Non-native and invasive species are rapidly changing the face of our planet. In the United States, our most insidious invaders come from southeast Asia and Europe. These species threaten local plant diversity and the greater community structure of American habitats. When plant composition changes, it can affect all aspects of biological communities, including soil microbes, avifauna, and mammals. For this reason, it is important to become comfortable identifying non-native and invasive flora in your backyard and local outdoor haunts. Winter is an excellent time to start learning your local invasives, since many of them are evergreen or easily identifiable by bright berries.
Below are a number of non-native or invasive plants that can be found in the Triangle. These plants were all photographed at Mason Farm in Chapel Hill, NC, where a dedicated team of ecologists and volunteers work diligently to remove aggressive invasives. If you’re interested in learning more about North Carolina’s invasive species, I recommend taking the Invasive Species class offered by the North Carolina Botanic Garden and taught by conservation ecologist Mike Kunz. Also, feel free to check out the following link, which illustrates some of North Carolina’s invasive species and how to control them.
Along the Hackberry Warbler Trail, Japanese stiltgrass (Microstegium vimineum) forms dense, low mats that can look deceptively innocent in winter (Japanese stiltgrass on Hackberry Warbler Trail at Mason Farm, Chapel Hill, NC, © Nicolette L. Cagle). Nearby, Chinese privet (Ligustrum sinense)—often thick, twiggy, and persistent—mingles with the looping vines of Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica), a pairing that feels almost emblematic of Piedmont edge habitat in the invasive era (Chinese privet & Japanese honeysuckle on Hackberry Warbler Trail at Mason Farm, Chapel Hill, NC, © Nicolette L. Cagle). In the same corridor, ground ivy (Glechoma hederacea) creeps along the forest floor, staying conspicuously green when so much else has faded (Ground ivy on Hackberry Warbler Trail at Mason Farm, Chapel Hill, NC, © Nicolette L. Cagle).
Other familiar invaders show up in patches and pockets across Mason Farm. Johnson grass (Sorghum halepense) stands as a reminder that invasives aren’t only woodland-edge shrubs and vines—they can be tall, field-oriented grasses with a knack for taking over disturbed ground (Johnson grass at Mason Farm, Chapel Hill, NC, © Nicolette L. Cagle). Lesser periwinkle (Vinca minor) spreads in glossy evergreen ribbons, pretty enough to fool you into thinking it “belongs,” right up until you notice how thoroughly it can carpet an area (Lesser periwinkle at Mason Farm, Chapel Hill, NC, © Nicolette L. Cagle).
Honeysuckles, of course, deserve their own mention. Amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii)—a shrub that can quickly become a wall—holds its structure through winter and is easy to spot once you learn its look (Amur honeysuckle at Mason Farm, Chapel Hill, NC, © Nicolette L. Cagle). Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica), meanwhile, is the vine version of persistence: twining, climbing, and staying green enough in winter to announce itself from a distance (Japanese honeysuckle at Mason Farm, Chapel Hill, NC, © Nicolette L. Cagle).
And then there are the vines that make you look up. Oriental bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus) winds through shrubs and trees, a vigorous climber that can turn woodland edges into tangled architecture (Oriental bittersweet at Mason Farm, Chapel Hill, NC, © Nicolette L. Cagle). Finally, non-native buckthorn (Rhamnus spp.) shows up as another shrub-layer contender—one more name to add to the mental rolodex of “plants to recognize quickly” when you’re walking winter trails (Non-native buckthorn at Mason Farm, Chapel Hill, NC, © Nicolette L. Cagle).
Sense of Place 