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Invasive Organisms in New England

There are many introduced species in New England. The earliest Europeans to arrive here began settling the continent here, bringing many living things to this new-to-them land. This process of transporting organisms to New England has continued every since the earliest settlers established their first home sites. Some of these species transplanted from other continents have become invasive species. Among these there are species that were deliberately brought here and those that were brought inadvertently, mainly as stowaways in other materials.

This page will offer a list of invasive species found in the region. I am not striving to create the definitive list here but one that might be useful as a resource. It will allow you to begin to learn about the invasive species problem here in New England. In some cases there are links that can help you to potentially identify a problem species and learn about how to  fight it back.

Plants

Trees

Black Locust – Robinia pseudoacacia

Norway Maple – Acer platanoides

Shrubs

Buckthorn (1) – Rhamnus cathartica

Buckthor (2) – Rhamnus frangula

Multifloral rose – Rosa multiflora

Vines

Oriental Bittersweet – Celastrus orbiculatus

Black Swallowwort – Vincetoxicum nigrum

Herbaceous Species

Purple Loosestrife – Lythrum salicaria

Bull Thistle – Cirsium vulgare

Garlic Mustard – Alliaria petiolata

Japanese Knotweed – Polygonum cuspidatum

Aquatic

Water Chestnut – Trapa natans