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

Invasive plants regulated in Nebraska

Nebraska lists 13 plants as noxious weeds under 25 Neb. Admin. Code Ch. 10, 001. The table below reproduces that list in full, showing each plant's status in the state's own words. Nebraska'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].

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Regulated and invasive are two different findings, and this page shows them separately. 11 of the 13 plants below carry both: Nebraska names them in statute and GRIIS lists them as invasive in the United States. The other 2 are regulated by Nebraska 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 Nebraska’s determination
Canada Thistle Cirsium arvense Listed Invasive Nebraska lists Canada Thistle as a noxious weed.
Common Reed Phragmites australis Listed Nebraska lists Common Reed as a noxious weed.
Diffuse Knapweed Centaurea diffusa Listed Invasive Nebraska lists Diffuse Knapweed as a noxious weed.
European Wand Loosestrife Lythrum virgatum Listed Nebraska lists European Wand Loosestrife as a noxious weed.Plant instead: Showy Milkweed, Western Goldenrod, American Black Elderberry
Giant Knotweed Polygonum sachalinense Listed Invasive Nebraska lists Giant Knotweed as a noxious weed.
Japanese Knotweed Fallopia japonica (potentially invasive weed) Listed Invasive Nebraska lists Japanese Knotweed as a noxious weed.
Leafy Spurge Euphorbia esula Listed Invasive Nebraska lists Leafy Spurge as a noxious weed.
Nodding Plumeless Thistle Carduus nutans Listed Invasive Nebraska lists Nodding Plumeless Thistle as a noxious weed.
Purple Loosestrife Lythrum salicaria Listed Invasive Nebraska lists Purple Loosestrife as a noxious weed.Plant instead: Showy Milkweed, Western Goldenrod, American Black Elderberry
Saltcedar Tamarix ramosissima Listed Invasive Nebraska lists Saltcedar as a noxious weed.
Sericea Lespedeza Lespedeza cuneata Listed Invasive Nebraska lists Sericea Lespedeza as a noxious weed.
Spiny Plumeless Thistle Carduus acanthoides Listed Invasive Nebraska lists Spiny Plumeless Thistle as a noxious weed.
Spotted Knapweed Centaurea stoebe subsp. micranthos Listed Invasive Nebraska lists Spotted Knapweed as a noxious weed.

What the tags mean

Prohibited Restricted Listed

A legal status. Nebraska 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 Nebraska’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

Nebraska listings
25 Neb. Admin. Code Ch. 10, 001. 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 Nebraska’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 Nebraska

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

Nebraska'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. 13 plants are named under 25 Neb. Admin. Code Ch. 10, 001. 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 Nebraska?

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

No. This page reproduces what Nebraska 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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