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650 Hawthorne Ave SE, Ste # 130 Salem, OR 97301-5894 Phone:
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Selected Noxious Weeds
Here are a just few of the invasive, non-native plant species that are troublesome here in Marion SWCD. These noxious weeds are truly obnoxious and will seemingly grow happily wherever they please. We call them:The Big, The Bad and The Ugly.
Name Up Close In the Field English Ivy
(Hedera Helix)
An evergreen climbing vine that attaches to the bark of trees, brickwork, and other surfaces by way of small rootlike structures, which exude a gluelike substance. Leaves are dark green with light green veins, and have a wavy texture. Umbrella-like clusters of small, greenish-white flowers appear in fall with sufficient sunlight. To control the ivy, vines can be pulled up by hand, repeatedly cut, or treated with herbicides.
English Ivy has consumed and killed this tree by using its sunlight and water resources.Himalyan Blackberry
(Rubus discolor)
Erect to sprawling with stout arching stems often forming impenetrable thickets. They have toothed leaves in groups of three and produce large, delicious berries, and anyone who has come into contact with the plant knows that the thorns offer a wicked defense. The berries have huge qualities of seeds and they are widely dispersed by birds. Controlling this plant can involve mowing, digging, herbicide use, or shade from larger trees. Most of all it takes persistence!
Blackberries have encroached on this cleared timber area.Japanese Knotweed
(Polygonum cuspidatum)
A semi-woody perennial with reddish-brown stems that reaches 4-8 feet tall in moist soil. The stems are hollow and jointed resembling those of bamboo. The plant has small white-greenish flowers in late summer and drops its leaves in the fall. This plant spreads quickly due to sexual and asexual reproduction and rapid deep-rooting infestation. To control, cut (at ground level) or pull regularly, dig (small plants), or apply herbicides.
A largeJapanese knotweed plant is found growing in a roadside area.Purple Loosestrife
(Lythrum salicaria)
A showy perennial with erect stems aften growing 6-8 feet tall, usually in moist or wet areas. It is cultivated by gardeners but can completely take over wetlands and displace native species. Control by cutting the plants back, or digging or hand pulling (small plants). A good way to control spreading is by cutting the flowering spikes of the plants (to prevent seeds from producing more plants next year).
Purple Loosestrife has creeped into this stream from nearby landscaping.Reed Canarygrass
(Phalaris arundinacae)
A stout perennial with hollow stems 2-7 feet tall that are covered with a waxy coating giving it a blue-green color. Leaf blades are flat and 1/4 -3/4 inch wide. This plant likes wet, disturbed sites including clearings, ditches, streambanks, and marshy spots. Reed canarygrass forms dense, highly productive single species stands that pose a major threat to many wetland ecosystems. Control methods include burning, mowing, hand pulling, and shading out the plant.
Reed canarygrass has taken over this open field.Scotch Broom
(Cytisus scoparius)
This is a shrubby member of the pea family. The plant is spindly with dark green branches. They flower profusely but after the flowers come the seeds. The vast numbers of seeds make this plant hard to control, because any soil disturbance usually results in a new crop of seedlings. Grazing by goats, burning, pulling with weed wrench, mowing, or herbicide use may help control Scotch Broom.
Scotch Broom in all its springtime splendor!Please contact our office if you would like infomation about control of noxious weeds on your property. You can call us at 503-391-9927 or send us an e-mail for technical assistance.For more weed information and a printable brochure, head to the Invasive Weeds Outreach Project site.
Help educate others on weed identification at home or the office. Click here to download a noxious weeds screensaver developed by OSU Extension Service. (Click the link and scroll the bottom of the page for the screensaver.)
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Updated 7/10/06