Invasive plants regulated in Tennessee (13 species, cited)

Invasive plants regulated in Tennessee

Tennessee regulates 13 invasive plants under Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0080-06-24-.02. The table below reproduces that list in full, showing each plant's status in the state's own words. Tennessee'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].

Plant	Scientific name	Status	Tennessee’s determination
Amur Honeysuckle	Lonicera maackii	Prohibited Invasive	Tennessee lists Amur Honeysuckle as a pest plant.Plant instead: Hercules's Club, Rough-Leaf Dogwood, Common Witch Hazel
Autumn Olive	Elaeagnus umbellata	Prohibited Invasive	Tennessee lists Autumn Olive as a pest plant.Plant instead: Chokecherry, Chickasaw Plum, Green Hawthorn
Blood Grass	Imperata cylindrica	Prohibited Invasive	Tennessee lists Blood Grass as a pest plant.Plant instead: Lopsided Rush, Kentucky Bluegrass, Manyspike Flatsedge
Jio	Commelina benghalensis	Prohibited Invasive	Tennessee lists Jio as a pest plant.
Kariba-Weed	Salvinia molesta	Prohibited Invasive	Tennessee lists Kariba-Weed as a pest plant.
Morrow's Honeysuckle	Lonicera morrowii	Prohibited Invasive	Tennessee lists Morrow's Honeysuckle as a pest plant.Plant instead: Crimsoneyed Rosemallow, Bushy St. Johnswort, New York Ironweed
Multiflora Rose	Rosa multiflora	Prohibited Invasive	Tennessee lists Multiflora Rose as a pest plant.Plant instead: Crimsoneyed Rosemallow, Oakleaf Hydrangea, Hairy Lespedeza
Purple Loosestrife	Lythrum salicaria	Prohibited Invasive	Tennessee lists Purple Loosestrife as a pest plant.Plant instead: Crimsoneyed Rosemallow, Oakleaf Hydrangea, Hairy Lespedeza
Showy Fly Honeysuckle	Lonicera x bella	Prohibited Invasive	Tennessee lists Showy Fly Honeysuckle as a pest plant.Plant instead: Crimsoneyed Rosemallow, Bushy St. Johnswort, New York Ironweed
Silverberry	Elaeagnus pungens	Prohibited Invasive	Tennessee lists Silverberry as a pest plant.
Sunshine Chinese Privet	Ligustrum sinense 'Sunshine'	Prohibited Invasive	Tennessee lists Sunshine Chinese Privet as a pest plant.
Tropical Soda Apple	Solanum viarum	Prohibited Invasive	Tennessee lists Tropical Soda Apple as a pest plant.
Wild Privet	Ligustrum vulgare	Prohibited Invasive	Tennessee lists Wild Privet as a pest plant.Plant instead: Crimsoneyed Rosemallow, Bushy St. Johnswort, New York Ironweed

What the tags mean

Prohibited Restricted Listed

A legal status. Tennessee 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 Tennessee’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

Tennessee listings: Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0080-06-24-.02. 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 Tennessee’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 Tennessee

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

Asiatic Tearthumb Polygonum perfoliatum regulated in Alabama, North Carolina, Virginia
Kudzu Pueraria montana regulated in Mississippi, Missouri, Virginia
Balloon Vine Cardiospermum halicacabum regulated in Alabama, Arkansas
Beach Vitex Vitex rotundifolia regulated in North Carolina, Virginia
Canada Thistle Cirsium arvense regulated in Missouri, North Carolina
Common Reed Phragmites australis regulated in Alabama, Virginia
Common Water Hyacinth Eichhornia crassipes regulated in Alabama, Arkansas
Eurasian Watermilfoil Myriophyllum spicatum regulated in Alabama, North Carolina
Field Bindweed Convolvulus arvensis regulated in Arkansas, Missouri
Garlic Mustard Alliaria petiolata regulated in Alabama, Virginia
Itchgrass Rottboellia cochinchinensis regulated in Arkansas, Mississippi
Johnsongrass Sorghum halepense regulated in Arkansas, Missouri
Nodding Plumeless Thistle Carduus nutans regulated in Missouri, North Carolina
Oriental Bittersweet Celastrus orbiculatus regulated in North Carolina, Virginia
Torpedo Grass Panicum repens regulated in Alabama, Mississippi

Questions

What plants are illegal to sell in Tennessee?

13 plants are regulated under Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0080-06-24-.02. Plants marked Prohibited may not be sold, propagated, or moved within Tennessee. Plants marked Restricted carry narrower limits set by the rule.

Is my plant invasive in Tennessee?

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

No. This page reproduces what Tennessee 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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Compiled from peer-reviewed research, USDA documentation,
and direct scientific observation across the 48 contiguous states.