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

Invasive plants regulated in Utah

Utah lists 52 plants as noxious weeds under Utah Admin. Code R68-9. The table below reproduces that list in full, showing each plant's status in the state's own words. Utah'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. 44 of the 52 plants below carry both: Utah names them in statute and GRIIS lists them as invasive in the United States. The other 8 are regulated by Utah 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 Utah’s determination
Blood Grass Imperata cylindrica Prohibited Invasive Utah lists Blood Grass under “Class 4.”Plant instead: Yerba Mansa, Douglas' Sedge, Little Green Sedge
Creeping Spurge Euphorbia myrsinites Prohibited Utah lists Creeping Spurge under “Class 4.”
Dames Rocket Hesperis matronalis Prohibited Invasive Utah lists Dames Rocket under “Class 4.”Plant instead: Streambank Wild Hollyhock, Russet Buffaloberry, Columbian Monkshood
Russian Olive Elaeagnus angustifolia Prohibited Invasive Utah lists Russian Olive under “Class 4.”Plant instead: Cerro Hawthorn, American Plum, Utah Juniper
Scotch Broom Cytisus scoparius Prohibited Invasive Utah lists Scotch Broom under “Class 4.”Plant instead: Crimsoneyed Rosemallow, Colorado Barberry, Desert Ceanothus
Asian Mustard Brassica tournefortii Listed Invasive Utah lists Asian Mustard under “Class 1B.”
Bermuda Grass Cynodon dactylon Listed Invasive Utah lists Bermuda Grass under “Class 3.”
Black Henbane Hyoscyamus niger Listed Invasive Utah lists Black Henbane under “Class 2.”
Broadleaved Pepperweed Lepidium latifolium Listed Invasive Utah lists Broadleaved Pepperweed under “Class 3.”
Butter and Eggs Linaria vulgaris Listed Invasive Utah lists Butter and Eggs under “Class 2.”
Camelthorn Alhagi maurorum Listed Invasive Utah lists Camelthorn under “Class 1B.”
Canada Thistle Cirsium arvense Listed Invasive Utah lists Canada Thistle under “Class 3.”
Columbus Grass Sorghum almum Listed Utah lists Columbus Grass under “Class 3.”
Common Crupina Crupina vulgaris Listed Invasive Utah lists Common Crupina under “Class 1A.”
Common Reed Phragmites australis Listed Utah lists Common Reed under “Class 3.”
Common St. Johnswort Hypericum perforatum Listed Invasive Utah lists Common St. Johnswort under “Class 1B.”
Common Viper's Bugloss Echium vulgare Listed Invasive Utah lists Common Viper's Bugloss under “Class 1B.”
Cutleaf Vipergrass Scorzonera laciniata Listed Invasive Utah lists Cutleaf Vipergrass under “Class 1B.”
Dalmatian Toadflax Linaria dalmatica Listed Invasive Utah lists Dalmatian Toadflax under “Class 2.”
Diffuse Knapweed Centaurea diffusa Listed Invasive Utah lists Diffuse Knapweed under “Class 2.”
Dyer's Woad Isatis tinctoria Listed Invasive Utah lists Dyer's Woad under “Class 2.”
Elongated Mustard Brassica elongata Listed Utah lists Elongated Mustard under “Class 1B.”
Garlic Mustard Alliaria petiolata Listed Invasive Utah lists Garlic Mustard under “Class 1B.”
Giant Reed Arundo donax Listed Invasive Utah lists Giant Reed under “Class 1B.”
Hardheads Acroptilon repens Listed Invasive Utah lists Hardheads under “Class 3.”
Harmal Peganum Peganum harmala Listed Invasive Utah lists Harmal Peganum under “Class 1A.”
Japanese Knotweed Polygonum cuspidatum Listed Utah lists Japanese Knotweed under “Class 1B.”
Johnsongrass Sorghum halepense Listed Invasive Utah lists Johnsongrass under “Class 3.”
Jointed Goatgrass Aegilops cylindrica Listed Invasive Utah lists Jointed Goatgrass under “Class 3.”
Leafy Spurge Euphorbia esula Listed Invasive Utah lists Leafy Spurge under “Class 2.”
Maltese Star-Thistle Centaurea melitensis Listed Invasive Utah lists Maltese Star-Thistle under “Class 1A.”
Mediterranean Sage Salvia aethiopis Listed Invasive Utah lists Mediterranean Sage under “Class 1A.”
Medusahead Taeniatherum caput-medusae Listed Invasive Utah lists Medusahead under “Class 2.”
Nodding Plumeless Thistle Carduus nutans Listed Invasive Utah lists Nodding Plumeless Thistle under “Class 3.”
North Africa Grass Ventenata dubia Listed Invasive Utah lists North Africa Grass under “Class 1A.”
Oxeye Daisy Leucanthemum vulgare Listed Invasive Utah lists Oxeye Daisy under “Class 1B.”
Poison Hemlock Conium maculatum Listed Invasive Utah lists Poison Hemlock under “Class 3.”
Professor-Weed Galega officinalis Listed Invasive Utah lists Professor-Weed under “Class 1B.”
Puncturevine Tribulus terrestris Listed Invasive Utah lists Puncturevine under “Class 3.”
Purple Loosestrife Lythrum salicaria Listed Invasive Utah lists Purple Loosestrife under “Class 2.”Plant instead: Crimsoneyed Rosemallow, Showy Milkweed, Colorado Barberry
Quackgrass Elymus repens Listed Invasive Utah lists Quackgrass under “Class 3.”
Red Star-Thistle Centaurea calcitrapa Listed Invasive Utah lists Red Star-Thistle under “Class 1B.”
Rush Skeletonweed Chondrilla juncea Listed Invasive Utah lists Rush Skeletonweed under “Class 2.”
Saltcedar Tamarix ramosissima Listed Invasive Utah lists Saltcedar under “Class 3.”
Scotch Cottonthistle Onopordum acanthium Listed Invasive Utah lists Scotch Cottonthistle under “Class 3.”
Small Bugloss Anchusa arvensis Listed Utah lists Small Bugloss under “Class 1A.”
Spiny Plumeless Thistle Carduus acanthoides Listed Invasive Utah lists Spiny Plumeless Thistle under “Class 1A.”
Spotted Knapweed Centaurea stoebe Listed Invasive Utah lists Spotted Knapweed under “Class 2.”
Spring Milletgrass Milium vernale Listed Utah lists Spring Milletgrass under “Class 1A.”
Squarrose Knapweed Centaurea virgata Listed Utah lists Squarrose Knapweed under “Class 2.”
Syrian Beancaper Zygophyllum fabago Listed Invasive Utah lists Syrian Beancaper under “Class 1A.”
Yellow Star-Thistle Centaurea solstitialis Listed Invasive Utah lists Yellow Star-Thistle under “Class 2.”

What the tags mean

Prohibited Restricted Listed

A legal status. Utah 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 Utah’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

Utah listings
Utah Admin. Code R68-9. 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 Utah’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 Utah

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

Utah'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. 52 plants are named under Utah Admin. Code R68-9. 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 Utah?

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

No. This page reproduces what Utah 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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