Invasive plants regulated in Minnesota (46 species, cited)

Invasive plants regulated in Minnesota

Minnesota lists 46 plants as noxious weeds under Minn. Stat. 18.771 / Minn. R. 1505.0730. The table below reproduces that list in full, showing each plant's status in the state's own words. Minnesota'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 Minnesota 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. 37 of the 46 plants below carry both: Minnesota names them in statute and GRIIS lists them as invasive in the United States. The other 9 are regulated by Minnesota 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	Minnesota’s determination
Bohemian Knotweed	Polygonum x bohemicum	Prohibited	Minnesota lists Bohemian Knotweed under “Prohibited Control.”
Brownray Knapweed	Centaurea jacea	Prohibited Invasive	Minnesota lists Brownray Knapweed under “Prohibited Eradicate.”
Canada Thistle	Cirsium arvense	Prohibited Invasive	Minnesota lists Canada Thistle under “Prohibited Control.”
Common Barberry	Berberis vulgaris	Prohibited Invasive	Minnesota lists Common Barberry under “Prohibited Control.”Plant instead: American Black Elderberry, Needle and Thread, Western Sand Cherry
Common Reed	Phragmites australis	Prohibited	Minnesota lists Common Reed under “Prohibited Control.”
Cutleaf Teasel	Dipsacus laciniatus	Prohibited Invasive	Minnesota lists Cutleaf Teasel under “Prohibited Eradicate.”
Dalmatian Toadflax	Linaria dalmatica	Prohibited Invasive	Minnesota lists Dalmatian Toadflax under “Prohibited Eradicate.”
Diffuse Knapweed	Centaurea diffusa	Prohibited Invasive	Minnesota lists Diffuse Knapweed under “Prohibited Eradicate.”
Giant Hogweed	Heracleum mantegazzianum	Prohibited Invasive	Minnesota lists Giant Hogweed under “Prohibited Eradicate.”
Giant Knotweed	Polygonum sachalinense	Prohibited Invasive	Minnesota lists Giant Knotweed under “Prohibited Control.”
Honeysuckle	Lonicera chrysantha	Prohibited	Minnesota lists Honeysuckle under “Prohibited Eradicate.”
Japanese Knotweed	Polygonum cuspidatum	Prohibited	Minnesota lists Japanese Knotweed under “Prohibited Control.”
Johnsongrass	Sorghum halepense	Prohibited Invasive	Minnesota lists Johnsongrass under “Prohibited Eradicate.”
Leafy Spurge	Euphorbia esula	Prohibited Invasive	Minnesota lists Leafy Spurge under “Prohibited Control.”
Meadow Knapweed	Centaurea debeauxii	Prohibited Invasive	Minnesota lists Meadow Knapweed under “Prohibited Control.”
Narrowleaf Bittercress	Cardamine impatiens	Prohibited Invasive	Minnesota lists Narrowleaf Bittercress under “Prohibited Control.”
Nepalese Browntop	Microstegium vimineum	Prohibited Invasive	Minnesota lists Nepalese Browntop under “Prohibited Eradicate.”
Parsnip	Pastinaca sativa	Prohibited Invasive	Minnesota lists Parsnip under “Prohibited Control.”
Plumeless Thistle	Carduus x orthocephalus	Prohibited	Minnesota lists Plumeless Thistle under “Prohibited Control.”
Poison Hemlock	Conium maculatum	Prohibited Invasive	Minnesota lists Poison Hemlock under “Prohibited Control.”
Purple Loosestrife	Lythrum salicaria	Prohibited Invasive	Minnesota lists Purple Loosestrife under “Prohibited Control.”Plant instead: Showy Milkweed, American Black Elderberry, Sawtooth Sunflower
Spotted Knapweed	Centaurea stoebe	Prohibited Invasive	Minnesota lists Spotted Knapweed under “Prohibited Control.”
Tansy	Tanacetum vulgare	Prohibited Invasive	Minnesota lists Tansy under “Prohibited Control.”
Tree of Heaven	Ailanthus altissima	Prohibited Invasive	Minnesota lists Tree of Heaven under “Prohibited Eradicate.”Plant instead: Western Catalpa, Black Ash, Bigtooth Aspen
Woolly Foxglove	Digitalis lanata	Prohibited	Minnesota lists Woolly Foxglove under “Prohibited Eradicate.”
Yellow Star-Thistle	Centaurea solstitialis	Prohibited Invasive	Minnesota lists Yellow Star-Thistle under “Prohibited Eradicate.”
Amur Corktree	Phellodendron amurense	Restricted Invasive	Minnesota lists Amur Corktree under “Specially Regulated.”Plant instead: Western Catalpa, Black Ash, Bigtooth Aspen
Amur Honeysuckle	Lonicera maackii	Restricted Invasive	Minnesota lists Amur Honeysuckle under “Restricted.”Plant instead: Bog Birch, Common Witch Hazel, Silver Buffaloberry
Amur Maple	Acer ginnala	Restricted	Minnesota lists Amur Maple under “Specially Regulated.”
Autumn Olive	Elaeagnus umbellata	Restricted Invasive	Minnesota lists Autumn Olive under “Restricted.”Plant instead: Chokecherry, Red-Barked Dogwood, Redosier Dogwood
Black Alder	Alnus glutinosa	Restricted Invasive	Minnesota lists Black Alder under “Restricted.”Plant instead: Western Catalpa, Black Ash, Bigtooth Aspen
Black Locust US native	Robinia pseudoacacia	Restricted	Minnesota lists Black Locust under “Restricted.”
Callery Pear	Pyrus calleryana	Restricted Invasive	Minnesota lists Callery Pear under “Restricted.”Plant instead: Western Catalpa, Paper Birch, Pin Cherry
Creeping Meadow Foxtail	Alopecurus arundinaceus	Restricted Invasive	Minnesota lists Creeping Meadow Foxtail under “Restricted.”
Crownvetch	Securigera varia	Restricted Invasive	Minnesota lists Crownvetch under “Restricted.”
Garlic Mustard	Alliaria petiolata	Restricted Invasive	Minnesota lists Garlic Mustard under “Restricted.”
Glossy Buckthorn	Frangula alnus	Restricted Invasive	Minnesota lists Glossy Buckthorn under “Restricted.”Plant instead: Common Witch Hazel, Silver Buffaloberry, Speckled Alder
Japanese Barberry	Berberis thunbergii	Restricted Invasive	Minnesota lists Japanese Barberry under “Restricted.”Plant instead: Sweetgale, Sandcherry, Allegheny Blackberry
Morrow's Honeysuckle	Lonicera morrowii	Restricted Invasive	Minnesota lists Morrow's Honeysuckle under “Restricted.”Plant instead: Sweetgale, Sandcherry, Allegheny Blackberry
Multiflora Rose	Rosa multiflora	Restricted Invasive	Minnesota lists Multiflora Rose under “Restricted.”Plant instead: American Black Elderberry, Common Cowparsnip, Prairie Blazing Star
Norway Maple	Acer platanoides	Restricted Invasive	Minnesota lists Norway Maple under “Specially Regulated.”Plant instead: Eastern Redcedar, American Arborvitae, Hophornbeam
Saltcedar	Tamarix ramosissima	Restricted Invasive	Minnesota lists Saltcedar under “Restricted.”
Showy Fly Honeysuckle	Lonicera x bella	Restricted Invasive	Minnesota lists Showy Fly Honeysuckle under “Restricted.”Plant instead: Sweetgale, Sandcherry, Allegheny Blackberry
Siberian Pea Shrub	Caragana arborescens	Restricted Invasive	Minnesota lists Siberian Pea Shrub under “Restricted.”
Tatar Maple	Acer tataricum	Restricted	Minnesota lists Tatar Maple under “Specially Regulated.”
Tatarian Honeysuckle	Lonicera tatarica	Restricted Invasive	Minnesota lists Tatarian Honeysuckle under “Restricted.”Plant instead: American Black Elderberry, Common Cowparsnip, Prairie Blazing Star

What the tags mean

Prohibited Restricted Listed

A legal status. Minnesota 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 Minnesota’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

Minnesota listings: Minn. Stat. 18.771 / Minn. R. 1505.0730. 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 Minnesota’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 Minnesota

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

Absinthium Artemisia absinthium regulated in North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin
European Wand Loosestrife Lythrum virgatum regulated in North Dakota, Wisconsin
Field Sowthistle Sonchus arvensis regulated in Iowa, South Dakota
Gypsyflower Cynoglossum officinale regulated in North Dakota, Wisconsin
Hardheads Acroptilon repens regulated in Iowa, Wisconsin
Nodding Plumeless Thistle Carduus nutans regulated in North Dakota, Wisconsin

Questions

What plants are illegal to sell in Minnesota?

Minnesota'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. 46 plants are named under Minn. Stat. 18.771 / Minn. R. 1505.0730. 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 Minnesota?

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

No. This page reproduces what Minnesota 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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