Ezina · A field manual for plant care · Contiguous U.S.Vol. I · Ed. 2027 · Proof copy

Invasive plants regulated in Indiana

Indiana regulates 43 invasive plants under 312 IAC 18-3-25. The table below reproduces that list in full, showing each plant's status in the state's own words. Indiana's list is a trade restriction, which governs what may be sold, propagated, or moved within the state.

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].

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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 Indiana 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. 40 of the 43 plants below carry both: Indiana names them in statute and GRIIS lists them as invasive in the United States. The other 3 are regulated by Indiana 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 Indiana’s determination
Amur Corktree Phellodendron amurense Prohibited Invasive Indiana lists Amur Corktree as a prohibited invasive terrestrial plant.Plant instead: Shingle Oak, Western Catalpa, Post Oak
Amur Honeysuckle Lonicera maackii Prohibited Invasive Indiana lists Amur Honeysuckle as a prohibited invasive terrestrial plant.Plant instead: Hercules's Club, Bog Birch, Rough-Leaf Dogwood
Asiatic Tearthumb Polygonum perfoliatum Prohibited Invasive Indiana lists Asiatic Tearthumb as a prohibited invasive terrestrial plant.
Autumn Olive Elaeagnus umbellata Prohibited Invasive Indiana lists Autumn Olive as a prohibited invasive terrestrial plant.Plant instead: Chokecherry, Red-Barked Dogwood, Redosier Dogwood
Black Alder Alnus glutinosa Prohibited Invasive Indiana lists Black Alder as a prohibited invasive terrestrial plant.Plant instead: Shingle Oak, Western Catalpa, Post Oak
Bohemian Knotweed Polygonum x bohemicum Prohibited Indiana lists Bohemian Knotweed as a prohibited invasive terrestrial plant.
Border Privet Ligustrum obtusifolium Prohibited Invasive Indiana lists Border Privet as a prohibited invasive terrestrial plant.Plant instead: Crimsoneyed Rosemallow, Harvestlice, Streambank Wild Hollyhock
Broadleaved Pepperweed Lepidium latifolium Prohibited Invasive Indiana lists Broadleaved Pepperweed as a prohibited invasive terrestrial plant.
Bull Thistle Cirsium vulgare Prohibited Invasive Indiana lists Bull Thistle as a prohibited invasive terrestrial plant.
Chinese Yam Dioscorea oppositifolia Prohibited Invasive Indiana lists Chinese Yam as a prohibited invasive terrestrial plant.Plant instead: Rough-Leaf Dogwood, Common Witch Hazel, Speckled Alder
Common Buckthorn Rhamnus cathartica Prohibited Invasive Indiana lists Common Buckthorn as a prohibited invasive terrestrial plant.Plant instead: Hercules's Club, Bog Birch, Rough-Leaf Dogwood
Common Wormwood Artemisia vulgaris Prohibited Invasive Indiana lists Common Wormwood as a prohibited invasive terrestrial plant.Plant instead: Coast Cockspur Grass, Crimsoneyed Rosemallow, Common Rush
Crownvetch Securigera varia Prohibited Invasive Indiana lists Crownvetch as a prohibited invasive terrestrial plant.
Cutleaf Teasel Dipsacus laciniatus Prohibited Invasive Indiana lists Cutleaf Teasel as a prohibited invasive terrestrial plant.
Dames Rocket Hesperis matronalis Prohibited Invasive Indiana lists Dames Rocket as a prohibited invasive terrestrial plant.Plant instead: Maryland Senna, Roundleaf Goldenrod, Harvestlice
European Swallow-Wort Cynanchum rossicum Prohibited Invasive Indiana lists European Swallow-Wort as a prohibited invasive terrestrial plant.
Field Bindweed Convolvulus arvensis Prohibited Invasive Indiana lists Field Bindweed as a prohibited invasive terrestrial plant.
Fuller's Teasel Dipsacus fullonum Prohibited Indiana lists Fuller's Teasel as a prohibited invasive terrestrial plant.
Garlic Mustard Alliaria petiolata Prohibited Invasive Indiana lists Garlic Mustard as a prohibited invasive terrestrial plant.
Giant Knotweed Polygonum sachalinense Prohibited Invasive Indiana lists Giant Knotweed as a prohibited invasive terrestrial plant.
Glossy Buckthorn Frangula alnus Prohibited Invasive Indiana lists Glossy Buckthorn as a prohibited invasive terrestrial plant.Plant instead: Rough-Leaf Dogwood, Common Witch Hazel, Speckled Alder
Japanese Barberry Berberis thunbergii Prohibited Invasive Indiana lists Japanese Barberry as a prohibited invasive terrestrial plant.Plant instead: Crimsoneyed Rosemallow, Harvestlice, Streambank Wild Hollyhock
Japanese Chaff Flower Achyranthes japonica Prohibited Invasive Indiana lists Japanese Chaff Flower as a prohibited invasive terrestrial plant.
Japanese Honeysuckle Lonicera japonica Prohibited Invasive Indiana lists Japanese Honeysuckle as a prohibited invasive terrestrial plant.Plant instead: Crimsoneyed Rosemallow, Maryland Senna, Roundleaf Goldenrod
Japanese Hop Humulus japonicus Prohibited Invasive Indiana lists Japanese Hop as a prohibited invasive terrestrial plant.
Japanese Knotweed Fallopia japonica (potentially invasive weed) Prohibited Invasive Indiana lists Japanese Knotweed as a prohibited invasive terrestrial plant.
Leafy Spurge Euphorbia esula Prohibited Invasive Indiana lists Leafy Spurge as a prohibited invasive terrestrial plant.
Louise's Swallow-Wort Cynanchum louiseae Prohibited Invasive Indiana lists Louise's Swallow-Wort as a prohibited invasive terrestrial plant.
Morrow's Honeysuckle Lonicera morrowii Prohibited Invasive Indiana lists Morrow's Honeysuckle as a prohibited invasive terrestrial plant.Plant instead: Crimsoneyed Rosemallow, Harvestlice, Streambank Wild Hollyhock
Nepalese Browntop Microstegium vimineum Prohibited Invasive Indiana lists Nepalese Browntop as a prohibited invasive terrestrial plant.
Nodding Plumeless Thistle Carduus nutans Prohibited Invasive Indiana lists Nodding Plumeless Thistle as a prohibited invasive terrestrial plant.
Oriental Bittersweet Celastrus orbiculatus Prohibited Invasive Indiana lists Oriental Bittersweet as a prohibited invasive terrestrial plant.Plant instead: Rough-Leaf Dogwood, Common Witch Hazel, Stiff Dogwood
Poison Hemlock Conium maculatum Prohibited Invasive Indiana lists Poison Hemlock as a prohibited invasive terrestrial plant.
Purple Winter Creeper Euonymus fortunei Prohibited Invasive Indiana lists Purple Winter Creeper as a prohibited invasive terrestrial plant.Plant instead: Wild Sarsaparilla, Jack in the Pulpit, Bristlystalked Sedge
Reed Canarygrass US native Phalaris arundinacea Prohibited Indiana lists Reed Canarygrass as a prohibited invasive terrestrial plant.Plant instead: Coast Cockspur Grass, Common Rush, Western Brackenfern
Sericea Lespedeza Lespedeza cuneata Prohibited Invasive Indiana lists Sericea Lespedeza as a prohibited invasive terrestrial plant.
Showy Fly Honeysuckle Lonicera x bella Prohibited Invasive Indiana lists Showy Fly Honeysuckle as a prohibited invasive terrestrial plant.Plant instead: Crimsoneyed Rosemallow, Harvestlice, Streambank Wild Hollyhock
Small Carpetgrass Arthraxon hispidus Prohibited Invasive Indiana lists Small Carpetgrass as a prohibited invasive terrestrial plant.
Spiny Plumeless Thistle Carduus acanthoides Prohibited Invasive Indiana lists Spiny Plumeless Thistle as a prohibited invasive terrestrial plant.
Spotted Knapweed Centaurea stoebe Prohibited Invasive Indiana lists Spotted Knapweed as a prohibited invasive terrestrial plant.
Tatarian Honeysuckle Lonicera tatarica Prohibited Invasive Indiana lists Tatarian Honeysuckle as a prohibited invasive terrestrial plant.Plant instead: Crimsoneyed Rosemallow, Hairy Lespedeza, American Black Elderberry
Tree of Heaven Ailanthus altissima Prohibited Invasive Indiana lists Tree of Heaven as a prohibited invasive terrestrial plant.Plant instead: Shingle Oak, Western Catalpa, Post Oak
White Mulberry Morus alba Prohibited Invasive Indiana lists White Mulberry as a prohibited invasive terrestrial plant.Plant instead: Western Catalpa, Osage-Orange, Cockspur Hawthorn

What the tags mean

Prohibited Restricted Listed

A legal status. Indiana 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 Indiana’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

Indiana listings
312 IAC 18-3-25. 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 Indiana’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 Indiana

Plants that two or more states bordering Indiana regulate, and Indiana 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.

Questions

What plants are illegal to sell in Indiana?

43 plants are regulated under 312 IAC 18-3-25. Plants marked Prohibited may not be sold, propagated, or moved within Indiana. Plants marked Restricted carry narrower limits set by the rule.

Is my plant invasive in Indiana?

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

No. This page reproduces what Indiana 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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