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

Invasive plants regulated in Maryland

Maryland regulates 19 invasive plants under COMAR 15.06.04.06. The table below reproduces that list in full, showing each plant's status in the state's own words. Maryland'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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Regulated and invasive are two different findings, and this page shows them separately. 14 of the 19 plants below carry both: Maryland names them in statute and GRIIS lists them as invasive in the United States. The other 5 are regulated by Maryland 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 Maryland’s determination
Amur Honeysuckle Lonicera maackii Prohibited Invasive Maryland lists Amur Honeysuckle under “Tier 1 invasive plant.”Plant instead: Swamp Azalea, Deerberry, Gray Birch
Fig Buttercup Ranunculus ficaria Prohibited Invasive Maryland lists Fig Buttercup under “Tier 1 invasive plant.”Plant instead: Buckbean, Pearly Everlasting, Wreath Goldenrod
Incised Fumewort Corydalis incisa Prohibited Maryland lists Incised Fumewort under “Tier 1 invasive plant.”
Paleyellow Iris Iris pseudacorus Prohibited Invasive Maryland lists Paleyellow Iris under “Tier 1 invasive plant.”Plant instead: Great St. Johnswort, Pennsylvania Smartweed, Canada Goldenrod
Purple Winter Creeper Euonymus fortunei Prohibited Invasive Maryland lists Purple Winter Creeper under “Tier 1 invasive plant.”Plant instead: Bristlystalked Sedge, Pipsissewa, New York Fern
Shining Geranium Geranium lucidum Prohibited Maryland lists Shining Geranium under “Tier 1 invasive plant.”
Bee-Bee Tree Tetradium daniellii Restricted Maryland lists Bee-Bee Tree under “Tier 2 invasive plant.”
Border Privet Ligustrum obtusifolium Restricted Invasive Maryland lists Border Privet under “Tier 2 invasive plant.”Plant instead: New York Ironweed, Mountain Laurel, Southern Bayberry
Burning Bush Euonymus alatus Restricted Invasive Maryland lists Burning Bush under “Tier 2 invasive plant.”Plant instead: New York Ironweed, Roundleaf Dogwood, Common Winterberry
Callery Pear Pyrus calleryana Restricted Invasive Maryland lists Callery Pear under “Tier 2 invasive plant.”Plant instead: Western Catalpa, Sourwood Tree, Swamp Bay
Chinese Wisteria Wisteria sinensis Restricted Invasive Maryland lists Chinese Wisteria under “Tier 2 invasive plant.”Plant instead: Beach Plum, Common Sweetleaf, Swamp Azalea
Golden Bamboo Phyllostachys aurea Restricted Maryland lists Golden Bamboo under “Tier 2 invasive plant.”Plant instead: Atlantic White Cedar, Eastern Redcedar, Table Mountain Pine
Heavenly Bamboo Nandina domestica Restricted Invasive Maryland lists Heavenly Bamboo under “Tier 2 invasive plant.”
Japanese Angelica Tree Aralia elata Restricted Invasive Maryland lists Japanese Angelica Tree under “Tier 2 invasive plant.”Plant instead: Roundleaf Serviceberry, Common Sweetleaf, Swamp Azalea
Japanese Barberry Berberis thunbergii Restricted Invasive Maryland lists Japanese Barberry under “Tier 2 invasive plant.”Plant instead: New York Ironweed, Mountain Laurel, Southern Bayberry
Japanese Wisteria Wisteria floribunda Restricted Invasive Maryland lists Japanese Wisteria under “Tier 2 invasive plant.”Plant instead: Beach Plum, Common Sweetleaf, Swamp Azalea
Scotch Broom Cytisus scoparius Restricted Invasive Maryland lists Scotch Broom under “Tier 2 invasive plant.”Plant instead: Illinois Bundleflower, Eastern Annual Saltmarsh Aster, New York Ironweed
Wisteria Wisteria x formosa Restricted Maryland lists Wisteria under “Tier 2 invasive plant.”
Yellow Groove Bamboo Phyllostachys aureosulcata Restricted Invasive Maryland lists Yellow Groove Bamboo under “Tier 2 invasive plant.”Plant instead: Atlantic White Cedar, Eastern Redcedar, Table Mountain Pine

What the tags mean

Prohibited Restricted Listed

A legal status. Maryland 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 Maryland’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

Maryland listings
COMAR 15.06.04.06. 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 Maryland’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 Maryland

Plants that two or more states bordering Maryland regulate, and Maryland 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 Maryland?

19 plants are regulated under COMAR 15.06.04.06. Plants marked Prohibited may not be sold, propagated, or moved within Maryland. Plants marked Restricted carry narrower limits set by the rule.

Is my plant invasive in Maryland?

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

No. This page reproduces what Maryland 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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Compiled from peer-reviewed research, USDA documentation,
and direct scientific observation across the 48 contiguous states.

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