Invasive plants regulated in Nevada (53 species, cited)

Invasive plants regulated in Nevada

Nevada lists 53 plants as noxious weeds under NAC 555.010. The table below reproduces that list in full, showing each plant's status in the state's own words. Nevada'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].

3 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 Nevada 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. 46 of the 53 plants below carry both: Nevada names them in statute and GRIIS lists them as invasive in the United States. The other 7 are regulated by Nevada 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	Nevada’s determination
Alkali Swainsonpea	Sphaerophysa salsula	Listed	Nevada lists Alkali Swainsonpea under “Category A.”
Asian Mustard	Brassica tournefortii	Listed Invasive	Nevada lists Asian Mustard under “Category B.”
Austrian Yellowcress	Rorippa austriaca	Listed Invasive	Nevada lists Austrian Yellowcress under “Category A.”
Barbed Goatgrass	Aegilops triuncialis	Listed Invasive	Nevada lists Barbed Goatgrass under “Category A.”
Black Henbane	Hyoscyamus niger	Listed Invasive	Nevada lists Black Henbane under “Category B.”
Broadleaved Pepperweed	Lepidium latifolium	Listed Invasive	Nevada lists Broadleaved Pepperweed under “Category C.”
Buffelgrass	Pennisetum ciliare	Listed Invasive	Nevada lists Buffelgrass under “Category A.”
Butter and Eggs	Linaria vulgaris	Listed Invasive	Nevada lists Butter and Eggs under “Category A.”
Camelthorn	Alhagi maurorum	Listed Invasive	Nevada lists Camelthorn under “Category A.”
Canada Thistle	Cirsium arvense	Listed Invasive	Nevada lists Canada Thistle under “Category C.”
Carolina Horsenettle US native	Solanum carolinense	Listed	Nevada lists Carolina Horsenettle under “Category B.”
Common Crupina	Crupina vulgaris	Listed Invasive	Nevada lists Common Crupina under “Category A.”
Common St. Johnswort	Hypericum perforatum	Listed Invasive	Nevada lists Common St. Johnswort under “Category A.”
Curly Pondweed	Potamogeton crispus	Listed Invasive	Nevada lists Curly Pondweed under “Category A.”
Dalmatian Toadflax	Linaria dalmatica	Listed Invasive	Nevada lists Dalmatian Toadflax under “Category B.”
Diffuse Knapweed	Centaurea diffusa	Listed Invasive	Nevada lists Diffuse Knapweed under “Category B.”
Dyer's Woad	Isatis tinctoria	Listed Invasive	Nevada lists Dyer's Woad under “Category A.”
Eurasian Watermilfoil	Myriophyllum spicatum	Listed Invasive	Nevada lists Eurasian Watermilfoil under “Category A.”
European Wand Loosestrife	Lythrum virgatum	Listed	Nevada lists European Wand Loosestrife under “Category A.”Plant instead: Showy Milkweed, Desert Ceanothus, Desert Sweet
Field Sowthistle	Sonchus arvensis	Listed Invasive	Nevada lists Field Sowthistle under “Category B.”
Flowering Rush	Butomus umbellatus	Listed Invasive	Nevada lists Flowering Rush under “Category A.”Plant instead: Showy Milkweed, Desert Ceanothus, Desert Sweet
Fountain Grass	Pennisetum setaceum	Listed Invasive	Nevada lists Fountain Grass under “Category A.”
Giant Reed	Arundo donax	Listed Invasive	Nevada lists Giant Reed under “Category B.”
Gypsyflower	Cynoglossum officinale	Listed Invasive	Nevada lists Gypsyflower under “Category A.”
Hardheads	Acroptilon repens	Listed Invasive	Nevada lists Hardheads under “Category C.”
Harmal Peganum	Peganum harmala	Listed Invasive	Nevada lists Harmal Peganum under “Category A.”
Iberian Knapweed	Centaurea iberica	Listed	Nevada lists Iberian Knapweed under “Category A.”
Johnsongrass	Sorghum halepense	Listed Invasive	Nevada lists Johnsongrass under “Category C.”
Jointed Goatgrass	Aegilops cylindrica	Listed Invasive	Nevada lists Jointed Goatgrass under “Category A.”
Kariba-Weed	Salvinia molesta	Listed Invasive	Nevada lists Kariba-Weed under “Category A.”
Leafy Spurge	Euphorbia esula	Listed Invasive	Nevada lists Leafy Spurge under “Category B.”
Maltese Star-Thistle	Centaurea melitensis	Listed Invasive	Nevada lists Maltese Star-Thistle under “Category A.”
Mediterranean Sage	Salvia aethiopis	Listed Invasive	Nevada lists Mediterranean Sage under “Category A.”
Medusahead	Taeniatherum caput-medusae	Listed Invasive	Nevada lists Medusahead under “Category B.”
Nodding Plumeless Thistle	Carduus nutans	Listed Invasive	Nevada lists Nodding Plumeless Thistle under “Category C.”
North Africa Grass	Ventenata dubia	Listed Invasive	Nevada lists North Africa Grass under “Category A.”
Poison Hemlock	Conium maculatum	Listed Invasive	Nevada lists Poison Hemlock under “Category C.”
Professor-Weed	Galega officinalis	Listed Invasive	Nevada lists Professor-Weed under “Category A.”
Puncturevine	Tribulus terrestris	Listed Invasive	Nevada lists Puncturevine under “Category C.”
Purple Loosestrife	Lythrum salicaria	Listed Invasive	Nevada lists Purple Loosestrife under “Category A.”Plant instead: Showy Milkweed, Desert Ceanothus, Desert Sweet
Red Star-Thistle	Centaurea calcitrapa	Listed Invasive	Nevada lists Red Star-Thistle under “Category A.”
Rush Skeletonweed	Chondrilla juncea	Listed Invasive	Nevada lists Rush Skeletonweed under “Category A.”
Scotch Cottonthistle	Onopordum acanthium	Listed Invasive	Nevada lists Scotch Cottonthistle under “Category C.”
Silverleaf Nightshade US native	Solanum elaeagnifolium	Listed	Nevada lists Silverleaf Nightshade under “Category B.”
Spotted Knapweed	Centaurea stoebe subsp. micranthos	Listed Invasive	Nevada lists Spotted Knapweed under “Category B.”
Spotted Water Hemlock US native	Cicuta maculata	Listed	Nevada lists Spotted Water Hemlock under “Category C.”
Squarrose Knapweed	Centaurea virgata	Listed	Nevada lists Squarrose Knapweed under “Category A.”
Stinking Chamomile	Anthemis cotula	Listed Invasive	Nevada lists Stinking Chamomile under “Category B.”
Sulphur Cinquefoil	Potentilla recta	Listed Invasive	Nevada lists Sulphur Cinquefoil under “Category A.”
Syrian Beancaper	Zygophyllum fabago	Listed Invasive	Nevada lists Syrian Beancaper under “Category A.”
Waterthyme	Hydrilla verticillata	Listed Invasive	Nevada lists Waterthyme under “Category A.”Plant instead: Star Sedge, Geyer's Sedge, Inland Sedge
Whitetop	Cardaria draba	Listed Invasive	Nevada lists Whitetop under “Category C.”
Yellow Star-Thistle	Centaurea solstitialis	Listed Invasive	Nevada lists Yellow Star-Thistle under “Category A.”

What the tags mean

Prohibited Restricted Listed

A legal status. Nevada 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 Nevada’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

Nevada listings: NAC 555.010. 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 Nevada’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 Nevada

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

Field Bindweed Convolvulus arvensis regulated in Arizona, California, Idaho, Oregon
Scotch Broom Cytisus scoparius regulated in California, Idaho, Oregon, Utah
Spiny Plumeless Thistle Carduus acanthoides regulated in California, Idaho, Oregon, Utah
Spotted Knapweed Centaurea stoebe regulated in California, Idaho, Oregon, Utah
Bohemian Knotweed Polygonum x bohemicum regulated in California, Idaho, Oregon
Bull Thistle Cirsium vulgare regulated in Arizona, California, Oregon
Common Frogbit Hydrocharis morsus-ranae regulated in California, Idaho, Oregon
Common Reed Phragmites australis regulated in Idaho, Oregon, Utah
Common Viper's Bugloss Echium vulgare regulated in Idaho, Oregon, Utah
Giant Knotweed Polygonum sachalinense regulated in California, Idaho, Oregon
Hoary Alyssum Berteroa incana regulated in California, Idaho, Oregon
Saltcedar Tamarix ramosissima regulated in California, Oregon, Utah
Saltlover Halogeton glomeratus regulated in Arizona, California, Oregon
Stinking Willie Senecio jacobaea regulated in California, Idaho, Oregon
Tree of Heaven Ailanthus altissima regulated in Arizona, California, Oregon

Questions

What plants are illegal to sell in Nevada?

Nevada'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. 53 plants are named under NAC 555.010. 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 Nevada?

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

No. This page reproduces what Nevada 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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