Plants to be aware of.... at least in the USA

[CAF]

First and foremost I would like to say, what you do with your plants is up to you. That being said however, I wanted to make sure everyone here is aware of the potential reprecussions of selling and shipping certain plants.

The aquatic/wetland plants listed below are on the Federal Noxious Weeds list. These plants are regulated and are prohibited from being shipped across states lines or from being brought into the United States of America.

Azolla pinnata R. Brown (mosquito fern, water velvet)
Caulerpa taxifolia (Vahl) C. Agardh, Mediterranean strain (killer algae)
Eichornia azurea (Swartz) Kunth (anchored waterhyacinth, rooted waterhyacinth)
Hydrilla verticillata (Linnaeus f.) Royle (hydrilla)
Hygrophila polysperma T. Anderson (Miramar weed)
Ipomoea aquatica Forsskal (water-spinach, swamp morning-glory)
Lagarosiphon major (Ridley) Moss
Limnophila sessiliflora (Vahl) Blume (ambulia)
Melaleuca quinquenervia (Cav.) Blake (broadleaf paper bark tree).
Monochoria hastata (Linnaeus) Solms-Laubach
Monochoria vaginalis (Burman f.) C. Presl
Ottelia alismoides (L.) Pers.
Sagittaria sagittifolia Linnaeus (arrowhead)
Salvinia auriculata Aublet (giant salvinia)
Salvinia biloba Raddi (giant salvinia)
Salvinia herzogii de la Sota (giant salvinia)
Salvinia molesta D.S. Mitchell (giant salvinia)
Solanum tampicense Dunal (wetland nightshade)
Sparganium erectum Linnaeus (exotic bur-reed)

For more information or updates please visit the APHIS website:
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_heal...ds/index.shtml

What this means to you:

Depending on which state you live in there may be other regulations pertaining to aquatic species of plants that are banned or regulated. Always double check the latin name against your state lists to make sure you are in compliance. Fines can range from $5000 and higher for federal offenses, and there is the possibility of jail times as well for non-compliance with the laws.

As I stated above, what you do with your plants is up to you. Please do not flush or dump any invasive plant. Let them dry out, freeze them, etc. However, the best solution I have found for them is to feed them to my apple snails. This way there is NO chance of any surviving and possibly causing problems with the local habitat.

Note from KyleT: Also please be aware of the fact that there are many species of invertebrates and fish that are also illegal to ship across borders. Please be sure to check your local/state/national laws before shipping live species.

[will5]

A list like this has been posted a couple of times on here, but thanks.

[JenThePlantGeek]

Walter and I thought this is good enough to be a sticky - so it shall be so!

[Gatekeeper]

Bout time. Good job Mods. Great list CAF.

To be honest, the selling of these plants should be banned from this site, and any reference to them should be removed from listings. JMHO though.

[fishscale]

Just to be perfectly clear, what exactly constitutes as Hygrophilia Polysperma? I thought there were many varieties of this plant.

[Gatekeeper]

I believe its all of them. The entire species.

[fishscale]

...damn. I really wanted ceylon.

[frozenbarb]

I think its only the poly, Because they are Very Fast growers

[epicfish]

Originally Posted by frozenbarb

I think its only the poly, Because they are Very Fast growers

Right, but there's Hygrophilia polysperma sp. Sunset, Ceylon, etc...

All are banned.

[fishscale]

So, just to be clear, what is the policy of this forum? I understand it isn't really ethical to request these plants, but I wouldn't be dumping the plants in the wild either. Would it be a violation of the forum policy to post a WTB: Hygrophilia Polysperma Ceylon in the swap and shop?

[BlueRam]

Often Eichornia azurea is for sale at your favorite home improvement store etc...

[CampCreekTexas]

Here's my humble opinion on the subject, for what it's worth: If we go by a federal list of what is invasive and noxious, we won't be doing that much good.

I've been a terrestrial gardener for years and have seen this same question come up on plant trading forums again and again. The problem is our country is so vast and varied that what's invasive in one area isn't in another. To make sure they list ALL invasives, the list would include just about every plant we grow regularly except for true natives. They did kick around an idea to try that years ago ~ Google up "White list". They soon found out that wouldn't really be practical and would just about be impossible. The list they have now isn't really practical either, or accurate across the country. States even have trouble with coming up with an accurate list of all noxious weeds.

For instance, regular water hyacinth is one of the plants listed as illegal in my state, but I can't keep it alive for the life of me, even with a greenhouse to keep it in in winter. It's illegal in my state because it can get out of hand way down south along the coast, so rather than make it illegal just in that area and have to list the counties, they made it illegal all over the state, including up here where I am in Central Texas despite it having very little chance of surviving much less thriving and becoming a problem. Same with some of the salvinia species and others on the state list.

The same thing holds true for the federal list ~ some will be invasive in temperate areas such as Florida, while those same ones won't even last overnight in an Oklahoma winter. From the list above, azolla, sagittaria, and ipomoea are three more that won't even last through one of my mild Central Texas winters, atleast not in the sheltered valley I live in.

Then there are the truly noxious weeds that aren't on the list, but are noxious just about everywhere I've ever heard of them being grown. Kudzu and Johnson grass are two of those ~ yet they're not on the federal list (atleast they weren't last time I checked, a few years ago). A funny note is that the federal government is the entire reason they're here ~ they planted them on purpose long ago for soil erosion control, not realizing the consequences. A few others that aren't on the federal list, but are invasive in more places than plants that are on the list ~ China Berry trees, mimosa trees, taro, wax leaf ligustrum, butterfly bushes, blue fescue grass, and bermuda grass. Next time y'all go to your local Home Depot or Super Wal Mart, check how many of those are being sold in their garden centers. I'd bet my ranch half of them will be there.

What I'm saying, again, is that if we go by a federal list of what is invasive and noxious, we won't be really doing that much good. Yes, it's VERY good to know what you have and treat it responsibly. Most definitely!! But I believe we should do that with EVERY single plant and animal we keep, not just the ones on a noxious weed list. Many plants and animals we keep haven't been around long enough for anyone to know if they're invasive or not. It takes time to find that out. So if we don't put our faith in any list, but instead simply act responsibly with EVERYTHING we keep, we won't be the ones that unknowingly cause an ecological disaster.

[CAF]

Originally Posted by fishscale

Just to be perfectly clear, what exactly constitutes as Hygrophilia Polysperma? I thought there were many varieties of this plant.

Acording to Dr. Tasker head of APHIS any variant of H. polysperma is banned.

[CAF]

Originally Posted by CampCreekTexas

Here's my humble opinion on the subject, for what it's worth: If we go by a federal list of what is invasive and noxious, we won't be doing that much good.

I've been a terrestrial gardener for years and have seen this same question come up on plant trading forums again and again. The problem is our country is so vast and varied that what's invasive in one area isn't in another. To make sure they list ALL invasives, the list would include just about every plant we grow regularly except for true natives. They did kick around an idea to try that years ago ~ Google up "White list". They soon found out that wouldn't really be practical and would just about be impossible. The list they have now isn't really practical either, or accurate across the country. States even have trouble with coming up with an accurate list of all noxious weeds.

For instance, regular water hyacinth is one of the plants listed as illegal in my state, but I can't keep it alive for the life of me, even with a greenhouse to keep it in in winter. It's illegal in my state because it can get out of hand way down south along the coast, so rather than make it illegal just in that area and have to list the counties, they made it illegal all over the state, including up here where I am in Central Texas despite it having very little chance of surviving much less thriving and becoming a problem. Same with some of the salvinia species and others on the state list.

The same thing holds true for the federal list ~ some will be invasive in temperate areas such as Florida, while those same ones won't even last overnight in an Oklahoma winter. From the list above, azolla, sagittaria, and ipomoea are three more that won't even last through one of my mild Central Texas winters, atleast not in the sheltered valley I live in.

Then there are the truly noxious weeds that aren't on the list, but are noxious just about everywhere I've ever heard of them being grown. Kudzu and Johnson grass are two of those ~ yet they're not on the federal list (atleast they weren't last time I checked, a few years ago). A funny note is that the federal government is the entire reason they're here ~ they planted them on purpose long ago for soil erosion control, not realizing the consequences. A few others that aren't on the federal list, but are invasive in more places than plants that are on the list ~ China Berry trees, mimosa trees, taro, wax leaf ligustrum, butterfly bushes, blue fescue grass, and bermuda grass. Next time y'all go to your local Home Depot or Super Wal Mart, check how many of those are being sold in their garden centers. I'd bet my ranch half of them will be there.

What I'm saying, again, is that if we go by a federal list of what is invasive and noxious, we won't be really doing that much good. Yes, it's VERY good to know what you have and treat it responsibly. Most definitely!! But I believe we should do that with EVERY single plant and animal we keep, not just the ones on a noxious weed list. Many plants and animals we keep haven't been around long enough for anyone to know if they're invasive or not. It takes time to find that out. So if we don't put our faith in any list, but instead simply act responsibly with EVERYTHING we keep, we won't be the ones that unknowingly cause an ecological disaster.

True... This list is provided as a resource. As I stated what you do is up to you. Some states allow you to have some of these species without fine. Possession alone doesn't always break the law. Interstate shipping does however which is why I posted it. I do not wish for anyone to be fined or imprisioned for shipping a prohibited plant and knowledge is always a good thing.

[CAF]

Originally Posted by JenThePlantGeek

Walter and I thought this is good enough to be a sticky - so it shall be so!

Thanks for the sticky.