Invasives

Broad-leaved Pepperweed (Lepidium latifolium L.)
Broad-leaved pepperweed, also called tall pepperweed, perennial peppergrass, tall whitetop, giant whiteweed, and ironweed is an herbaceous perennial that can grow up to 5 feet tall. Plants have many stiff, upright stems that grow from a woody crown of roots. Old stems persist through the winter with rosettes of leaves…

Creeping Buttercup (Ranunculus repens L.)
Creeping buttercup is an herbaceous perennial that grows along the ground. Plants have thick stems and may be as much as 1 foot tall. Leaves and stems are usually hairy. Leaves at the base of the plant have long petioles; leaves that are higher on the stem have shorter petioles…

Fig Buttercup (Ficaria verna Huds.)
Fig buttercup, also called lesser celandine, is a low perennial herb that grows from tuberous roots. Most plants are no more than 6 inches tall, although some reach 1 foot. The shiny leaves are dark green, often paler on their undersides. Leaves have long petioles and may be oblong, triangular,…

Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata)
Garlic mustard is a cool season biennial herb with stalked, triangular to heart-shaped, coarsely toothed leaves that give off an odor of garlic when crushed. First-year plants appear as a rosette of green leaves close to the ground. Rosettes remain green through the winter and develop into mature flowering plants…

Giant Hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum)
*If found report here to Mass. Dept. of Agricultural Resources (MDAR). Giant hogweed is an herbaceous perennial species that grows over 15 feet in height. It is native to the Caucasus Mountains and southwest Asia. The stem, which is blotched with purple and covered with short hairs, is 2 to…

Narrow-leaf Bittercress (Cardamine impatiens)
Narrow-leaf bittercress is an herbaceous annual or biennial plant that can reach two feet in height. When narrow-leaf bittercress occurs as a biennial, the first year’s growth is a basal rosette of leaves. In the second year, it produces a flowering stem. The basal leaves of the plant are deeply…

Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria)
Purple loosestrife is an erect perennial herb in the loosestrife family, with a square, woody stem and opposite or whorled leaves. Leaves are lance-shaped, stalkless, and heart-shaped or rounded at the base. Plants are usually covered by a downy pubescence. Loosestrife plants grow from four to ten feet high, depending…

Spotted Knapweed (Centaurea stoebe)
Spotted knapweed, previously known as Centaurea biebersteinii, is a biennial or short-lived perennial. Its name is derived from the spots formed by black margins on the flower bract tips. Spotted knapweed typically forms a basal rosette of leaves in its first year and flowers in subsequent years. Rosette leaves are…

Wall Lettuce (Mycelis muralis (L.) Dumort.)
Wall lettuce is a slender annual or biennial herbaceous plant. The smooth, erect stems grow from fibrous roots. Stems are 2–3 feet tall and branch near the top; when broken, they exude a milky fluid that can irritate the skin. Leaves at the base of the stems have deep, pointed…

Wild Chervil (Anthriscus sylvestris (L.) Hoffm.)
Wild chervil, also called cow parsley, is an herbaceous biennial that grows 3–4 feet tall. The hollow stems are branched and covered with soft hairs. The compound, alternate leaves are fernlike—each leaf is divided into leaflets that are also divided. Plants have long taproots that grow up to 6 feet…