Plant Stalkers: A citizen science project
Invasive Plant Inventory and Mapping at Eno River State Park, 2008[1]
Tree of Heaven, Ailanthus altissima
· Tree of Heaven is native to Eastern China (ARS, 2008).
· It is a tree, often colonizing by root sprouts (Radford et al., 1968).
· Tree-of-Heaven was introduced into the United States in 1748 by a Pennsylvania gardener. It was widely planted in cities because of its ability to grow in poor conditions (Bugwood, 2008).
Habitat: Tree-of-Heaven is commonly cultivated and now naturalized on roadsides, forests, disturbed areas, including cities, especially in moist, fertile soils (Weakley, 2006) (Radford et al., 1968). It is not tolerant of shade (Bugwood, 2008).
Key characters:
· Leaves alternate, odd pinnately compound
· Leaflets entire except for 1-5 rounded basal teeth bearing adjacent glands*
· New leaves purplish in color
· Large heart-shaped leaf scar with bud in notch of scar
· Fruit is a samara* having a single seed in a wing-shaped structure
· Flowering from April to May
· Fruiting from September to October
·
Similar plants: Other trees within the area with compound leaves are the ashes and the hickory-walnut group. Ashes have opposite leaves. Hickory and walnuts have alternate leaves, but lack glands on the margins of their leaflets.
Mimosa, Albizia julibrissin
· Mimosa is native to tropical Asia (ARS, 2008)
· It is a flat-topped deciduous tree to 12 m tall (Radford et al., 1968)
· Mimosa was first introduced into the United States in 1745. It has been widely used as an ornamental (Bugwood, 2008)
Habitat: Cultivated and naturalized in disturbed areas, woodland lots, and roadsides (Radford et al., 1968)
Key characters:
· Bark smoothish with wart-like bumps
· Even bipinnately compound leaf with 16-24 pinnae*
· Leaf with gland*
· Midvein of leaflets is highly asymmetric
· Flowers with no petals and numerous connate (fused) stamens at the base
· Fruit (a legume*) is a thin 8-18 cm long and 2-3 cm wide
· Flowering period: May to August
· Fruiting period: July to November
Similar plants: There are no other trees with leaves that are twice even pinnately* compound within the survey area.
Chinese lespedeza, Lespedeza cuneata
· Chinese lespedeza is native to China, eastern Asia, Indian subcontinent, Indo-China, Malesia, and Australia (ARS, 2008).
· It is a perennial with erect or strongly ascendant, strigose* stems 0.8-1.5 m tall (Radford et al., 1968).
· Chinese lespedeza was introduced into the United States in the late 1800s. It has been widely planted to provide wildlife habitat, erosion control, and mine reclamation (Bugwood, 2008).
Habitat: It occurs in fields, roadsides, and waste places (Radford et al., 1968) and wildlife food plots (Weakley, 2006).
Key characteristics:
· Upright semi-woody plant with slender stems
· Trifoliate leaves with densely appressed short hairs on both surfaces and appearing grayish green or silvery (Radford et al., 1968)
· Leaflets 1-2.5 cm long
· Flowers pea-shaped and crème-colored with purplish throats
· Fruit is a legume*
· Flowering period is from July through September
· Fruiting occurs from October through November
Similar plants: Lespedeza bicolor, shrubby lespedeza has larger leaflets (2-5 cm long) growing to between 1-3 m tall (Radford et al., 1968). See images to the right for comparison.
Chinese privet, Ligustrum sinense
· Chinese privet is native to China, Hong Kong, Taiwan Laos and Vietnam (ARS, 2008).
· It is a semi-evergreen or small tree that grows to 20 ft. in height. Trunks usually occur as multiple stems with many long, leafy branches (Bugwood, 2008).
· Chinese privet was introduced into the United States in 1852 as an ornamental (Bugwood, 2008).
Habitat: It occurs in moist forests, especially alluvial bottomlands (Weakley, 2006).
Key characters:
· Twigs pubescent, leaves pubescent on the midrib below
· Leaves simple and opposite, to 6 cm. long and 2.5 cm wide
· Inflorescence a panicle with small white to cream-colored flowers
· Fruit is a drupe* (fleshy with stony pit) bluish at maturity
· Flowering occurs between May and June.
· Fruiting occurs between September and November.
Similar plants: Chinese privet differs from Ligustrum
japonicum by the glabrous twigs and larger leaves
which are 5-8 cm. long and 5 cm. wide (Radford et al., 1968).
Japanese honeysuckle, Lonicera japonica
· Japanese honeysuckle is native to eastern China and eastern Asia (ARS, 2008).
· It is a high climbing or trailing woody vine (Radford et al., 1968).
· It was introduced into the United States in 1806 on Long Island, New York. Japanese honeysuckle has been planted throughout the United States as an ornamental for erosion control and for wildlife habitat (Bugwood, 2008).
Habitat: It is especially common in moist habitats (Weakley, 2006), forest floors, canopies, roadsides, wetlands, and disturbed areas (Bugwood, 2008).
Key Characters:
· Leaves are simple, evergreen and opposite. In the spring, leaves on young shoots are often lobed (Radford et al., 1968).
· Flowers are fragrant and paired with leafy bracts at the base (Radford et al., 1968).
· Flowers are 2-lipped white or pink fading to yellow (Radford et al., 1968)
· Fruit is a black globose berry*
· Flowering period-April to June
· Fruiting period-August to October
Similar plants: We have no other woody vines in the survey area with opposite simple evergreen leaves.
Japanese stilt grass, Microstegium vimineum
· Japanese stilt grass is native to the Russian Federation, China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, India, Nepal, Indochina, Thailand, and Philippines (ARS, 2008).
· It is a delicate, sprawling, annual grass that grows to 1.5 m long (Bugwood, 2008).
· It was introduced into the United States some time around 1920 (Bugwood, 2008).
Habitat: It occurs most commonly in forested floodplains, ditches, forest edges, fields and trails (Bugwood, 2008).
Key Characters:
· Habit of sprawling over other vegetation
· Off-centered midrib of leaf
· Ciliate* ligules* and sheath* margins
· Flowering and fruiting from September to October
Similar species: To separate from other grasses within the survey area, look for ciliate* sheaths*and ligule* and a sprawling habit.
David J. Moorhead, University of Georgia, Bugwood.org
Microstegium vimineum showing ciliate sheath and ligule
Multiflora rose, Rosa multiflora
· Multiflora rose is native to China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan (ARS, 2008).
· It is a multi-stemmed, thorny shrub that grows to 15 ft. (4.6 m) tall (Bugwood, 2008).
· Multiflora rose was first introduced to North America in1866 as rootstock for ornamental roses. During the 1900s it was widely planted as a “living fence” for livestock control (Bugwood, 2008).
Habitat: Multiflora rose forms impenetrable thickets in pastures, fields and forest edges (Bugwood, 2008).
Key Characters:
· Arching canes with stiff, curved prickles*
· Leaves are pinnately compound with 7-9 serrated leaflets
· Leaves with pectinate* (fringed) stipules*
· Flowering May through June
· Fruiting September through October
Chris Evans, River to River CWMA, Bugwood.org
Rosa multiflora showing pectinate (fringed) stipules
Similar species: Multiflora rose may be distinguished
from other roses by the pectinate* (fringed) stipules* at base of petiole.
Glossary
Berry. A fleshy fruit with several to many seeds, as a tomato, and lacking a pit (stone)
Ciliate. With a marginal fringe of hairs
Drupe. A fleshy fruit with a stony center surrounding a single seed, as a peach or cherry
Gland. An appendage, protuberance, or other structure which secretes sticky or oily substances
Legume. A dry fruit that splits open at maturity usually along two sutures (lines), as a pea pod
Ligule. The membranous (or hairy) appendage arising from the inner surface of the leaf at the junction with the leaf sheath in many grasses and some sedges.
Pectinate. Comb-like with close regularly spaced divisions, appendages, or hairs, often in a single row, like the teeth of a comb
Pinna (pl. pinnae). One of the primary divisions or leaflets of a pinnate leaf
Pinnate. Resembling a feather, as in a compound leaf with leaflets arranged on opposite sides of an elongated axis
Prickle. A small, sharp outgrowth of the epidermis or bark. Compare with spine and thorn.
Samara. A dry winged fruit
Sheath. The portion of an organ which surrounds, at least partly, another organ, as the leaf base of a grass that surrounds the stem.
Spine. A stiff, slender, sharp-pointed structure arising from below the epidermis, representing a modified leaf or stipule; any structure with the appearance of a true spine
Stipule. One of a pair of leaf-like appendages found at the base of the petiole in some leaves
Strigose. Bearing straight, stiff, sharp, appressed hairs
Thorn. A stiff, woody, modified stem with a sharp point; sometimes applied to any structure resembling a true thorn
References
ARS. 2008. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN)[Online Database], Infrafamilial classification of the Rutaceae. United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service (ARS), Systematic Botany and Mycology Laboratory. Last accessed April 23, 2008, http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/paper.pl.
Bugwood. 2008. Bugwood Network. Last accessed July 18, 2008, http://www.invasive.org/weeds.cfm.
Harris, J. G., and M. W. Harris. 2001. Plant Identification Terminology: An illustrated glossary (Second). Spring Lake Publishing, Spring Lake. 206 pp.
Radford, A. E., H. E. Ahles, and C. R. Bell. 1968. Manual of the Vascular Flora of the Carolinas. The University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill. 1183 pp.
Weakley, A. S. 2006. Flora of the Carolinas, Virginia, Georgia, and Surrounding Areas: Working draft of 17 January 2006 (2006). University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill. 1026 pp.
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[1] Refer to the Glossary for definitions of words indicated with an asterisk (Harris and Harris, 2001).