Canada Thistle
The Canada thistle is a broadleaved weed with a hairy spine that grows to 2 to 5 feet in height. The plant’s oblong leaves are dark green and irregularly shaped with spines on the tips. Flowering occurs from June to November, producing small, flask-shaped flower heads; the color of these flowers ranges from white, pale blue, purple and rose-purple.
Japanese Barberry
The Japanese barberry is a dense, woody shrub with spine-bearing branches growing up to about three feet in height. The plant flowers in May and produces red oblong berries that persist into the winter. In the fall, the leaves of the plant turn red and orange.
Wild Chervil
Wild chervil is a weed with fern-like leaves, growing up to about three to four feet. Around late May and early June, the weed produces five-petaled, white flowers in clusters at the top of the stem.
Flowering Rush
Found throughout the northern United States and is present in the FL-PRISM. Invasive Rank Fact Sheet
Hemlock Woolly Adelgid
HWA is tiny, less than 1/16″ long, and is dark reddish-brown to purplish-black in color. Its name derives from a white “wool-like” covering called an ovisac on mature egg laying adults.
Emerald Ash Borer
Emerald ash borer has a golden-green body with dark, metallic green wings and a purplish-red abdomen. Adult beetles average 3/8″ to 3/4″ long and 1/6″ wide. EAB emerges in late spring, flying from June to August.
Asian Longhorned Beetle – NOT YET IN REGION
ALB has a glossy black body with white spots on top of the wings. Adults are 3/4″ to 1″ long. Antennae are roughly 2 times the body length with distinctive black and white bands. The legs and antennae have a bluish tinge. Adults are present from July to October.
Sirex (European) Woodwasp
Woodwasps (or horntails) are large, full-bodied insects about 1-1 1/2″ long. Adult females have dark metallic blue or black bodies with orange legs. The male’s head and thorax are metallic blue, and the abdomen is orange at the center and black at the base. Adults emerge from July to September.
Balsam Woolly Adelgid- NOT YET IN REGION
Adults are tiny, about 1 mm long, and appear dark purple to black in color. They produce a thick layer of a light colored, waxy, wool-like material that covers their body.
Mile-A-Minute – NEW TO REGION!
Mile-a-minute is an herbaceous, annual, trailing vine that can reach lengths of six meters or more. Its stems are covered with barbs which are also present on the underside of the leaf blades. The light green-colored leaves are triangle-shaped and alternate along the stem. Iridescent blue berry-like fruits are produced beginning in mid-summer and continuing until the plants are killed by frost in the fall. The seeds within these fruits can remain viable in the soil for up to six years.
