What Invasive Species are in Michigan?

Common Invasive Species

Invasive Species commonly found in our region are often not the focus of state funded projects because the task of eradication would be unattainable. It is then up to individual land managers and owners to take the initiative to remove invasive species from their land.

Together working towards a common goal we can remove invasive species from the landscape and support native habitat.

Alert both the State of Michigan and your local CISMA of an invasive species infestation by visiting the Midwest Invasive Species Information Network (MISIN.MSU.EDU)

Send a report directly to the BCK CISMA Coordinator. Please include a photo and location.

A simple set of tools can get you started in removing a wide range of invasive species.

  • Hand saw

  • Sturdy gloves

  • Pruning shears

  • Weeding hoe

  • Spray bottle

  • Dauber

  • Contractor bags

  • Boot Brush

Autumn Olive

  • A round shrub with dense branches covered in oval alternate leaves. Leaves are distinct with slivery-scaly underside. Bark is silber with brown scales, young branches are brown and often have thorns.

    Blooming in April to June in clusters of 1-8 tubular flowers, cream in color with 4 petals.

    The fruit appears in September which are speckled red when ripe.

  • Autumn Olive rapidly spreads into old fields, roadsides, sandy areas, forest edges. Autumn olive grows in dense thickets preventing wildlife from using it as protective cover and crowding out native species essential to ground nesting birds and pollinators.

    The density of this species makes for managing open areas challenging. Trails become crowded with unfriendly branches, golf courses require more maintenance driving up fees, your favorite hunting spot needs constant trimming to maintain shoot lanes.

  • Autumn Olive with its dense branches is often best controlled by cutting down the shrub removing the debris and applying a small about of herbicide to the stump, which will kill the roots and prevent the shrub from regrowing.

Spotted Knapweed

  • Spotted knapweed grows in a rosette for 1-4 years then bolts into a tall bushy plant with wispy purple flowers. . Spotted knapweed has deeply lobed leaves, green-gray in color with fine hairs. This plant becomes almost woody in the winter months.

  • Spotted knapweed has a deep taproot and sends out a chemical into the soil to prevent growth of other plants.

    Preferring dry sandy areas but able to grow in wet zones makes this plant adaptable and a nuisance. It can take over a grassland area in a matter of a few years and is known to increase erosion.

  • For small locations, hand-pulling with sturdy gloves or using a weeding tool to twist the roots out.

    For large areas it is best to apply herbicide via foliar spray and seed after multiple treatments.

Japanese Barberry

  • Japanese Barberry has long been used in landscaping, its thorns providing natural deterrents to potential intruders and it’s red or yellow fall foliage creating appeal.

    It has spoon shaped leaves, green or red in color. Small white flowers with 6 petals and 6 petal-like sepals in April/May and become oval red berries around mid- July

    J. barberry has a bright yellow core to its stems.

  • Non-native birds spread the seed of this popular landscaped shrub to forested areas where the Japanese barberry quickly takes over the understories and thrives in open areas.

  • Use of loppers to cut away branches or other power tools or brush cutters if accessible. Use a weeding hoe to remove the root ball.

Garlic Mustard

  • Garlic Mustard is a biennial plant. it resembles violets the first year of growth but with deeper veins in the leaves and a yellow-green color. The second year Garlic Mustard sends up a flowering stalk with clusters of small white flowers with 4 petals. The leaves also lengthen and the teeth are more apparent.

  • Garlic mustard can grow in wet and dry areas and in the understory and open areas. Garlic mustard is one of those plants that send out a chemical into the soil that prevents other species from growing.

  • Hand-pulling between May and late June is the easiest way to control this species. Planning a pull after a rain event will make the task easier.

    This plant is unique in that it can go to seed after being pulled therefore, debris must be bagged and left to bake in the sun or burned.

Honeysuckle Shrub Species

  • There are four species of honeysuckle shrubs know to invade our region. the differences can be subtle.

    All have compound oval leaves, some with a point some rounded. Flowers are irregulars that are typically white, pink or yellow. Berries grow in sets near the stem and are usually red but can be orange or yellow in color.

    Stems are hallow with a shredded light brown bark.

  • Honeysuckles also have alleopathic qualities, preventing the growth of other species not adapted to the soil chemistry it creates.

    Honeysuckle is known to increase erosion, especially along river banks.

  • Hand-pulling between May and late June is the easiest way to control this species. Planning a pull after a rain event will make the task easier.

    This plant is unique in that it can go to seed after being pulled therefore, debris must be bagged and left to bake in the sun or burned.

Common Buckthorn

  • Common Buckthorn is a tree with grey bark and large white speckles called lenticels. As indicated by the name it can have thorns on the trunk and branches.

    Fine teeth on the oval leaves with occasional crimp to the leaf point.

    Black berries are evident in the late summer and through the winter.

  • Common Buckthorn is a tree that can grow dense thickets in shady areas, often under trees and intermixed with shrubs/small trees. Once sunlight is reached it can grow into a full size tree mass producing it’s black fruit.

  • It’s best to catch infestations early, paying close attention to roadsides, under trees. Foliar spraying of short undergrowth is best for large areas, small areas can be controlled via hand pulling.

    Medium to large trees can be sawed down and treat the stump with brush killer ( a triclopyr based herbicide), treatment of the trunk can also be effective if cutting is not accessible.

Round Leaf (Oriental) Bittersweet

  • Round leaf bittersweet is a vine with light brown bark, and when cut the center or pith is white. in contrast the roots are bright orange. Leaves are finely toothed, round with a pointed tip. Flowers appear in May to June at the leaf axils and grow in clusters with greenish yellow flowers with five petals. Seeds appear yellow at start then appear to pop exposing a deep red fruit underneath.

  • Round leaf bittersweet vine can climb to the tops of trees and girdle the tree along the way. This plant not only poses a threat to wildlife but near homes can create hazards during the winter months when heavy snow or ice storms can bring down the tree they smothered.

  • Cut the vines close to the ground and apply herbicide to the stump. Vines on the tree can be left and pulled later once the branches turn brittle.

Tree of Heaven

  • Tree of Heaven is an aggressive species of tree, it’s compound leaves can resemble walnut trees. With a few key differences walnut species have fine teeth on the leaflets, while TOH has one tooth which contains a gland that emits a smell comparable to burnt peanuts. TOH can also have up to 41 leaflets per compound leaf while walnut has up to 25 leaflets.

    TOH seed production closer resembles maple seeds, with the seed pod in the middle instead of the end.

  • Tree of heaven, similar to many invasive species inhibits the growth of surrounding species and establishes monocultures with female trees producing 300,000 seeds per year.

    Add in that the Spotted Lanternfly is attracted to this tree relies on it as a host species to raise its young. This tree is bad news all around.

  • This weedy tree can grow in tight spaces including near houses and in fence lines.

    The most efficient way to control this tree is to cut them down and apply a brush killer herbicide to the stump immediately after.

Glossy Buckthorn

  • Glossy Buckthorn, a relative of common buckthorn, has smooth oval leaves with contrasting veins. The bark is still grey and the white speckles are softer in shape. It’s berries ripen to a black like the common buckthorn but have a red stage as seen above.

  • Just like common buckthorn, glossy buckthorn can grow dense thickets in shady areas, often under trees and intermixed with shrubs/small trees. Once sunlight is reached it can grow into a full size tree mass producing it’s black fruit.

  • It’s best to catch infestations early, paying close attention to roadsides, under trees. Foliar spraying of short undergrowth is best for large areas, small areas can be controlled via hand pulling.

    Medium to large trees can be sawed down and treat the stump with brush killer ( a triclopyr based herbicide), treatment of the trunk can also be effective if cutting is not accessible.