Skip to Main Content

Invasive Species in Indiana Resources

 "Exotic invasive species are non-native plants, animals or microbes that spread aggressively, replacing native organisms and posing serious threats to human health and well-being, the environment, or our economy."   -Indiana Invasive Species Council

This Purdue Extension-Marion County page gathers resources that will be useful to people in Indianapolis and others in central Indiana for the identification and management of invasive plants and other species.

 

WEBINARS

Invasive Plants Threaten Our Forests, Part 1: Invasive Plant Species Identification (Purdue FNR Webinar)

Invasive Plants Threaten Our Forests, Part 2: Control and Management (Purdue FNR Webinar)

 

RESOURCES FOR CENTRAL INDIANA

Indiana Invasive Species Council (IISC)

Indiana Department of Natural Resources (IDNR)

National Invasive Species Information Center (USDA NISIC) 

Midwest Invasive Species Information Network (MISIN)

Marion County Soil & Water Conservation District (MC SWCD): Invasive Plants

The Nature of Teaching: Invasive Plants - Impact on Environment and People (Purdue Extension FNR-532)

NOTE: Information on sudden oak death (SOD) / Ramorum blight is found near the bottom of this page (above Related Files).

 

INVASIVE PLANTS: PLANT LISTS

Official IISC Invasive Plant List (PDF by Plant Group) (PDF by Latin Name), Indiana Invasive Species Council

Prohibited Invasive Terrestrial Plants, Terrestrial Invasive Species Rule (2019), Purdue Extension Landscape Report

Midwest Invasive Plant List (MIPN.org)

 

INVASIVE PLANTS: IDENTIFICATION

Species Information, Report IN (Early Detection and Distribution Mapping System - EDDMapS)

Invasive Plant Atlas of the United States

Invasive Plant Species (Indiana DNR)

 

INVASIVE PLANTS: REPORTING

Report IN - Early Detection and Distribution Mapping System (EDDMapS)

County Reports of Invasives - Early Detection and Distribution Mapping System (EDDMapS)

Report a Pest (Indiana DNR)

 

INVASIVE PLANTS: VIDEOS

Invasive Plant Species: Callery Pear (Purdue FNR-523-WV)

Invasive Plant Species: Burning Bush (Purdue FNR-582-WV)

Invasive Plant Species: Wintercreeper (Purdue FNR-524-WV)

Invasive Plant Species: Oriental Bittersweet (Purdue FNR-522-WV)

Invasive Plant Species: Asian Bush Honeysuckle (Purdue FNR)

Invasive Plant Species: Multiflora Rose (Purdue FNR)

Invasive Plant ID: Japanese Stiltgrass (Southern Indiana Cooperative Invasives Management)

Invasive Plant ID: Chinese Yam (Southern Indiana Cooperative Invasives Management)

 

INVASIVE PLANTS: MANAGEMENT

Publications and Websites

Invasive Plant Control Database (Midwest), Midwest Invasive Plant Network (mipn.org)

Invasive Plant Removal Contractors (Indiana Invasive Species Council)

Tools to Manually Remove Invasive Shrubs (Indiana Invasive Species Council)

Invasive Plant Species Fact Sheets (Indiana), Invasive Plant Species Assessment Working Group (IPSAWG)

IPSAWG invasive plant species fact sheets: Asian Bush Honeysuckle, Autumn Olive, Blunt-leaved Privet, Common Reed, Crown Vetch, Glossy Buckthorn, Japanese Honeysuckle, Japanese Hops, Japanese Knotweed, Oriental Bittersweet, Periwinkle and Reed Canarygrass.

Invasive Species Fact Sheets (Marion County SWCD)

Invasive Plant Fact Sheets (Ohio), Ohio Invasive Plants Council, University of Cincinnati

Invasive Species Fact Sheets (Pennsylvania), Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania

Invasive Species Information Sheets (Midwest Invasive Species Information Network)

National Invasive Species Information Center: Terrestrial Plants (USDA)

Invasive Plant Fact Sheets (Maine), Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry

Vermont Invasives: Gallery of Terrestrial Plants (Vermont), University of Vermont Extension, the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation, the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation and the Vermont Chapter of the Nature Conservancy

 

INVASIVE PLANTS: ALTERNATIVES

USDA Plants: Is it a native plant or introduced? You can find out at USDA Plants.

-Type the scientific or common name for a map on where the plant is located. For example, Aronia arbutifolia (red chokeberry) is a native U.S. shrub located just south of Indiana. If planting non-natives, check to make sure it is not invasive in Indiana.

Alternative Options for Invasive Landscape Plants (Purdue publication ID-464)

Alternatives to Burning Bush for Fall Color (Purdue Landscape Report)

Landscape-Worthy Indiana Native Plants (Indiana Native Plant Society)

Landscape Alternatives for Invasive Plants of the Midwest (MIPN.org)

Native Trees of the Midwest (book)

Shrubs and Woody Vines of Indiana and the Midwest: Identification, Wildlife Values, and Landscaping Use (book)

 

INVASIVE SPECIES: DISEASE ORGANISMS

Sudden Oak Death (SOD) / Ramorum Blight

Invasive Species Fact Sheet: Ramorum blight Phytophthora ramorum (Michigan State)

Sudden Oak Death (Indiana DNR)

Special Alert: Sudden Oak Death (Purdue) 

Plant and Pest Diagnostic Laboratory (Purdue) 

What is Sudden Oak Death? (California Oak Mortality Task Force)

Phytophthora ramorum (USDA APHIS)

Boxwood Blight

Boxwood Blight (BP-203)

 

INVASIVE SPECIES: INSECTS/ANIMALS

Emerald Ash Borer (Purdue)

Gypsy Moth (Purdue)

Asian Longhorned Beetle

Spotted Lanternfly

 

To Top