Contact: Carole Bergmann, Forest Ecologist, Maryland National Capital Parks and Planning Commission | 301-949-2818 ANNAPOLIS, MD (July 12, 2004) – Porcelainberry (Ampelopsis brevipedunculata) is familiar to almost everyone, even if they can’t name it. Often mistaken for the native grape, Porcelainberry is a deciduous vine of the grape family (Vitaceae). Popular in the horticultural trade […]
Author: Maryland Invasive Species Council
An Invasive Species Success Story
Contact: Jonathan McKnight, Maryland Department of Natural Resources | 410-260-8539 | jmcknight@dnr.state.md.us ANNAPOLIS, MD (June 18, 2004) – There are few success stories in the history of the introduction of invasive exotic species to North America. After all, a true success is a species that is prevented from ever entering a North American ecosystem, and no […]
A Pox in the Orchard!
Contact: Dick Bean, Maryland Department of Agriculture | 410-841-5920 | beanra@mda.state.md.us ANNAPOLIS, MD (May 27, 2004) – Is it Shakespeare? No, it’s Sharka, a viral disease of plums and other stone fruits that has spread steadily from eastern to western Europe over the last 80 years. So far, the virus has not been found in Maryland. Officials […]
Public Education Happens in “Iv’y Towers”
Contact: Carole Bergmann | Carole.Bergmann@mncppc-md.org301-949-2818 ANNAPOLIS, MD (February 2004) – Institutions of higher learning in our country are sometimes described as “ivory towers.” For February’s Invader of the Month, the Maryland Invasive Species Council examines “ivy towers”, the columns that English ivy, Hedera helix, makes when it scales buildings or forest trees. English ivy is frequently used […]
From Wreath to Forest
Contact: Sylvan Kaufman, Adkins Arboretum | 410-634-2847 (ext. 13) ANNAPOLIS, MD (Dec. 2, 2003) – The colors of fall are reflected beautifully in the yellow and red fruits of the Oriental bittersweet vine decorating wreaths or dried flower arrangements, but what happens when the colors fade and that bittersweet is thrown out into the woods […]
Citizens Urged to Report Pest of Popular Ornamental Shrub
Contact: Dick Bean, Maryland Department of Agriculture | 410-841-5920 ANNAPOLIS, MD (November 3, 2003) – Landscapers and homeowners are not the only ones that like the popular euonymus shrub. The Maryland Invasive Species Council’s latest “Invader of the Month,” Pryeria sinica, likes it too. Pryeria sinica, a moth that feeds on the leaves of euonymus shrubs in […]
The Multicolored Asian Lady Beetle: A Mixed Blessing
ANNAPOLIS, MD (Oct. 6, 2003) – In recent years, the multicolored Asian lady beetle (Harmonia axyridis) has become a common visitor in and around homes and gardens in Maryland. A native of Asia, this lady beetle was initially released in California in the early 1900’s, but was also released many times from 1978 to 1985. […]
One of the Fastest-Spreading Forest Weeds Found In 23 States
Contact: Marc Imlay | 301-442-5657 | ialm@erols.com ANNAPOLIS, MD (Sept. 5, 2003) – Before people used styrofoam peanuts as packing material, they used fabric, wood shavings or dried plant leaves and stems to protect breakables in shipping. One of the worst invasive weeds in the Mid-Atlantic states, Japanese Stiltgrass (Microstegium vimineum) probably was introduced as packaging […]
Omnivorous Insect a Risk to Humans, Animals, and the Nursery Industry
ANNAPOLIS, MD (August 4, 2003) – With a bite hotter than the southern summer, the omnivorous Red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta, is the state’s most recent invasive species of the month. Since the first detection of the insect in Maryland in 1986, it has been intercepted by aggressive surveillance and eradication efforts of the Maryland […]
Colonial Medicine Herb Plasters the Woods with Mustard
ANNAPOLIS, MD (May 8, 2003) – In the 1880’s, settlers brought the Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata) plant from Europe to the New World, to use for medicine and as a flavoring agent in soups. But this plant, named by the Maryland Invasive Species Council as May’s “Invader of the Month,” proved to be more like […]