Invasive plants regulated in North Carolina (15 species, cited)

Invasive plants regulated in North Carolina

North Carolina lists 15 plants as noxious weeds under 02 NCAC 48A .1701. The table below reproduces that list in full, showing each plant's status in the state's own words. North Carolina'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].

Regulated and invasive are two different findings, and this page shows them separately. 10 of the 15 plants below carry both: North Carolina names them in statute and GRIIS lists them as invasive in the United States. The other 5 are regulated by North Carolina 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	North Carolina’s determination
Asiatic Tearthumb	Polygonum perfoliatum	Prohibited Invasive	North Carolina lists Asiatic Tearthumb under “Class B.”
Beach Vitex	Vitex rotundifolia	Prohibited	North Carolina lists Beach Vitex under “Class B.”
Bushkiller	Cayratia japonica	Prohibited Invasive	North Carolina lists Bushkiller under “Class B.”
Canada Thistle	Cirsium arvense	Prohibited Invasive	North Carolina lists Canada Thistle under “Class B.”
Creeping Yellowcress	Rorippa sylvestris	Prohibited Invasive	North Carolina lists Creeping Yellowcress under “Class B.”
Crested Floatingheart	Nymphoides cristata	Prohibited	North Carolina lists Crested Floatingheart under “Class A.”
Eurasian Watermilfoil	Myriophyllum spicatum	Prohibited Invasive	North Carolina lists Eurasian Watermilfoil under “Class B.”
Large-Flower Primrose-Willow	Ludwigia grandiflora subsp. hexapetala	Prohibited	North Carolina lists Large-Flower Primrose-Willow under “Class B.”
Nodding Plumeless Thistle	Carduus nutans	Prohibited Invasive	North Carolina lists Nodding Plumeless Thistle under “Class B.”
Oriental Bittersweet	Celastrus orbiculatus	Prohibited Invasive	North Carolina lists Oriental Bittersweet under “Class C.”Plant instead: Common Witch Hazel, Canadian Serviceberry, Summersweet
Puncturevine	Tribulus terrestris	Prohibited Invasive	North Carolina lists Puncturevine under “Class B.”
Spiny Plumeless Thistle	Carduus acanthoides	Prohibited Invasive	North Carolina lists Spiny Plumeless Thistle under “Class B.”
Swamp Stonecrop	Crassula helmsii	Prohibited	North Carolina lists Swamp Stonecrop under “Class A.”
Water Snowflake	Nymphoides indica	Prohibited	North Carolina lists Water Snowflake under “Class A.”
Yellow Floatingheart	Nymphoides peltata	Prohibited Invasive	North Carolina lists Yellow Floatingheart under “Class A.”Plant instead: Nodding Lady's Tresses, Valley Redstem, Pale Purple Coneflower

What the tags mean

Prohibited Restricted Listed

A legal status. North Carolina 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 North Carolina’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

North Carolina listings: 02 NCAC 48A .1701. 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 North Carolina’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 North Carolina

Plants that two or more states bordering North Carolina regulate, and North Carolina 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.

Autumn Olive Elaeagnus umbellata regulated in South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia
Blood Grass Imperata cylindrica regulated in South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia
Kariba-Weed Salvinia molesta regulated in South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia
Purple Loosestrife Lythrum salicaria regulated in South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia
Tropical Soda Apple Solanum viarum regulated in South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia
Amur Honeysuckle Lonicera maackii regulated in Tennessee, Virginia
Common Reed Phragmites australis regulated in South Carolina, Virginia
Fig Buttercup Ranunculus ficaria regulated in South Carolina, Virginia
Giant Hogweed Heracleum mantegazzianum regulated in South Carolina, Virginia
Jio Commelina benghalensis regulated in South Carolina, Tennessee
Silverberry Elaeagnus pungens regulated in South Carolina, Tennessee
Swamp Morning-Glory Ipomoea aquatica regulated in South Carolina, Virginia
Water Chestnut Trapa natans regulated in South Carolina, Virginia
Waterthyme Hydrilla verticillata regulated in South Carolina, Virginia

Questions

What plants are illegal to sell in North Carolina?

North Carolina'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. 15 plants are named under 02 NCAC 48A .1701. 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 North Carolina?

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

No. This page reproduces what North Carolina 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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