EarthWorks Alternative Plant List for Exotic Invasive Plants of Eastern Massachusetts
Many of the invasive plants on this list are commonly sold in New England. This is only a partial list of New England invasives. To avoid buying invasive plants for your home or yard, you should ask nursery personnel whether a plant is native and whether it can be invasive under any or certain conditions. If you are interested in purchasing plants for your yard, please consider the list of native alternatives to invasive species, or ask nursery staff to recommend a suitable native substitution.
| Invader | Alternative Choice | Attributes/Uses |
|
Norway Maple Sycamore (Planetree) Maple Tree
of Heaven (note: click the links to get more information on the species from the UConn Plant Database and other sources.) |
Oaks: red, black, scarlet, white, chestnut, pin (Quercus rubra, Q. veluntina, Q. conccinea, Q. alba, Q. prinus, Q. palustris) | Canopy/street tree, attractive fall foliage, wildlife value: nuts |
| Maples: red, sugar, silver (Acer rubrum, A. saccharum, A. saccaharinum) | Fall color, canopy/shade tree, maple syrup/sugar | |
| American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) | Wide-spreading canopy/shade tree | |
| Bitternut Hickory (Carya cordiformis) | Wide-spreading canopy/shade tree, wildlife value: nuts | |
| Eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoids) | Yellow fall foliage, shade tree | |
| Black gum/Black tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica) | Shade tree, fruit for wildlife, brilliant red fall foliage | |
| American Linden (Tilia americana) | Dense foliage, large crown, shade/street tree | |
| Medium Trees | ||
|
Black
locust Siberian
elm |
Hawthorns (Crataegus sp.) | Thorny, spring flowering |
| Sassafras (Sassafras albidum) | Spreading through off-shoots | |
| Pines: pitch, white (Pinus rigida, P. strobus) | Nutrient-poor soils, drought tolerant | |
| Eastern red cedar (Juniperus virgininiana) | Dry open sites, deer resistant | |
| Sumacs (Rhus sp.) | Nutrient-poor soils, drought tolerant, spreading | |
| Birches (Betula sp.) | Unusual bark, fast growing | |
| Small Trees/Large Shrubs | ||
| Buckthorns (Rhamnus cathartica & R. frangula) |
Chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa, A. arbutifolia) | Small tree, wildlife use: fruit |
| Blue Beech/Ironwood (Carpinus caroliniana) | Understory tree, shade tolerant | |
| Juneberry (Amelanchier canadensis sub. arborea) | Small tree, delicious fruit | |
| Sumac (Rhus sp.) | Small tree/large shrub, wildlife use: fruit | |
| Autumn-blooming witch hazel (Hammamelis virgininia) | Small tree/large shrub | |
| American mountain ash (Sorbus americana) | Small tree/large shrub, wildlife use: fruit | |
| Ornamental olives (Elaeagnus umbellata & E. angustifolia) |
False heather (Hudsonia tomentosa) | Drought & salt tolerant |
| Low gallberry holly (Ilex glabra) | Salt & roadside tolerant | |
| Northern bayberry (Myrica pennsylvanica) | Nitrogen fixer, spreading shrub | |
| Highbush Blueberry (Vaccinium sp.) | Delicious fruit | |
| Huckleberry (Gaylussacia sp.) | Delicious fruit | |
| Beach plum (Prunus maritima) | Drought & salt tolerant, delicious fruit | |
| Bushy Shrubs | ||
|
Shrub honeysuckles Winged burningbush Privets |
Shrub viburnums (Viburnum dentatum, V. recognitum, V. acerifolium, V. lentago, V. cassinoides, V. rafinesquianum, V. prunifolium) | Spring-flowering, understory shrubs, fruit for wildlife, thicket-forming, shade tolerant |
| Shrub dogwoods: gray, red oiser, silky (Cornus racemosa, C. sericea, C. amomum) | Thicket-forming shrubs, fruit for wildlife | |
| American Yew (Taxus canadensis) | Easy to shape, evergreen, fruit for wildlife | |
| American fly honeysuckle (Lonicera canadensis) | Attractive flowering shrub | |
| Bush honeysuckle (Diervilla lonicera) | Attractive flowering shrub | |
| Elderberry: common, red (Sambucus canadensis, S. pubens) | Attractive flowering shrub, delicious fruit | |
| Spicebush (Lindera benzoin) | Shade tolerant, fruit for wildlife | |
| Climbing and Trailing Vines | ||
|
Oriental
bittersweet Porcelainberry Black Swallowwort |
American bittersweet (Celastrus scandens) | Twinging woody vine, fruit for wildlife, yellow fall color |
| Grapes (Vitis sp.) | Delicious fruit, woody vine | |
| Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) | Fruit for wildlife, woody vine, colorful fall foliage | |
| Virgin’s bower (Clematis virginiana) | Fall flowering vine | |
| Trumpet honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) | Fragrant, showy flowers, shade tolerant woody vine | |
| Moonseed (Menispermum canadense) | Sprawling vine | |
| Greenbriar (Smilax sp.) | Thorny woody herbaceous sprawling vines, fruit for wildlife/nesting | |
| Japanese
honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) |
Trumpet honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) | Fragrant, showy flowers, shade tolerant woody vine |
| Groundnut (Apios americana) | Trailing vine | |
| Hog-peanut (Amphicarpaea bracteata) | Trailing vine | |
| Canada mayflower (Maianthemum canadense) | Evergreen shade tolerant groundcover, fragrant flowers | |
| Lowbush blueberry (Vaccinuim angustifolium) | Shrubby groundcove, erosion control, fruit for wildlife | |
| Gray dogwood (Cornus racemosa) | Thicket-forming spreading shrub | |
| Northern bayberry (Myrica pennsylvanica) | Thicket-forming spreading shrub | |
| Fragrant Sumac (Rhus aromatica) | Thicket-forming spreading shrub | |
| Wetland Herbaceous | ||
| Common
reed (Phragmites australis) |
For submerged areas: | |
| Cattails (Typha sp.) | Attracts songbirds, filters pollutants, unusual and attractive flower | |
| Arrowhead (Sagittaria latifolia) | Habitat for aquatic animals, unusual, attractive leaves | |
| Pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata) | Habitat for aquatic animals, unusual, attractive leaves | |
| Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis) | Shrub, unusual flowers and fruit | |
| For wet meadows: | ||
| New York ironweed (Vernonia noveboracencis) | Tall, late summer flowering, purple blooms | |
| Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus) | Tall, summer flowering, large yellow blooms, edible tuber | |
| Red osier dogwood (Cornus stolonifera) | Red stems colorful all year, thicket-forming | |
|
Purple
loostrife |
For wet meadows: | |
| Blue vervain (Verbena hastata) | Blue mid-summer flowers, wet tolerant | |
| Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis) | Tall, late summer flowering, long lasting red blooms, wet tolerant | |
| Joe Pye weed (Eupatorium macaulatum) | Tall, late summer flowering, mauve flowers, wet tolerant | |
| Native irises (Iris versicolor, I. prisimatica) | Wet tolerant purple flowers, spring flowers | |
| Monkeyflower (Mimulus ringens) | Wet tolerant, purple flowers | |
| Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) | Tall, summer flowering, broad pale purple blooms | |
| New York ironweed | Tall, late summer flowering, purple blooms | |
| Bee balm | Tall summer flowering red-magenta blooms | |
| Blue false-indigoFor submerged areas | Tall blue-purple | |
| Buttonbush | Unusual flowers and fruits | |
| Brambles/Low, Thorny Shrubs | ||
|
Multiflora
rose Japanese
barberry |
Native roses: Swamp, Carolina (Rosa palustris, R. carolina) | Summer flowers, thicket forming, rosehips (fruit) |
| Native blackberries & raspberries (Rubus sp.) | Thicket forming, delicious fruit | |
| Low gallberry holly (Ilex glabra) | Salt and roadside tolerant, fruit for wildlife | |
Chart adapted for Eastern Massachusetts and expanded from the Invasive Plant Council of New York State’s “Alternative Plant List for the Top 10 Invasives.”
34 Linwood Street
Roxbury, MA 02119
Ph: 617.442.1059