Invasive plants regulated in South Carolina (96 species, cited)

Invasive plants regulated in South Carolina

South Carolina regulates 96 invasive plants under S.C. Code Regs. R.27-135. The table below reproduces that list in full, showing each plant's status in the state's own words. South Carolina'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].

6 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 South Carolina 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. 55 of the 96 plants below carry both: South Carolina names them in statute and GRIIS lists them as invasive in the United States. The other 41 are regulated by South 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	South Carolina’s determination
African Boxthorn	Lycium ferocissimum	Listed Invasive	South Carolina lists African Boxthorn as a designated plant pest.
African Couchgrass	Digitaria abyssinica	Listed	South Carolina lists African Couchgrass as a designated plant pest.
African Feathergrass	Pennisetum macrourum	Listed Invasive	South Carolina lists African Feathergrass as a designated plant pest.
Alligatorweed	Alternanthera philoxeroides	Listed Invasive	South Carolina lists Alligatorweed as a designated plant pest.
Anchored Water Hyacinth	Eichhornia azurea	Listed Invasive	South Carolina lists Anchored Water Hyacinth as a designated plant pest.
Animated Oat	Avena sterilis	Listed Invasive	South Carolina lists Animated Oat as a designated plant pest.
Arrowhead	Sagittaria sagittifolia	Listed	South Carolina lists Arrowhead as a designated plant pest.Plant instead: Crimsoneyed Rosemallow, Hairy Lespedeza, American Black Elderberry
Arrowleaf Falsepickerelweed	Monochoria hastata	Listed	South Carolina lists Arrowleaf Falsepickerelweed as a designated plant pest.
Asian Marshweed	Limnophila sessiliflora	Listed Invasive	South Carolina lists Asian Marshweed as a designated plant pest.
Asiatic Tearthumb	Polygonum perfoliatum	Listed Invasive	South Carolina lists Asiatic Tearthumb as a designated plant pest.
Autumn Olive	Elaeagnus umbellata	Listed Invasive	South Carolina lists Autumn Olive as a designated plant pest.Plant instead: May Hawthorn, Chickasaw Plum, Coastal Serviceberry
Balloon Vine	Cardiospermum halicacabum	Listed Invasive	South Carolina lists Balloon Vine as a designated plant pest.
Blackberry	Rubus fruticosus	Listed	South Carolina lists Blackberry as a designated plant pest.
Blessed Thistle	Cnicus benedictus	Listed	South Carolina lists Blessed Thistle as a designated plant pest.
Blood Grass	Imperata cylindrica	Listed Invasive	South Carolina lists Blood Grass as a designated plant pest.Plant instead: Kentucky Bluegrass, Manyspike Flatsedge, Blunt Spikerush
Brazilian Satintail	Imperata brasiliensis	Listed	South Carolina lists Brazilian Satintail as a designated plant pest.
Brazilian Waterweed	Egeria densa	Listed Invasive	South Carolina lists Brazilian Waterweed as a designated plant pest.Plant instead: Yellow Fumewort, Poverty Rush, Autumn Bluegrass
Brittle Waternymph	Najas minor	Listed Invasive	South Carolina lists Brittle Waternymph as a designated plant pest.
Brownbeard Rice	Oryza rufipogon	Listed	South Carolina lists Brownbeard Rice as a designated plant pest.
Callery Pear	Pyrus calleryana	Listed Invasive	South Carolina lists Callery Pear as a designated plant pest.Plant instead: Western Catalpa, Cockspur Hawthorn, Washington Hawthorn
Cattail Grass	Setaria pumila subsp. pallidefusca	Listed	South Carolina lists Cattail Grass as a designated plant pest.
Chinese Sprangletop	Leptochloa chinensis	Listed	South Carolina lists Chinese Sprangletop as a designated plant pest.
Coatbuttons	Tridax procumbens	Listed Invasive	South Carolina lists Coatbuttons as a designated plant pest.
Common Corncockle	Agrostemma githago	Listed Invasive	South Carolina lists Common Corncockle as a designated plant pest.
Common Crupina	Crupina vulgaris	Listed Invasive	South Carolina lists Common Crupina as a designated plant pest.
Common Reed	Phragmites australis	Listed	South Carolina lists Common Reed as a designated plant pest.
Common Water Hyacinth	Eichhornia crassipes	Listed Invasive	South Carolina lists Common Water Hyacinth as a designated plant pest.Plant instead: Nodding Lady's Tresses, Valley Redstem, Salt Heliotrope
Crested Floatingheart	Nymphoides cristata	Listed	South Carolina lists Crested Floatingheart as a designated plant pest.
Darnel Ryegrass	Lolium temulentum	Listed Invasive	South Carolina lists Darnel Ryegrass as a designated plant pest.
Ducklettuce	Ottelia alismoides	Listed Invasive	South Carolina lists Ducklettuce as a designated plant pest.
Eared Watermoss	Salvinia auriculata	Listed	South Carolina lists Eared Watermoss as a designated plant pest.
Eelkek	Rubus moluccanus	Listed	South Carolina lists Eelkek as a designated plant pest.
Eurasian Watermilfoil	Myriophyllum spicatum	Listed Invasive	South Carolina lists Eurasian Watermilfoil as a designated plant pest.
Feathered Mosquitofern	Azolla pinnata	Listed Invasive	South Carolina lists Feathered Mosquitofern as a designated plant pest.
Fig Buttercup	Ranunculus ficaria	Listed Invasive	South Carolina lists Fig Buttercup as a designated plant pest.Plant instead: Common Selfheal, Common Blue Violet, Philadelphia Daisy
Giant False Sensitive Plant	Mimosa diplotricha	Listed	South Carolina lists Giant False Sensitive Plant as a designated plant pest.
Giant Hogweed	Heracleum mantegazzianum	Listed Invasive	South Carolina lists Giant Hogweed as a designated plant pest.
Giant Salvinia	Salvinia biloba	Listed	South Carolina lists Giant Salvinia as a designated plant pest.
Giant Salvinia	Salvinia herzogii	Listed	South Carolina lists Giant Salvinia as a designated plant pest.
Golden False Beardgrass	Chrysopogon aciculatus	Listed	South Carolina lists Golden False Beardgrass as a designated plant pest.
Hardheads	Acroptilon repens	Listed Invasive	South Carolina lists Hardheads as a designated plant pest.
Heartleaf Hempvine	Mikania cordata	Listed	South Carolina lists Heartleaf Hempvine as a designated plant pest.
Heartshape False Pickerelweed	Monochoria vaginalis	Listed	South Carolina lists Heartshape False Pickerelweed as a designated plant pest.
Indian Swampweed	Hygrophila polysperma	Listed Invasive	South Carolina lists Indian Swampweed as a designated plant pest.
Itchgrass	Rottboellia cochinchinensis	Listed Invasive	South Carolina lists Itchgrass as a designated plant pest.
Jeweled Distaff Thistle	Carthamus oxyacanthus	Listed	South Carolina lists Jeweled Distaff Thistle as a designated plant pest.
Jio	Commelina benghalensis	Listed Invasive	South Carolina lists Jio as a designated plant pest.
Kariba-Weed	Salvinia molesta	Listed Invasive	South Carolina lists Kariba-Weed as a designated plant pest.
Kikuyugrass	Pennisetum clandestinum	Listed Invasive	South Carolina lists Kikuyugrass as a designated plant pest.
Killer Alga	Caulerpa taxifolia	Listed	South Carolina lists Killer Alga as a designated plant pest.
Kodomillet	Paspalum scrobiculatum	Listed	South Carolina lists Kodomillet as a designated plant pest.
Kyasuma Grass	Pennisetum pedicellatum	Listed Invasive	South Carolina lists Kyasuma Grass as a designated plant pest.
Large-Flower Primrose-Willow	Ludwigia grandiflora subsp. hexapetala	Listed	South Carolina lists Large-Flower Primrose-Willow as a designated plant pest.
Large-Flower Primrose-Willow	Ludwigia grandiflora grandiflora	Listed	South Carolina lists Large-Flower Primrose-Willow as a designated plant pest.
Lilacbell	Ipomoea turbinata	Listed	South Carolina lists Lilacbell as a designated plant pest.
Littlebell	Ipomoea triloba	Listed Invasive	South Carolina lists Littlebell as a designated plant pest.
Lollipop Mimosa US native	Mimosa pellita	Listed Invasive	South Carolina lists Lollipop Mimosa as a designated plant pest.
Longstamen Rice	Oryza longistaminata	Listed	South Carolina lists Longstamen Rice as a designated plant pest.
Malabar Melastome US native	Melastoma malabathricum	Listed	South Carolina lists Malabar Melastome as a designated plant pest.
Mandarin Orange	Citrus reticulata	Listed	South Carolina lists Mandarin Orange as a designated plant pest.
Mexican Fireplant US native	Euphorbia heterophylla	Listed	South Carolina lists Mexican Fireplant as a designated plant pest.
Mile-A-Minute	Mikania micrantha	Listed Invasive	South Carolina lists Mile-A-Minute as a designated plant pest.
Mission Grass	Pennisetum polystachion	Listed Invasive	South Carolina lists Mission Grass as a designated plant pest.
Onionweed	Asphodelus fistulosus	Listed Invasive	South Carolina lists Onionweed as a designated plant pest.
Oxygen-Weed	Lagarosiphon major	Listed	South Carolina lists Oxygen-Weed as a designated plant pest.
Panic Liverseed Grass	Urochloa panicoides	Listed Invasive	South Carolina lists Panic Liverseed Grass as a designated plant pest.
Professor-Weed	Galega officinalis	Listed Invasive	South Carolina lists Professor-Weed as a designated plant pest.
Prosopis alpataco	Prosopis alpataco	Listed	South Carolina lists Prosopis alpataco as a designated plant pest.
Prosopis argentina	Prosopis argentina	Listed	South Carolina lists Prosopis argentina as a designated plant pest.
Purple Loosestrife	Lythrum salicaria	Listed Invasive	South Carolina lists Purple Loosestrife as a designated plant pest.Plant instead: Crimsoneyed Rosemallow, Hairy Lespedeza, American Black Elderberry
Red Rice	Oryza punctata	Listed	South Carolina lists Red Rice as a designated plant pest.
Ribbed Murainagrass	Ischaemum rugosum	Listed	South Carolina lists Ribbed Murainagrass as a designated plant pest.
Rice	Oryza sativa	Listed Invasive	South Carolina lists Rice as a designated plant pest.
Russian Olive	Elaeagnus angustifolia	Listed Invasive	South Carolina lists Russian Olive as a designated plant pest.Plant instead: American Plum, Climbing Rose, Blackjack Oak
Sandwort Drymary	Drymaria arenarioides	Listed	South Carolina lists Sandwort Drymary as a designated plant pest.
Scrambling Nightshade	Solanum tampicense	Listed Invasive	South Carolina lists Scrambling Nightshade as a designated plant pest.
Serrated Tussock	Nassella trichotoma	Listed Invasive	South Carolina lists Serrated Tussock as a designated plant pest.
Sessile Joyweed	Alternanthera sessilis	Listed Invasive	South Carolina lists Sessile Joyweed as a designated plant pest.
Shrubby Russian Thistle	Salsola vermiculata	Listed	South Carolina lists Shrubby Russian Thistle as a designated plant pest.
Silverberry	Elaeagnus pungens	Listed Invasive	South Carolina lists Silverberry as a designated plant pest.
Simplestem Bur-Reed	Sparganium erectum	Listed Invasive	South Carolina lists Simplestem Bur-Reed as a designated plant pest.
Southern Threecornerjack	Emex australis	Listed Invasive	South Carolina lists Southern Threecornerjack as a designated plant pest.
Spiny Threecornerjack	Emex spinosa	Listed Invasive	South Carolina lists Spiny Threecornerjack as a designated plant pest.
Sticky Snakeroot	Ageratina adenophora	Listed Invasive	South Carolina lists Sticky Snakeroot as a designated plant pest.
Swamp Morning-Glory	Ipomoea aquatica	Listed Invasive	South Carolina lists Swamp Morning-Glory as a designated plant pest.
Texas Blueweed US native	Helianthus ciliaris	Listed	South Carolina lists Texas Blueweed as a designated plant pest.
Tiger-Pear	Opuntia aurantiaca	Listed	South Carolina lists Tiger-Pear as a designated plant pest.
Tropical Soda Apple	Solanum viarum	Listed Invasive	South Carolina lists Tropical Soda Apple as a designated plant pest.
Turkey Berry	Solanum torvum	Listed Invasive	South Carolina lists Turkey Berry as a designated plant pest.
Velvet Crabgrass	Digitaria velutina	Listed	South Carolina lists Velvet Crabgrass as a designated plant pest.
Water Chestnut	Trapa natans	Listed Invasive	South Carolina lists Water Chestnut as a designated plant pest.Plant instead: Waterpod, Kentucky Bluegrass, Nodding Lady's Tresses
Water Lettuce US native	Pistia stratiotes	Listed	South Carolina lists Water Lettuce as a designated plant pest.Plant instead: Waterpod, Kentucky Bluegrass, Nodding Lady's Tresses
Waterthyme	Hydrilla verticillata	Listed Invasive	South Carolina lists Waterthyme as a designated plant pest.Plant instead: Yellow Fumewort, Poverty Rush, Autumn Bluegrass
Wild Sugarcane US native	Saccharum spontaneum	Listed Invasive	South Carolina lists Wild Sugarcane as a designated plant pest.
Winged False Buttonweed	Spermacoce alata	Listed	South Carolina lists Winged False Buttonweed as a designated plant pest.
Yellow Floatingheart	Nymphoides peltata	Listed Invasive	South Carolina lists Yellow Floatingheart as a designated plant pest.Plant instead: Nodding Lady's Tresses, Valley Redstem, Salt Heliotrope

What the tags mean

Prohibited Restricted Listed

A legal status. South 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 South 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

South Carolina listings: S.C. Code Regs. R.27-135. 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 South 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.

Questions

What plants are illegal to sell in South Carolina?

96 plants are regulated under S.C. Code Regs. R.27-135. Plants marked Prohibited may not be sold, propagated, or moved within South Carolina. Plants marked Restricted carry narrower limits set by the rule.

Is my plant invasive in South Carolina?

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

No. This page reproduces what South 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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