Forest
Stewardship News Release
June
20, 2003 - For Immediate Release
Contact: Rance
Harmon, Phone: 814-863-0401 E-mail: rsh144@psu.edu
Three
New Invasive Weeds Publications Released: Free Copies Available
By Amy Ridenhour, Penn
State Extension Assistant
Weeds don't only cause problems in farms and gardens; they are major nuisances in our forests as well. Weeds that cause economic or environmental harm are also know as invasive plants. According to David Jackson, a Forest Resources Extension Educator, "Invasive plants are causing a severe problem by interfering with the regeneration of native trees." Jackson has written three new fact sheets to help private forest owners and other land managers understand the issue and take action.
Most invasive plants in Pennsylvania were either intentionally or unintentionally introduced to our region from other parts of the world. Without the animals, plants, and natural processes that keep foreign plants in balance in their homelands, they can quickly invade our forests and natural areas, displacing our native plants.
Jackson profiled three troublesome species for the Cooperative Extension's Invasive Weeds series:
- Autumn olive, a large shrub
introduced from Asia in the 1830s, was widely planted in the 1960s to
provide wildlife food and cover;
- Japanese barberry, introduced
from Japan around 1875, was planted as an ornamental shrub for its scarlet
fruit and orange-red autumn foliage;
- Tree-of-heaven, a fast growing tree with compound, sumac-like leaves, has a strong, distinct smell. A gardener in Philadelphia brought tree-of-heaven to the United States in 1874.
All of these plants are easily spread with the help of birds or wind. Other species profiled in the Invasive Weeds series include: Japanese and giant knotweed, bush honeysuckles, multiflora rose, Oriental bittersweet, and mile-a-minute.
To request a free copy of any of the titles in the Invasive Weeds series, contact the Pennsylvania Forest Stewardship Program: 1-800-235-WISE (toll free); contact us on-line ; Forest Stewardship Program, Forest Resources Extension, The Pennsylvania State University, 320 Forest Resources Building, University Park, PA 16802. The Invasive Weeds Fact Sheets are also available through the College of Agricultural Sciences' Publication Web site.
The Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry and USDA Forest Service, in partnership with Penn State's Forest Resources Extension, sponsor the Forest Stewardship Program in Pennsylvania.
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