There are many organizations across Canada working to slow the progress of Invasive Plant Species. The Canadian Council on Invasive Species coordinates Plant Wise Programs. As part of this program, provincial councils publish Grow Me Instead guides (linked below) that identify invasive ornamental species and suggest alternatives.
CCIPR believes these invasive species should be regulated or labelled to make it clear to the public they pose a potential threat to the environment or socio-economic health. A team of experts is required to determine which plants should be prohibited and which should require warning tags at point of sale in various jurisdictions. Those evaluation decisions should be based on risk assessments available in publicly accessible national database and coordinated across provinces and territories.
Some of the ornamental terrestrial and aquatic invasive plants currently identified by invasive plants councils, the Invasive Alien Plants in Canada – Technical Report across Canada include:
Velvetleaf (Abuliton theophrasti)
Amur Maple (Acer ginnala)
Norway Maple (Acer platanoides)
Sycamore maple (Acer pseudoplatanus)
Goutweed (Aegopodium podagraria)
Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus altissima)
Garlic mustard (Ailliaria petiolata)
Bugleweed (Ajuga reptans)
Lady’s Mantle (Alchemilla mollis)
Woodland Angelica (Angelica sylvestris)
Japanese Barberry (Berberis thunbergii)
Butterfly Bush (Buddleja davidii)
Flowering Rush (Butomus umbellatus)
Carolinian Fanwort (Cabomba caroliniana)
Creeping Bellflower (Campanula rapunculoides)
Siberian Peashrub (Caragana arborescens)
Oriental Bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus)
Knapweeds: Bachelor’s Buttons, Big Knapweed Mountain Bluet (Centaurea Centaurea cyanus, C. macrocephala, C. montana)
Yellow Clematis (Clematis tengutica)
Lily of the Valley (Convallaria majalis)
Hound’s tongue (Cynoglossum officinale)
Broom (Cystitis scoparius)
Spurge-Laurel (Daphne laureola)
Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea)
Blueweed (Echium vulgare)
Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes)
Water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes)
Russian and Autumn Olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia & E. umbellata)
Wintercreeper and burning bush (Euonymus alatus, E. fortunei)
Spurges – Leafy, Myrtle, and Cypress (Euphorbia esula, E. myrsinites, E. cyparissias)
Glossy Buckthorn (Frangula alnus)
Baby’s breath (Gypsophila paniculata)
English Ivy (Hedera helix)
Daylily (Hemerocallis fulva)
Giant Hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum)
Dame’s Rocket (Hesperis matronalis)
Introduced Hawkweeds (Hieracium spp. including H. aurantiaccum, H. pilosella)
Sea Buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides)
Hydrilla (Hydrilla verticillata)
European Frog-Bit (Hydrocharis morsus-ranae)
St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum)
English Holly (Ilex aquifolium)
Himalayan Balsam (Impatiens glandulifera)
Smallflower Touch-Me-Not (Impatiens parviflora)
Yellow Flag Iris (Iris pseudacorus)
African oxygenweed (Lagarosiphon major)
Yellow Archangel (Lamiastrum galeobdolon)
Purple Deadnettle (Lamium purpureum)
Oxeye Daisay (Leucanthemum vulgare)
Toadflax (Linaria dalmatica, L. vulgaris, L. genistifolia subsp. dalmatica)
Japanese Honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica)
Bush Honeysuckles: Tartarian, Amur, Morrow, Bells, European Fly Honeysuckle (Lonicera tatarica, L. maackii, L. morrowii, L x bella, L. xylosteum)
Creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia)
Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria, L. virgatum)
White sweet clover (Melilotus alba)
Miscanthus (Miscanthus sinensis, M. sacchariflorus)
White mulberry (Morus albą)
Parrot’s Feather and Eurasian milfoils (Myriophyllum aquaticum, M. spicatum, M. heterophyllum*)
Nodding star of Bethlehem (Ornithogalum nutans)
Brittle waternymph (Najas minor)
European waterlily (Nymphaea alba)
Yellow Floating Heart (Nymphoides peltata)
Himalayan knotweed (Persicaria wallichii)
Reed Canary Grass (Phalaris arundinacea)
Scotch Pine (Pinus sylvestris)
Water lettuce (Pistia stratiotes)
Silver Poplar (Populus alba)
Curly-leaf pondweed (Potamogeton crispus)
European bird cherry (Prunus padus)
Japanese, Giant, Bohemian Knotweed (Reynoutria japonica syn Fallopia japonica, R. sachalinensis, R. × bohemica)
Common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica)
Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia)
Multiflora and Rugosa Rose (Rosa multiflora and R. Rugosa)
Goldmoss Stonecrop (Sedum acre)
False Spirea (Sorbaria sorbifolia)
European mountain ash (Sorbus aucuparia)
Water soldier (Stratiotes aloides)
Comfrey (Symphytum officinale)
Salt Cedar (Tamarix spp. T. ramosissima, T. chiniensis, T. parviflora or any cultivars, variety, or hybrids)
Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare)
Water Chestnut (Trapa natans)
Narrow Leaf and White Cattail (Typha angustifolia, T. x glauca)
Common Valerian (Valeriana officinalis)
European high-bush cranberry (Viburnum opulus)
Periwinkle (Vinca major, V. minor)
Black and pale swallow-worts (Vincetoxicum nigrum; syn. Cynanchum louiseae & V. rossicum)
Wildflower Mixes that contain invasive species
*native and introduced variants
Invasive species council and agency lists used to form the above list:
- Canadian Council on Invasive Species https://canadainvasives.ca
- Alberta Invasive Council Grow Me Instead
- BC Invasive Species Council Grow Me Instead
- Manitoba Invasive Species Council Grow Me Instead (pdf)
- New Brunswick Council of Invasive Species www.nbala.ca/new-brunswick-council-of-invasive-species
- Newfoundland and Labrador – Exotic and Invasive Alien Speices in Newfoundland and Labrador (pdf)
- Northwest Territories – Invasive and Alien Species Information Page; A Risk Assessment of Invasive Alien Species in the NWT
- Nova Scotia Invasive Species Council Invasive Species List
- Nunavut – Non-native invasive species in Nunavut (Poster)
- Ontario Invasive Plant Council Grow Me Instead; Ontario Invasive Species Awareness
- PEI Invasive Species Council Invasive Plant Lists
- Saskatchewan Invasive Species Council Invasive Plant Fact Sheets
- Yukon Invasive Species Council Grow Me Instead (pdf)
Additional Invasive Plant Lists:
Invasive Species Centre (ISC) Plant Lists
British Columbia:
Official BC Ministry of Forests invasive species list
Ontario:
Credit Valley Conservation Invasive Plant List 2021
Upper Thames Conservation Non-native plants