms very dense clones; can dominate a site
Salix humilis
Prairie willow
No
Only rarely invasive
Vitis spp.
Grape
No
Climbs
Zanthoxylum americanum
Prickly ash
Yes
Prairies and open savannas








Herbaceous plants



Arnoglossum atriplicifolia
Pale Indian plantain
Yes
Root suckers
Helianthus divaricatus
Woodland sunflower
Yes

H. grosseserratus
Sawtooth sunflower
Yes

H. tuberosa
Jersualem artichoke
Yes

Solidago canadense
Canada goldenrod
Yes


Woodland Sunflower can easily destroy the habitat for dozens of native species. So can sumac.

Here is a recent review with many examples: Carey, Michael P. et al. 2012. Native invaders--challenges for science, management, policy, and society. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. Volume 10(7): 373-381, doi:10.1890/11060 (published online 15 June 2012).

1 comment:

  1. Diversity above ground does not necessarily equal diversity below ground. Our disturbances favor the more aggressive species.

    ReplyDelete