Invasive Plants or Trees

Canada Thistle is also known as creeping thistle, as well as green or perennial thistle, depending on the source. Others express their opinion about it by calling it hard thistle and cursed thistle. Canada thistle is an aggressive and colonial perennial, with both male and female plants. It is considered a noxious weed in Maryland and many other areas across the U.S.

In this issue: Help us learn more about our readers and subscribers by taking our short survey. Read about a potential ally in the fight against hemlock wooly adelgid, and how Marylanders can get a rebate for planting native trees. There's information about our spring session of "The Woods in Your Backyard" online course, plus our regular features: the "Woodland Wildlife Spotlight" looks at the American beaver and "Invasives in Your Woodlands" looks at Princess tree. And don't forget the events calendar and the Brain Tickler challenge.

The spotted lanternfly (SLF) is a colorful non-native, invasive pest native to Asia that was first detected in the United States in 2014 in Berks County, Pennsylvania. In addition to Pennsylvania, it has been confirmed in Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, West Virginia, and Virginia. In Maryland, Cecil and Harford Counties are under a quarantine. The first instar hatch was recorded in Cecil County in May 2020.

There's news about our new website, as part of the University of Maryland Extension's rebranding efforts. There's also information about the Spotted Lanternfly and about the rebounding forestry industry in Maryland. Our regular features include profiles of the striped skunk in the "Woodland Wildlife Spotlight" and lesser celandine in "Invasives in Your Woodland," as well as our events calendar and the Brain Tickler challenge. Plus, tidbits you may have missed, in the News and Notes section.

In this issue, read about the controversy surrounding glyphosate, as well as some good news for the Maryland forestry industry. Our regular features include the "Woodland Wildlife Spotlight" and "Invasives in Your Woodland."

In this issue: Read about the how new and old can make a positive mix, and the importance of conserving existing forest buffers. Our two popular online courses return for the fall. Our "Native Trees of Maryland" looks at the red maple, and "Invasives in Your Woodlands" looks at Japanese hop. And don't forget the events calendar and the Brain Tickler challenge.

Since its debut as a regular Branching Out feature in 2016, "Invasives in Your Woodland" has profiled a wide variety of invasive plant species that threated the health of Maryland's ecosystems.

Japanese hop is a native of Asia and was imported to North America as an ornamental plant and for Oriental medicinal purposes in the late 1800s. It is an annual vine that can climb or twine around trees, fences, and more. It also spreads rapidly across open spaces and can overgrow and shade out native species in the understory.

Sawtooth oak (Quercus acutissima) is native to Asia, from northeast India to Korea, and was introduced to the eastern U.S. in 1920. However, sawtooth oaks have adapted to a wide area of the nation and now are escaping from plantings into natural areas, particularly in the eastern states, where they can outcompete native species.