Contact: Cathy Stragar, MDA | Catherine.Stragar@maryland.gov Photo courtesy of Chris Joll © 2017 ANNAPOLIS, MD (August 01, 2017) – A minor player on the invasive team’s bench of heavy hitters, the Asiatic oak weevil is still an invader to watch, especially for forest managers and invasion ecologists. Indigenous to Japan, the Asiatic oak weevil was first […]
Contact: Kerrie Kyde kerrie.kyde@maryland.gov and Jil Swearingen jilswearingen@gmail.com ANNAPOLIS, MD (July 04, 2017) – Even if you don’t have a degree in science, you can help support scientific research through a number of “citizen science” efforts. For invasive species research in Maryland, one of the best ways to help is through data collection. Collecting data is […]
Contact: Dawn Miller | Dawn.Miller2@maryland.gov ANNAPOLIS, MD (June 04, 2017) – Although it is an attractive herbaceous perennial named after Iris, the Greek goddess of the rainbow, yellow flag iris is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Because of its invasive tendencies and negative impacts in natural and agricultural systems, Iris pseudacorus, commonly known as yellow flag iris, […]
Contact: Damien Ossi | Damien.Ossi@dc.gov ANNAPOLIS, MD (May 01, 2017) – Incised fumewort (Corydalis incisa), also known as purple keman, is a biennial, shade-tolerant forb in the poppy family, related to bleeding-hearts and to the showy garden perennial spring fumewort. It is native to eastern Asia. Incised fumewort appears to be uncommon in the horticultural trade, […]
Contact: Sylvan Kaufman | Sylvan.Kaufman@gmail.com ANNAPOLIS, MD (April 01, 2017) – Gardeners love viburnums for their white spring flowers, compact growth, and colorful fall fruits and foliage. Few gardeners know that some viburnums have become invasive plants and should be avoided. Linden viburnum (Viburnum dilatatum), doublefile viburnum or Japanese snowball (V. plicatum), and Siebold viburnum (V. […]
Contact: Ramesh R Pokharel, Plant Pathologist, Maryland Department of Agriculture| ramesh.pokharel@maryland.gov ANNAPOLIS, MD (January 05, 2017) – Sudden oak death, a relatively new disease, caused by the pathogen Phytophthora ramorum, was found for the first time in 1995, infecting oaks in California. The disease was known only in California and southwestern Oregon until 2002. However, the U.S. […]
Contact: Matt Salo, Naturalist, Town of CheverlyKerrie L. Kyde, Maryland DNR Kerrie.Kyde@maryland.gov ANNAPOLIS, MD (December 01, 2016) – Invasive plants cost the U.S. economy billions of dollars each year due to losses they incur in agriculture, forestry, fisheries and the recreation industry, plus the damage they do to native ecosystems. Does genetic make-up affect a plant’s […]
Contact: Scott Smith | scott.smith@maryland.gov ANNAPOLIS, MD (November 01, 2016) – Chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis or Bd), has been called the greatest threat to global amphibian biodiversity, having caused the disappearance of more than 200 of the world’s frog species since the 1970s. Now there’s a frightening “new kid on the block” called BSal, short for Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans, a close […]
Contact: Jonathan McKnight | jonathan.mcknight@maryland.gov ANNAPOLIS, MD (October 01, 2016) – Lionfish have a lot going for them. They are a spectacular little fish, highly variable in coloration and carrying a halo of ornate fin spines that appear both delicate and menacing. Their spines can deliver a powerful toxic assault on a would-be predator or a […]
Contact: John Peter Thompson | ipetrus1@msn.com ORKerrie Kyde | Kerrie.Kyde@Maryland.gov ANNAPOLIS, MD (September 01, 2016) – Plume grass, or Ravennagrass (Saccharum ravennae, and many synonyms) is a botanical cousin to sugar cane. But its escape from ornamental plantings to naturalized patches is not so sweet. Reported as escaped in natural landscapes of the lower Chesapeake Bay and as […]
