Invasive plants regulated in Florida (72 species, cited)

Invasive plants regulated in Florida

Florida lists 72 plants as noxious weeds under Fla. Admin. Code r. 5B-57.007. The table below reproduces that list in full, showing each plant's status in the state's own words. Florida'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].

4 of these plants are 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 Florida 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. 47 of the 72 plants below carry both: Florida names them in statute and GRIIS lists them as invasive in the United States. The other 25 are regulated by Florida 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	Florida’s determination
African Boxthorn	Lycium ferocissimum	Prohibited Invasive	Florida lists African Boxthorn as a noxious weed.
African Couchgrass	Digitaria abyssinica	Prohibited	Florida lists African Couchgrass as a noxious weed.
African Feathergrass	Pennisetum macrourum	Prohibited Invasive	Florida lists African Feathergrass as a noxious weed.
Air Yam	Dioscorea bulbifera	Prohibited Invasive	Florida lists Air Yam as a noxious weed.
Alligatorweed	Alternanthera philoxeroides	Prohibited Invasive	Florida lists Alligatorweed as a noxious weed.
Animated Oat	Avena sterilis	Prohibited Invasive	Florida lists Animated Oat as a noxious weed.
Arrowleaf Falsepickerelweed	Monochoria hastata	Prohibited	Florida lists Arrowleaf Falsepickerelweed as a noxious weed.
Asian Marshweed	Limnophila sessiliflora	Prohibited Invasive	Florida lists Asian Marshweed as a noxious weed.
Asian Nakedwood	Colubrina asiatica	Prohibited Invasive	Florida lists Asian Nakedwood as a noxious weed.
Beach Sheoak	Casuarina equisetifolia	Prohibited Invasive	Florida lists Beach Sheoak as a noxious weed.
Blood Grass	Imperata cylindrica	Prohibited Invasive	Florida lists Blood Grass as a noxious weed.Plant instead: Kentucky Bluegrass, Manyspike Flatsedge, Blunt Spikerush
Brazilian Satintail	Imperata brasiliensis	Prohibited	Florida lists Brazilian Satintail as a noxious weed.
Brownbeard Rice	Oryza rufipogon	Prohibited	Florida lists Brownbeard Rice as a noxious weed.
Carrotwood	Cupaniopsis anacardioides	Prohibited Invasive	Florida lists Carrotwood as a noxious weed.
Chinese Sprangletop	Leptochloa chinensis	Prohibited	Florida lists Chinese Sprangletop as a noxious weed.
Climbing Fern	Lygodium japonicum	Prohibited Invasive	Florida lists Climbing Fern as a noxious weed.
Common Crupina	Crupina vulgaris	Prohibited Invasive	Florida lists Common Crupina as a noxious weed.
Crested Floatingheart	Nymphoides cristata	Prohibited	Florida lists Crested Floatingheart as a noxious weed.
Eurasian Watermilfoil	Myriophyllum spicatum	Prohibited Invasive	Florida lists Eurasian Watermilfoil as a noxious weed.
Giant False Sensitive Plant	Mimosa diplotricha	Prohibited	Florida lists Giant False Sensitive Plant as a noxious weed.
Giant Hogweed	Heracleum mantegazzianum	Prohibited Invasive	Florida lists Giant Hogweed as a noxious weed.
Gloria De La Manana	Ipomoea carnea subsp. fistulosa	Prohibited Invasive	Florida lists Gloria De La Manana as a noxious weed.
Golden False Beardgrass	Chrysopogon aciculatus	Prohibited	Florida lists Golden False Beardgrass as a noxious weed.
Gray Sheoak	Casuarina glauca	Prohibited Invasive	Florida lists Gray Sheoak as a noxious weed.
Heartleaf Hempvine	Mikania cordata	Prohibited	Florida lists Heartleaf Hempvine as a noxious weed.
Heartshape False Pickerelweed	Monochoria vaginalis	Prohibited	Florida lists Heartshape False Pickerelweed as a noxious weed.
Hen's Eyes	Ardisia crenata	Prohibited Invasive	Florida lists Hen's Eyes as a noxious weed.
Indian Swampweed	Hygrophila polysperma	Prohibited Invasive	Florida lists Indian Swampweed as a noxious weed.
Japanese Honeysuckle	Lonicera japonica	Prohibited Invasive	Florida lists Japanese Honeysuckle as a noxious weed.Plant instead: Crimsoneyed Rosemallow, Shining Fetterbush, Maryland Senna
Jeweled Distaff Thistle	Carthamus oxyacanthus	Prohibited	Florida lists Jeweled Distaff Thistle as a noxious weed.
Jio	Commelina benghalensis	Prohibited Invasive	Florida lists Jio as a noxious weed.
Kikuyugrass	Pennisetum clandestinum	Prohibited Invasive	Florida lists Kikuyugrass as a noxious weed.
Kodomillet	Paspalum scrobiculatum	Prohibited	Florida lists Kodomillet as a noxious weed.
Kyasuma Grass	Pennisetum pedicellatum	Prohibited Invasive	Florida lists Kyasuma Grass as a noxious weed.
Littlebell	Ipomoea triloba	Prohibited Invasive	Florida lists Littlebell as a noxious weed.
Lollipop Mimosa US native	Mimosa pellita	Prohibited Invasive	Florida lists Lollipop Mimosa as a noxious weed.
Longstamen Rice	Oryza longistaminata	Prohibited	Florida lists Longstamen Rice as a noxious weed.
Malabar Melastome US native	Melastoma malabathricum	Prohibited	Florida lists Malabar Melastome as a noxious weed.
Mexican Fireplant US native	Euphorbia heterophylla	Prohibited	Florida lists Mexican Fireplant as a noxious weed.
Mile-A-Minute	Mikania micrantha	Prohibited Invasive	Florida lists Mile-A-Minute as a noxious weed.
Mission Grass	Pennisetum polystachion	Prohibited Invasive	Florida lists Mission Grass as a noxious weed.
Nechamandra	Nechamandra alternifolia	Prohibited	Florida lists Nechamandra as a noxious weed.
Onionweed	Asphodelus fistulosus	Prohibited Invasive	Florida lists Onionweed as a noxious weed.
Professor-Weed	Galega officinalis	Prohibited Invasive	Florida lists Professor-Weed as a noxious weed.
Purple Loosestrife	Lythrum salicaria	Prohibited Invasive	Florida lists Purple Loosestrife as a noxious weed.Plant instead: Crimsoneyed Rosemallow, Oakleaf Hydrangea, Hairy Lespedeza
Red Rice	Oryza punctata	Prohibited	Florida lists Red Rice as a noxious weed.
Ribbed Murainagrass	Ischaemum rugosum	Prohibited	Florida lists Ribbed Murainagrass as a noxious weed.
River She-Oak	Casuarina cunninghamiana	Prohibited Invasive	Florida lists River She-Oak as a noxious weed.
Rosarypea	Abrus precatorius	Prohibited Invasive	Florida lists Rosarypea as a noxious weed.
Sandwort Drymary	Drymaria arenarioides	Prohibited	Florida lists Sandwort Drymary as a noxious weed.
Serrated Tussock	Nassella trichotoma	Prohibited Invasive	Florida lists Serrated Tussock as a noxious weed.
Sessile Joyweed	Alternanthera sessilis	Prohibited Invasive	Florida lists Sessile Joyweed as a noxious weed.
Sewer Vine	Paederia cruddasiana	Prohibited Invasive	Florida lists Sewer Vine as a noxious weed.
Shoebutton	Ardisia elliptica	Prohibited Invasive	Florida lists Shoebutton as a noxious weed.
Silkreed	Neyraudia reynaudiana	Prohibited Invasive	Florida lists Silkreed as a noxious weed.
Small-Leaf Climbing Fern	Lygodium microphyllum	Prohibited Invasive	Florida lists Small-Leaf Climbing Fern as a noxious weed.
Southern Threecornerjack	Emex australis	Prohibited Invasive	Florida lists Southern Threecornerjack as a noxious weed.
Spiny Threecornerjack	Emex spinosa	Prohibited Invasive	Florida lists Spiny Threecornerjack as a noxious weed.
Sticky Snakeroot	Ageratina adenophora	Prohibited Invasive	Florida lists Sticky Snakeroot as a noxious weed.
Stinkvine	Paederia foetida	Prohibited Invasive	Florida lists Stinkvine as a noxious weed.
Sunshine Chinese Privet	Ligustrum sinense 'Sunshine'	Prohibited Invasive	Florida lists Sunshine Chinese Privet as a noxious weed.
Swamp Morning-Glory	Ipomoea aquatica	Prohibited Invasive	Florida lists Swamp Morning-Glory as a noxious weed.
Swamp Stonecrop	Crassula helmsii	Prohibited	Florida lists Swamp Stonecrop as a noxious weed.
Tiger-Pear	Opuntia aurantiaca	Prohibited	Florida lists Tiger-Pear as a noxious weed.
Velvet Crabgrass	Digitaria velutina	Prohibited	Florida lists Velvet Crabgrass as a noxious weed.
Water Lettuce US native	Pistia stratiotes	Prohibited	Florida lists Water Lettuce as a noxious weed.Plant instead: Waterpod, Kentucky Bluegrass, Valley Redstem
Water Yam	Dioscorea alata	Prohibited Invasive	Florida lists Water Yam as a noxious weed.
Waterthyme	Hydrilla verticillata	Prohibited Invasive	Florida lists Waterthyme as a noxious weed.Plant instead: Yellow Fumewort, Poverty Rush, Autumn Bluegrass
White Leadtree	Leucaena leucocephala	Prohibited Invasive	Florida lists White Leadtree as a noxious weed.
Winged False Buttonweed	Spermacoce alata	Prohibited	Florida lists Winged False Buttonweed as a noxious weed.
Yellow Floatingheart	Nymphoides peltata	Prohibited Invasive	Florida lists Yellow Floatingheart as a noxious weed.Plant instead: Valley Redstem, Purple Coneflower, Salt Heliotrope
Yellow Velvetleaf	Limnocharis flava	Prohibited	Florida lists Yellow Velvetleaf as a noxious weed.

What the tags mean

Prohibited Restricted Listed

A legal status. Florida 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 Florida’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

Florida listings: Fla. Admin. Code r. 5B-57.007. 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 Florida’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.

Questions

What plants are illegal to sell in Florida?

Florida'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. 72 plants are named under Fla. Admin. Code r. 5B-57.007. 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 Florida?

Search the table on this page, or enter the plant's name in Ezina's checker to get its Florida 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 Florida?

No. This page reproduces what Florida 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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