Nitrogen Fixer Fixin’ For Trouble

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Contact: Francis Smith, Maryland Department of Natural Resources- Forest Service | francis.smith@maryland.gov ANNAPOLIS MD (August 1, 2018) – Prolific seed production. Rapid re-sprouting. Highly adaptable. Three traits of a very successful plant, and also what makes autumn olive an ecological nightmare. As summer winds down and fall creeps in, the red berries of this invasive shrub will […]

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Stop the Hitchhikers: Clean Your Gear

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Contact: Jay Kilian, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Resource Assessment Service | 410-260-8617 ANNAPOLIS, MD (July 1, 2018) Summer is here and adventures await you on Chesapeake Bay and in Maryland’s beautiful streams, rivers, and lakes.  As you get out your waders, boats and fishing gear, keep in mind that your actions, or inaction, can […]

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Trapped Again? A New Species of Water Chestnut Discovered in the Potomac

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ANNAPOLIS, MD (June 1, 2018) – Eurasian water chestnut (Trapa natans) has been present in the United States since the latter half of the 19th century and is a well-known invasive species.  Once water chestnut shows up in a water body, it can quickly spread to cover large areas and, if allowed to reproduce, can […]

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Are invasive plants “bugging” you?

Amur Honeysuckle

Contact: Marc Imlay, Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission | ialm@erols.com ANNAPOLIS, MD (May 1, 2018) – Many shrubs first introduced as desirable landscape species have been found to take over the understory of woodlands and greatly impact native forest regeneration.  The invasive properties of both Japanese barberry (Berberis thumbergii) and Bush honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii) have […]

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The cherry blossoms have arrived! Some good, some bad.

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Contact: Bud Reaves, Anne Arundel County | ipreav00@aacounty.org ANNAPOLIS, MD (April 3, 2018) – Every year in late March and early April, cherry trees burst forth into bloom in Maryland.  Some of the first to bloom in the spring, cherries are among the showiest flowers in the forest.  However, most of the cherry trees that get […]

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This little piggy went to Maryland?

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Contact – Jonathan McNight, Maryland, DNR – Maryland Wildlife and Heritage Service | jonathan.mcknight@maryland.gov ANNAPOLIS, MD (March 1, 2018) – In the last week of January 2018, one of a pair of free-ranging pigs (Sus scrofa) attacked and bit a citizen in Frederick County, Maryland.  The porcine perpetrator was subsequently killed by Frederick County Animal […]

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Not so Heavenly

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Contact: Colleen Kenny, Maryland DNR – Forest Service | colleen.kenny@maryland.gov Nandina domestica foliage and fruit. Photo: Leslie J. Mehrhoff, University of Connecticut, Bugwood.org ANNAPOLIS, MD (February 1, 2018) – As you walk through the woods this February, most plants will appear dormant, but heavenly bamboo (Nandina domestica) will be on full display. While often used as […]

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Red Alert: Spotted lanternfly

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Contact: Colleen Kenny, Maryland DNR – Forest Service | colleen.kenny@maryland.gov ANNAPOLIS, MD (January 1, 2018) – Spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) is an invasive plant-hopping insect that attacks and feeds on a wide variety of fruit and tree species. Spotted lanternfly has been spreading throughout southeastern Pennsylvania, and because it was recently found for the first […]

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Good for what “Ails” you? A gift from Heaven?

Agrilus smaragdifrons. Photo by Antonio Liberta, 2014; used with permission.

Contact: Jil Swearingen, Invasive Species Consultant, Cheverly, Maryland | jilswearingen@gmail.com ANNAPOLIS, MD (December 1, 2017) – Tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima) is a highly invasive plant species native to China and East Asia, that impacts natural areas, agricultural areas, and urban areas. It was first introduced into the U.S. around 1784 by William Hamilton at his […]

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Misgivings over Miscanthus

The distinctive inflorescence of Chinese silver grass. Photo by James H. Miller, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org.

Contact:  Michael Ellis, M-NCPPC | Michael.Ellis@pgparks.com | Written by Kerrie Kyde. ANNAPOLIS, MD (November 1, 2017) – Tall silver and white and even purple plumes of grass nodding from old fields and road edges may catch your eye as they are tossed by autumn winds. Graceful and attractive in gardens, some ornamental grasses are rapidly becoming natural […]

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