It's Illegal to Buy & Sell These Plants in Massachusetts

It's the time of year when many people are tending to their gardens and making their property look as beautiful as possible. In addition to gardens, some people may have their decks, patios, and some rooms in their houses lined with beautiful, healthy plants but keep in mind there are some plants that are illegal to buy and sell in Massachusetts.

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The following is a list of plants that are prohibited from buying, selling, importing, and trading in Massachusetts as they are determined to be invasive. The list is courtesy of mass.gov (these are the common names).

aeginetia
African boxthorn
African couch grass
African feathergrass
alectra
alfombrilla
ambulia
Amur cork-tree
Amur honeysuckle
anchored water hyacinth
animated oat
Argentine screwbean
arrowhead
Asian sprangletop
autumn olive
Bell's honeysuckle
Benghal dayflower
Bishop's weed; goutweed
black locust
black swallow-wort
border privet
borreria
Brazilian satintail
Brazilian waterweed; Anacharis; Brazillan eloda
brittle water-nymph; lesser naiad
broad-leafed pepperweed; tall pepperweed
broomrape
brownbeard rice; red rice
burning bush; winged euonymus
bushy rock-cress; narrowleaf bittercress
Cape tulip
Carolina fanwort; fanwort
catclaw mimosa
cattail grass; yellow foxtail
caulerpa
coat buttons
coltsfoot
common barberry; European Barberry
common buckthorn
common crupina
common reed
creeping buttercup
creeping Jenny; moneywort
crisped pondweed; curly pondweed
crofton weed
Cypress spurge
dame's rocket
devil's thorn
dodder
duck-lettuce
Eurasian or European water-milfoil; Spike water-milfoil
European buckthorn; glossy buckthorn Frangula alnus;
exotic bur-reed
flowering rush
forget-me-not
garlic mustard
giant false sensitive plant; false sensitive plant
giant hogweed
giant salvinia; eared watermoss
giant salvinia; kariba-weed
giant salvinia
goatsrue
gray willow, rusty willow
hair fescue; fineleaf sheep fescue
hairy joint grass; jointhead; small carpetgrass
hairy willow-herb; codlins and cream
horned poppy; sea poppy; yellow hornpoppy
hydrilla; water-thyme; Florida elodea
itchgrass
Japanese barberry
Japanese black pine
Japanese honeysuckle
Japanese hops
Japanese knotweed
Japanese sedge; Asiatic sand sedge
Japanese stiltgrass; Nepalese browntop
jointed prickly pear
kiawe
kikuyugrass
Kodo-millet
kudzu; Japanese arrowroot
Kyasuma grass
large gray willow
leafy spurge; wolf's milk
lesser celandine; fig buttercup
liverseed grass
longstamen rice; red rice
Malabar melastome
melaleuca
mile-a-minute vine or weed; Asiatic tearthumb
mile-a-minute; bittervine
mile-a-minute; heartleaf hempvine
Miramar weed
missiongrass Pennisetum polystachyon;
monochoria
Morrow's honeysuckle
mosquito fern
multiflora rose
murain-grass
Norway maple
onion weed
oxygen weed
pale swallow-wort
parrot-feather; water-feather; Brazilian water-milfoil
pickerel weed
pilipiliula
plume grass; Amur silvergrass
porcelain-berry; Amur peppervine
purple loosestrife
red rice
reed canary-grass, ribbon grass
Scotch broom
serrated tussock
sessile joyweed
spotted knapweed
sycamore maple
tall mannagrass; reed mannagrass
tansy ragwort; stinking Willie
Tatarian honeysuckle
three-cornered jack
tornillo
tree of heaven
tropical soda apple
turkeyberry
variable water-milfoil; two-leaved water-milfoil
velvet fingergrass
velvet mesquite
water yellowcress; great yellowcress
water chestnut
water spinach (Permit required - contact Department)
weeping lovegrass
wetland nightshade
wild blackberry complex
wild blackberry
wild chervil
wild safflower; jeweled distaff thistle
wild sugarcane
wineberry; Japanese wineberry; wine raspberry
witchweed
wormleaf salsola
yellow floating heart
yellow Iris

A reminder, no matter where you live in Massachusetts including Boston, Worcester, Springfield, etc. these plants are illegal to buy, sell, trade, and import.

You can find the list under the scientific names here.

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