Invasive plants regulated in Virginia (26 species, cited)

Invasive plants regulated in Virginia

Virginia regulates 26 invasive plants under 2VAC5-317-20. The table below reproduces that list in full, showing each plant's status in the state's own words. Virginia'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].

Regulated and invasive are two different findings, and this page shows them separately. 21 of the 26 plants below carry both: Virginia names them in statute and GRIIS lists them as invasive in the United States. The other 5 are regulated by Virginia 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	Virginia’s determination
Basketgrass	Oplismenus hirtellus	Prohibited	Virginia lists Basketgrass under “Tier 2.”
Beach Vitex	Vitex rotundifolia	Prohibited	Virginia lists Beach Vitex under “Tier 2.”
Blood Grass	Imperata cylindrica	Prohibited Invasive	Virginia lists Blood Grass under “Tier 2.”Plant instead: Lopsided Rush, Kentucky Bluegrass, Manyspike Flatsedge
Giant Hogweed	Heracleum mantegazzianum	Prohibited Invasive	Virginia lists Giant Hogweed under “Tier 1.”
Incised Fumewort	Corydalis incisa	Prohibited	Virginia lists Incised Fumewort under “Tier 2.”
Kariba-Weed	Salvinia molesta	Prohibited Invasive	Virginia lists Kariba-Weed under “Tier 1.”
Purple Loosestrife	Lythrum salicaria	Prohibited Invasive	Virginia lists Purple Loosestrife under “Tier 2.”Plant instead: Crimsoneyed Rosemallow, Hairy Lespedeza, American Black Elderberry
Swamp Morning-Glory	Ipomoea aquatica	Prohibited Invasive	Virginia lists Swamp Morning-Glory under “Tier 2.”
Tropical Soda Apple	Solanum viarum	Prohibited Invasive	Virginia lists Tropical Soda Apple under “Tier 1.”
Water Chestnut	Trapa natans	Prohibited Invasive	Virginia lists Water Chestnut under “Tier 2.”Plant instead: Waterpod, Lopsided Rush, Kentucky Bluegrass
Amur Honeysuckle	Lonicera maackii	Restricted Invasive	Virginia lists Amur Honeysuckle under “Tier 3.”Plant instead: Hercules's Club, Common Witch Hazel, Smooth Azalea
Asiatic Tearthumb	Polygonum perfoliatum	Restricted Invasive	Virginia lists Asiatic Tearthumb under “Tier 3.”
Autumn Olive	Elaeagnus umbellata	Restricted Invasive	Virginia lists Autumn Olive under “Tier 3.”Plant instead: Chokecherry, May Hawthorn, Red-Barked Dogwood
Blueberry Creeper	Ampelopsis brevipedunculata	Restricted	Virginia lists Blueberry Creeper under “Tier 3.”Plant instead: Common Witch Hazel, Canadian Serviceberry, Summersweet
Chinese Yam	Dioscorea oppositifolia	Restricted Invasive	Virginia lists Chinese Yam under “Tier 3.”Plant instead: Common Witch Hazel, Canadian Serviceberry, Speckled Alder
Common Reed	Phragmites australis	Restricted	Virginia lists Common Reed under “Tier 3.”
Fig Buttercup	Ranunculus ficaria	Restricted Invasive	Virginia lists Fig Buttercup under “Tier 3.”Plant instead: Common Selfheal, Meadow Evening Primrose, Northern St. Johnswort
Garlic Mustard	Alliaria petiolata	Restricted Invasive	Virginia lists Garlic Mustard under “Tier 3.”
Japanese Honeysuckle	Lonicera japonica	Restricted Invasive	Virginia lists Japanese Honeysuckle under “Tier 3.”Plant instead: Crimsoneyed Rosemallow, Shining Fetterbush, Maryland Senna
Japanese Knotweed	Fallopia japonica (potentially invasive weed)	Restricted Invasive	Virginia lists Japanese Knotweed under “Tier 3.”
Kudzu	Pueraria montana	Restricted Invasive	Virginia lists Kudzu under “Tier 3.”Plant instead: Hercules's Club, American Plum, Climbing Rose
Oriental Bittersweet	Celastrus orbiculatus	Restricted Invasive	Virginia lists Oriental Bittersweet under “Tier 3.”Plant instead: Common Witch Hazel, Canadian Serviceberry, Summersweet
Shrub Lespedeza	Lespedeza bicolor	Restricted Invasive	Virginia lists Shrub Lespedeza under “Tier 3.”
Siberian Elm	Ulmus pumila	Restricted Invasive	Virginia lists Siberian Elm under “Tier 3.”Plant instead: Table Mountain Pine, Shingle Oak, Sweet Birch
Tree of Heaven	Ailanthus altissima	Restricted Invasive	Virginia lists Tree of Heaven under “Tier 3.”Plant instead: Table Mountain Pine, Shingle Oak, Sweet Birch
Waterthyme	Hydrilla verticillata	Restricted Invasive	Virginia lists Waterthyme under “Tier 3.”Plant instead: Star Sedge, Inland Sedge, Yellow Fumewort

What the tags mean

Prohibited Restricted Listed

A legal status. Virginia 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 Virginia’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

Virginia listings: 2VAC5-317-20. 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 Virginia’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 Virginia

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

Japanese Barberry Berberis thunbergii regulated in Maryland, West Virginia
Morrow's Honeysuckle Lonicera morrowii regulated in Tennessee, West Virginia
Nodding Plumeless Thistle Carduus nutans regulated in North Carolina, West Virginia
Spiny Plumeless Thistle Carduus acanthoides regulated in North Carolina, West Virginia

Questions

What plants are illegal to sell in Virginia?

26 plants are regulated under 2VAC5-317-20. Plants marked Prohibited may not be sold, propagated, or moved within Virginia. Plants marked Restricted carry narrower limits set by the rule.

Is my plant invasive in Virginia?

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

No. This page reproduces what Virginia 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,
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