Invasive plants regulated in Alabama (28 species, cited)

Invasive plants regulated in Alabama

Alabama lists 28 plants as noxious weeds under Ala. Admin. Code r. 80-10-14-.04. The table below reproduces that list in full, showing each plant's status in the state's own words. Alabama's list is an agricultural noxious-weed law, which governs control and spread on farmland and rights of way rather than what a nursery may sell.

Compiled from the rule itself, retrieved July 20, 2026. Law changes; if you spot a listing we have wrong or stale, tell us at [email protected].

1 of these plant is native to part of the United States, marked US native below. Nativity is regional. Black locust is native to the Appalachians and regulated in New England; Palmer amaranth is native to the Southwest and listed as an agricultural weed in the Corn Belt. A listing tells you what Alabama regulates, not where a plant belongs. The county checker answers the second question.

Regulated and invasive are two different findings, and this page shows them separately. 24 of the 28 plants below carry both: Alabama names them in statute and GRIIS lists them as invasive in the United States. The other 4 are regulated by Alabama without appearing on that register. The reverse is far more common still: most plants GRIIS calls invasive are named in no state’s statute at all and are sold freely, so an absent chip is never a clean bill of health.

Plant	Scientific name	Status	Alabama’s determination
Air Yam	Dioscorea bulbifera	Prohibited Invasive	Alabama lists Air Yam under “Class A.”
Alligatorweed	Alternanthera philoxeroides	Prohibited Invasive	Alabama lists Alligatorweed under “Class C.”
Asiatic Tearthumb	Polygonum perfoliatum	Prohibited Invasive	Alabama lists Asiatic Tearthumb under “Class A.”
Balloon Vine	Cardiospermum halicacabum	Prohibited Invasive	Alabama lists Balloon Vine under “Class C.”
Brazilian Waterweed	Egeria densa	Prohibited Invasive	Alabama lists Brazilian Waterweed under “Class C.”Plant instead: Yellow Fumewort, Poverty Rush, Autumn Bluegrass
Brittle Waternymph	Najas minor	Prohibited Invasive	Alabama lists Brittle Waternymph under “Class C.”
Chamber Bitter	Phyllanthus urinaria	Prohibited Invasive	Alabama lists Chamber Bitter under “Class C.”
Climbing Fern	Lygodium japonicum	Prohibited Invasive	Alabama lists Climbing Fern under “Class B.”
Coltsfoot	Tussilago farfara	Prohibited Invasive	Alabama lists Coltsfoot under “Class A.”Plant instead: Salt Heliotrope, Gray Goldenrod, Curry Plant
Common Reed	Phragmites australis	Prohibited	Alabama lists Common Reed under “Class C.”
Common Water Hyacinth	Eichhornia crassipes	Prohibited Invasive	Alabama lists Common Water Hyacinth under “Class C.”Plant instead: Nodding Lady's Tresses, Valley Redstem, Pale Purple Coneflower
Curly Pondweed	Potamogeton crispus	Prohibited Invasive	Alabama lists Curly Pondweed under “Class C.”
Eurasian Watermilfoil	Myriophyllum spicatum	Prohibited Invasive	Alabama lists Eurasian Watermilfoil under “Class C.”
Garlic Mustard	Alliaria petiolata	Prohibited Invasive	Alabama lists Garlic Mustard under “Class A.”
Hairy Crabweed	Fatoua villosa	Prohibited Invasive	Alabama lists Hairy Crabweed under “Class C.”
Japanese Knotweed	Polygonum cuspidatum	Prohibited	Alabama lists Japanese Knotweed under “Class C.”
Mascarene Island Leaf-Flower	Phyllanthus tenellus	Prohibited Invasive	Alabama lists Mascarene Island Leaf-Flower under “Class C.”
Multiflora Rose	Rosa multiflora	Prohibited Invasive	Alabama lists Multiflora Rose under “Class C.”Plant instead: Crimsoneyed Rosemallow, Oakleaf Hydrangea, Hairy Lespedeza
Nepalese Browntop	Microstegium vimineum	Prohibited Invasive	Alabama lists Nepalese Browntop under “Class C.”
Parrot Feather Watermilfoil	Myriophyllum aquaticum	Prohibited Invasive	Alabama lists Parrot Feather Watermilfoil under “Class C.”Plant instead: Waterpod, Lopsided Rush, Kentucky Bluegrass
Purple Loosestrife	Lythrum salicaria	Prohibited Invasive	Alabama lists Purple Loosestrife under “Class B.”Plant instead: Crimsoneyed Rosemallow, Oakleaf Hydrangea, Hairy Lespedeza
Small-Leaf Climbing Fern	Lygodium microphyllum	Prohibited Invasive	Alabama lists Small-Leaf Climbing Fern under “Class A.”
Star of Bethlehem	Ornithogalum umbellatum	Prohibited Invasive	Alabama lists Star of Bethlehem under “Class C.”
Stinkvine	Paederia foetida	Prohibited Invasive	Alabama lists Stinkvine under “Class B.”
Torpedo Grass	Panicum repens	Prohibited Invasive	Alabama lists Torpedo Grass under “Class C.”
Water Chestnut	Trapa natans	Prohibited Invasive	Alabama lists Water Chestnut under “Class C.”Plant instead: Waterpod, Lopsided Rush, Kentucky Bluegrass
Water Lettuce US native	Pistia stratiotes	Prohibited	Alabama lists Water Lettuce under “Class C.”Plant instead: Waterpod, Lopsided Rush, Kentucky Bluegrass
Water Soldiers	Stratiotes aloides	Prohibited	Alabama lists Water Soldiers under “Class C.”Plant instead: Waterpod, Lopsided Rush, Kentucky Bluegrass

What the tags mean

Prohibited Restricted Listed

A legal status. Alabama names the plant in statute. Under a nursery rule that means it may not be sold, propagated, or moved; under an agricultural weed law it means landowners must control it. The cited rule says which, in Alabama’s own words, in the last column.

Invasive

An ecological finding, and a different question from the law. GRIIS — the Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species — lists the plant as invasive in the United States. Most invasive plants carry no state listing at all and are sold freely, so a plant without this tag is not thereby safe, and a plant without a legal chip is not thereby harmless.

Where this comes from

Alabama listings: Ala. Admin. Code r. 80-10-14-.04. Read the rule.
Invasive status: GRIIS, the Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species, via GBIF. A scientific register with no legal force; it is cited separately from the statute above because the two disagree far more often than they agree.
Status wording: Each determination is written as a sentence, with Alabama’s own term for the plant reproduced verbatim inside it. The Prohibited / Restricted / Listed chips are Ezina’s normalisation across 42 states and are not the legal term.
Nativity: USDA PLANTS county distribution layer, surfaced through the county checker.

Regulated next door, but not in Alabama

Plants that two or more states bordering Alabama regulate, and Alabama does not. A listing is a legal act rather than an ecological one, so a plant can be a documented problem here and still be sold here.

Blood Grass Imperata cylindrica regulated in Florida, Mississippi, Tennessee
Jio Commelina benghalensis regulated in Florida, Mississippi, Tennessee
Brazilian Satintail Imperata brasiliensis regulated in Florida, Mississippi
Kariba-Weed Salvinia molesta regulated in Mississippi, Tennessee
Sunshine Chinese Privet Ligustrum sinense 'Sunshine' regulated in Florida, Tennessee
Tropical Soda Apple Solanum viarum regulated in Mississippi, Tennessee
Waterthyme Hydrilla verticillata regulated in Florida, Mississippi

Questions

What plants are illegal to sell in Alabama?

Alabama's list is an agricultural noxious-weed law, which governs control and spread on farmland and rights of way rather than what a nursery may sell. 28 plants are named under Ala. Admin. Code r. 80-10-14-.04. A noxious-weed listing does not automatically ban nursery sale, so check the rule itself before assuming a plant cannot be bought or sold.

Is my plant invasive in Alabama?

Search the table on this page, or enter the plant's name in Ezina's checker to get its Alabama status alongside whether USDA records it as native to your specific county. Every answer links the record it came from.

Does a plant missing from this list mean it is safe to plant in Alabama?

No. This page reproduces what Alabama regulates, and a state list is a legal instrument rather than an ecological verdict. Plenty of plants spread aggressively without ever being listed, and states add species years after the problem is documented.

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