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Vermont Invasives

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Wild parsnip

Pastinaca sativa

  • Read more about Wild parsnip
  • Wild parsnip: hundreds of yellow flowers develop. Flowers are arranged in an umbel.
  • Wild parsnip: leaves are alternate, compound and branched with jagged teeth. Leaflets are yellowish-green, shiny, oblong, coarsely-toothed, and diamond-shaped.
  • Wild parsnip: infestation.
  • Look-alike: American cow parsnip (native to North America) is large, but has flat-topped flower clusters.
  • Look-alike: golden Alexander (Zizia aurea) flowers are loosely and unevenly clustered. Leaves are overall smooth with fine serrations.

Barberry, Common

Berberis vulgaris

  • Read more about Barberry, Common
  • Common barberry: oval leaves, with toothed edges, flowers are pale yellow and appear in droopy clusters.
  • Common barberry: oval leaves, with toothed edges, flowers are pale yellow and appear in droopy clusters.
  • Common barberry: oval leaves, with toothed edges, flowers are pale yellow and appear in droopy clusters.
  • Common barberry: oval leaves, with toothed edges, flowers are pale yellow and appear in droopy clusters.
  • Common barberry: oval leaves, with toothed edges.
  • Common barberry: berries are red ellipsoids which are less than 0.3 in. in length and contain 1-3 small black seeds.
  • Common barberry: berries are red ellipsoids which are less than 0.3 in. in length and contain 1-3 small black seeds.
  • Common barberry: spines are three-pronged.
  • Common barberry: spines are three-pronged.
  • Common barberry: infestation.
  • Common barberry: infestation.
  • Look-alike: invasive Japanese barberry has a single thorn, leaf edges are smooth, and flowers occur individually or in small clusters.

Butterbur Sweet-coltsfoot

Petasites hybridus

  • Read more about Butterbur Sweet-coltsfoot
  • Butterbur sweet-coltsfoot: large heart-shaped leaves and seeds are attached to plumes of fine white bristles.
  • Butterbur sweet-coltsfoot: pinkish red stalks emerge and blooms occur before full leaf out in the spring.
  • Look-alike: common burdock (Arctium minus).
  • Look-alike: wild ginger (Asarum canadense).

Princess Tree

Paulownia tomentosa

  • Read more about Princess Tree
  • Princess tree: large flowers (2 in. long) are fragrant and light violet-pink, appearing in showy upright clusters (8-12 inches in length). They have tubular corollas, ending in 5 unequal lobes.
  • Princess tree: bark is gray-brown and rough, often developing lighter-colored shallow vertical fissures.
  • Princess tree: form.
  • Princess tree: fruits (1-2 in. long, 1-1.5 in. wide) are egg-shaped capsules, divided into 4 inner compartments that contain the seeds. Fruits are light green in the summer, becoming dark brown in the winter, and persist in clusters on the tree until the following spring.
  • Princess tree: flowers.
  • Look-alike: northern catalpa (Catalpa speciosa), flower.
  • Look-alike: northern catalpa (Catalpa speciosa), seed pods.

Wall-lettuce

Mycelis muralis

  • Read more about Wall-lettuce
  • Wall Lettuce: basal and lower stem leaves are 2.5-7 in. long, 1-3 in. wide, glabrous and deeply lobed, with broad, terminal segments.
  • Wall Lettuce: flower head is comprised of 5 yellow, strap-shaped ray florets.
  • Wall Lettuce: infestation.
  • Look-alike: orange hawkweed (Hieracium aurantiacum), non-native, has orange-red ray flowers.
  • Look-alike: perennial sowthistle (Sonchus arvensis) has loose branching clusters of bright yellow, dandelion-like flowers.

Loosestrife, Garden

Lysimachia vulgaris

  • Read more about Loosestrife, Garden
  • Golden loosestrife: flowers have five yellow petals, blooms primarily at the top of the stems.
  • Golden Loosestrife: infestation.
  • Look-alike: spotted loosestrife (Lysimachia punctata), non-native, primarily blooms along the stem in the leaf axils.

Honeysuckle, Dwarf shrub

Lonicera xylosteum

  • Read more about Honeysuckle, Dwarf shrub
  • Dwarf shrub honeysuckle: white flowers develop in pairs in the axils of the leaves.
  • Dwarf shrub honeysuckle: fruit, dark red berries.
  • Dwarf shrub honeysuckle: infestation.
  • Look-alike: western white honeysuckle (Lonicera albiflora).

Border privet

Ligustrum obtusifolium

  • Read more about Border privet
  • Border privet: leaves are simple, opposite and has small, white flowers with an unpleasant scent.
  • Border privet: leaves are simple, opposite and has small, white flowerswith an unpleasant scentwith an unpleasant scent with an unpleasant scent.
  • Border privet: tall shrub, with multiple stems, leafy branches.
  • Border privet: tall shrub, with multiple stems, leafy branches.
  • Look-alike: northern spicebush has alternately arranged leaves and a distinct smell when the leaves are crushed.

Himalayan balsam

Impatiens glandulifera

  • Read more about Himalayan balsam
  • Himalayan balsam: stems are slightly purple; plant can grow 3-10 feet tall.
  • Himalayan balsam: infestation.
  • Himalayan balsam: flowers look like other "touch-me-not" flowers, but are pink-purple.
  • Himalayan balsam: leaf arrangement is opposite to whorled. Leaves are long, toothed, with a tapered point.
  • Look-alike: jewelweed (Impatiens capensis), flowers are orange. This plant is native.
  • Look-alike: jewelweed (Impatiens pallida), flowers are yellow. This plant is native.

European Spindle-tree

Euonymus europaeus

  • Read more about European Spindle-tree
  • European spindle-tree: 4-lobed capsule, 1/2 inch across, pink to purple in color, splits open to reveal dark red seeds, ripens in fall.
  • European spindle-tree: flowers are inconspicuous (1/3 inch across), 4 greenish-white petals with purple anthers, appearing in late spring in multiple branched clusters.
  • European spindle-tree: infestation.
  • European spindle-tree: flowers are inconspicuous (1/3 inch across), 4 greenish-white petals with purple anthers, appearing in late spring in multiple branched clusters.
  • European spindle-tree: opposite, simple, elliptical, 2 1/2 to 4 inches long, finely serrated, long pointed, green above, paler and may be pubescent below.
  • Look-alike: winged burning bush (Euonymus alatus) also an invasive species.

Pagination

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