invasive species

2025 National Invasive Species Week Set For February 24 - 28

In a past BYGL, you may recall hearing about the National Invasive Species Awareness Week (NISAW), coordinated by the North American Invasive Species Management Association (NAISMA). That BYGL Alert was simply an announcement of the efforts, shared what was happening, and was posted on the actual week of the Awareness Week. Today's Alert will not only share the upcoming dates and details of the week in February, but will also encourage engagement at the local level - including what you can do! 
Published on
Authors
Amy Stone

Invasive Buckthorns

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...
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Authors
Ann Chanon

Plant Introductions: Meet Invasive Species Common Barberry and Japanese Barberry

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...

Published on
Authors
Ashley Kulhanek