Indiana Native Plant Society
Indiana Invasive Species Week, April 19-25, 2020
I used to attempt to suppress the intense feelings that have
rained over me when I experienced nature, (plants, birds, salamanders, the
sound of thunder, the power of water, and our own amazing human bodies), but I
finally gave away that notion and have since let it guide me to learn and appreciate
life.
As we celebrate Indiana Invasive Species Week, I hope that
by focusing not only on invasive species, but also on native species you can
share the excitement and the call to action that nature inspires in myself and
many others.
Over the next seven days we will compose a blog a day that
will include the following:
A regulated terrestrial invasive
plant in the Indiana Terrestrial Plant Rule (rule):
312 IAC 18-3-25,
A plant that is not regulated by
the Rule but is still invasive in Indiana,
Alternatives that are native to
Indiana that you may consider using in your landscape with a few plant-insect
interactions for those native plants.
Plants I include are merely to whet your appetite and are
not meant to limit plant selections for your landscape. The two attached
resources are more comprehensive and provide a longer list of plants.
We do need to recall the definition of the term “invasive”– it is an alien
species whose introduction does or is likely to cause economic or environmental
harm or harm to human health. "Alien species" means, with respect to
a particular ecosystem, any species, including its seeds, eggs, spores, or
other biological material capable of propagating that species, that is not
native to that ecosystem. Invasive species cause harm, therefore, avoid
planting them and please manage them to decrease or eradicate infestations.
Please note I reference the USDA Plant Database (https://plants.usda.gov/)
for species’ names.
Sunday:
Regulated terrestrial invasive plant: winter creeper (Euonymus
fortunei)
Non-regulated terrestrial invasive plant: Callery pear (Pyrus
calleryana)
Native alternatives for your landscape in Indiana:
Ground
covers:
Wild
ginger (Asarum canadensis) – pollinator connection: flies
Jacob’s ladder (Polemonium
reptans) - pollinator connection: bumble bees, solitary bees and beetles
Common wood sedge (Carex blanda)
or rosy sedge (Carex rosea) – Carex species are considered host plants for
butterflies and moth larva.
Trees:
Downy or Allegheny Serviceberry (Amelanchier
arborea or A. laevis ) – pollinator connection: bees, beetles,
flies and host for striped hairstreak
Flowering dogwood (Cornus
florida) – pollinator connection: birds and butterflies and host for spring
azure
Oaks (Quercus species) –
Native oaks are powerhouses when it comes to providing for pollinators, as hosts
for moth and butterflies, and providing food for birds and other wildlife. If
you have room plant a native oak. Note that sawtooth oak (Quercus
acutissima) is not native to Indiana and should be avoided.
Lastly, additional resources:
Southern Indiana
Cooperative Invasives Management (SICIM):
Indiana Wildlife
Federation: https://www.indianawildlife.org/wildlife/native-plants/
Indiana
Department of Natural Resources: https://www.in.gov/dnr/
Indiana
Invasive Species Council: indianainvasivespecies.org
The Nature Conservancy in Indiana:
https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/united-states/indiana/
Purdue Extension: https://extension.purdue.edu/subcategory/16
Have a great week and I hope you take the opportunity to get out this week to celebrate Indiana Invasive Species Week and Earth Day. The two events certainly compliment each other.
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