invasive species

Common buckthorn (European buckthorn), Rhamnus cathartica, and Glossy buckthorn, Frangula alnus (previously named Rhamnus frangula), are large shrubs or small trees (10-25’ in height) that are non-native invasive species. Both can form dense thickets displacing native tree and shrub species. Common buckthorn prefers drier sites while glossy buckthorn favors wetter habits including river and stream banks and pond edges. Plants of both species can establish themselves in fence rows, open fields, roadsides, open woods, and woodland edges. Common buckthorn is the alternate host for crown rust of...

Common barberry or European barberry, Berberis vulgaris, is a non-native invasive woody shrub.  Intentionally brought to North America by early settlers in the 1600s, it has escaped cultivation and is widely distributed in the northern U.S.  Common barberry is also an alternative host for the disease, black stem rust, a severe pest of grains.  As a result, large scale eradication efforts began in the 1900's to remove this reservoir of disease.  However, populations still exist in the Great Lakes states, including Ohio, and the northeastern United...

Tuned in for this Friday's Escape to the Forest - The Great Lakes Early Detection Network: Helping Land Managers Track Invasive Species. 

It seems like invasive species are all around us. We read about them in the paper, hear about them on the television, and see information about them on the web. This one-day workshop is designed to give you an update on what is happening in the world of invasive species and how can you help. 

 

In recent years you have likely read more, learned more and maybe even seen more invasive species. Whether it is plants, diseases or insects, these pests should be on the radar - especially in the green industry. 

 

I was recently reading a local paper and the headline "Border authorities find invasive beetles in a bag of seeds" of course caught my attention. The invasive species encounter was success thanks to the work of US Customs and Border Protection.

 

Late last week, US Customs and Border Protection announced in a release that agriculture...

I have noticed Japanese Knotweed (I've seen it listed as: Polygonum cuspidatum or Fallopia japonica or Reynoutria japonica) around the county the last few summers, so I chose it as Tuesday's  INVASIVE of the DAY for National Invasive Plant Awareness Week.

Japanese knotweed is a non-native erect, semi-woody perennial that can grow up to and likely beyond 10 feet tall and create dense stands when unchecked.  It was introduced, as so many invasives were, as an ornamental in the late 1800's and soon escaped the garden-scape and found its way into disturbed...

Each month, the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) updates and distributes an Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) (Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire) Detection Map. While EAB is "old news" to many in the buckeye state, it is interesting to continue to watch the progression of this invasive species in North America. In February 2003, EAB was confirmed for the first time in Ohio in Lucas County in NW Ohio, approximately seven months after the initial detection and identification in Michigan the summer before. Fast forward 14+ years later...