Invasive plants regulated in Louisiana (27 species, cited)

Invasive plants regulated in Louisiana

Louisiana regulates 27 invasive plants under La. Admin. Code tit. 76, Pt. VII, 1101. The table below reproduces that list in full, showing each plant's status in the state's own words. Louisiana'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].

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 Louisiana 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. 16 of the 27 plants below carry both: Louisiana names them in statute and GRIIS lists them as invasive in the United States. The other 11 are regulated by Louisiana 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	Louisiana’s determination
Anchored Water Hyacinth	Eichhornia azurea	Prohibited Invasive	Louisiana lists Anchored Water Hyacinth as a prohibited invasive noxious aquatic plant.
Arrowleaf Falsepickerelweed	Monochoria hastata	Prohibited	Louisiana lists Arrowleaf Falsepickerelweed as a prohibited invasive noxious aquatic plant.
Asian Marshweed	Limnophila sessiliflora	Prohibited Invasive	Louisiana lists Asian Marshweed as a prohibited invasive noxious aquatic plant.
Australian Water-Clover	Marsilea mutica	Prohibited	Louisiana lists Australian Water-Clover as a prohibited invasive noxious aquatic plant.
Brazilian Waterweed	Egeria densa	Prohibited Invasive	Louisiana lists Brazilian Waterweed as a prohibited invasive noxious aquatic plant.Plant instead: Yellow Fumewort, Poverty Rush, Autumn Bluegrass
Brittle Waternymph	Najas minor	Prohibited Invasive	Louisiana lists Brittle Waternymph as a prohibited invasive noxious aquatic plant.
Canadian Waterweed US native	Elodea canadensis	Prohibited	Louisiana lists Canadian Waterweed as a prohibited invasive noxious aquatic plant.
Crested Floatingheart	Nymphoides cristata	Prohibited	Louisiana lists Crested Floatingheart as a prohibited invasive noxious aquatic plant.
Dotted Duckmeat US native	Landoltia punctata	Prohibited	Louisiana lists Dotted Duckmeat as a prohibited invasive noxious aquatic plant.
Ducklettuce	Ottelia alismoides	Prohibited Invasive	Louisiana lists Ducklettuce as a prohibited invasive noxious aquatic plant.
Dwarf Rotala	Rotala rotundifolia	Prohibited	Louisiana lists Dwarf Rotala as a prohibited invasive noxious aquatic plant.
Dwarf Waterclover	Marsilea minuta	Prohibited Invasive	Louisiana lists Dwarf Waterclover as a prohibited invasive noxious aquatic plant.
Eurasian Watermilfoil	Myriophyllum spicatum	Prohibited Invasive	Louisiana lists Eurasian Watermilfoil as a prohibited invasive noxious aquatic plant.
Heartshape False Pickerelweed	Monochoria vaginalis	Prohibited	Louisiana lists Heartshape False Pickerelweed as a prohibited invasive noxious aquatic plant.
Indian Swampweed	Hygrophila polysperma	Prohibited Invasive	Louisiana lists Indian Swampweed as a prohibited invasive noxious aquatic plant.
Oxygen-Weed	Lagarosiphon major	Prohibited	Louisiana lists Oxygen-Weed as a prohibited invasive noxious aquatic plant.
Para Grass	Urochloa mutica	Prohibited Invasive	Louisiana lists Para Grass as a prohibited invasive noxious aquatic plant.
Purple Loosestrife	Lythrum salicaria	Prohibited Invasive	Louisiana lists Purple Loosestrife as a prohibited invasive noxious aquatic plant.Plant instead: Crimsoneyed Rosemallow, Oakleaf Hydrangea, Hairy Lespedeza
Scrambling Nightshade	Solanum tampicense	Prohibited Invasive	Louisiana lists Scrambling Nightshade as a prohibited invasive noxious aquatic plant.
Spiny Naiad US native	Najas marina	Prohibited	Louisiana lists Spiny Naiad as a prohibited invasive noxious aquatic plant.
Swamp Morning-Glory	Ipomoea aquatica	Prohibited Invasive	Louisiana lists Swamp Morning-Glory as a prohibited invasive noxious aquatic plant.
Torpedo Grass	Panicum repens	Prohibited Invasive	Louisiana lists Torpedo Grass as a prohibited invasive noxious aquatic plant.
Water Chestnut	Trapa natans	Prohibited Invasive	Louisiana lists Water Chestnut as a prohibited invasive noxious aquatic plant.Plant instead: Waterpod, Lopsided Rush, Kentucky Bluegrass
Water Lettuce US native	Pistia stratiotes	Prohibited	Louisiana lists Water Lettuce as a prohibited invasive noxious aquatic plant.Plant instead: Waterpod, Lopsided Rush, Kentucky Bluegrass
Water Snowflake	Nymphoides indica	Prohibited	Louisiana lists Water Snowflake as a prohibited invasive noxious aquatic plant.
Waterthyme	Hydrilla verticillata	Prohibited Invasive	Louisiana lists Waterthyme as a prohibited invasive noxious aquatic plant.Plant instead: Yellow Fumewort, Poverty Rush, Autumn Bluegrass
Yellow Floatingheart	Nymphoides peltata	Prohibited Invasive	Louisiana lists Yellow Floatingheart as a prohibited invasive noxious aquatic plant.Plant instead: Nodding Lady's Tresses, Valley Redstem, Pale Purple Coneflower

What the tags mean

Prohibited Restricted Listed

A legal status. Louisiana 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 Louisiana’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

Louisiana listings: La. Admin. Code tit. 76, Pt. VII, 1101. 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 Louisiana’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 Louisiana

Plants that two or more states bordering Louisiana regulate, and Louisiana 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 Arkansas, Mississippi
Itchgrass Rottboellia cochinchinensis regulated in Arkansas, Mississippi
Tropical Soda Apple Solanum viarum regulated in Arkansas, Mississippi

Questions

What plants are illegal to sell in Louisiana?

27 plants are regulated under La. Admin. Code tit. 76, Pt. VII, 1101. Plants marked Prohibited may not be sold, propagated, or moved within Louisiana. Plants marked Restricted carry narrower limits set by the rule.

Is my plant invasive in Louisiana?

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

No. This page reproduces what Louisiana 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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