Invasive Plants

1. Invasive Plants The Invasive Plants in a Habitat Garden Made by Milo, Jack and Finn

2. Table of Contents • Dwarf Periwinkle • Poison Ivy • Air Potato • Alligator Weed • Spotted Knapweed • Water Lettuce • Garlic Mustard

3. Dwarf Periwinkle • Dwarf periwinkle or Vinca minor is native to central and southern Europe. • Dwarf Periwinkle is a trailing viny sub shell. • Dwarf periwinkle spreads by rooting on stems. • Dwarf periwinkle Some times grows 40 cm high. • Dwarf periwinkle leaves are evergreenand have a leathery texture. • Dwarf periwinkle has an average of 2-4.5 cm long and 1-2.5 cm broad. Return to contents

4. Poison Ivy • Poison Ivy or Toxicodendron Radicans is a poisonous North American plant • Poison Ivy is known for its production of Uroshiol which is a clear liquid compound found in the sap of Poison Ivy. • Poison Ivy causes an itching irritation and sometimes painful rash if you rub it. • Poison Ivy is not actually a true ivy. • Poison Ivy can grow in three different ways, as a trailing vine 10-25 cm tall, as a shrub up to 1.2 meters tall, or a climbing vine that grows on trees and other support. • Poison Ivy has almond shaped green leaves that get darker as they get older. Return to contents

5. Air Potato • Air Potato or Dioscorea Bulbifera is a true yam plant native to Africa and Asia. • Air potato is a perennial vine with broad leaves and two types of storage organs. • Some varieties are edible and cultivated as a food crop. • The air potato plant can grow up to 150 feet tall and 60 feet long. • The air potato plant can grow up to 8 inches a day. • It is invasive because of its quick growing large leaves that spread out and shade out any other plants beneath it. Return to contents

6. Alligator Weed • Alligator Weed or Alternanthera Philoxeroides is native to South America, but spread to Australia, China, New Zealand, Thailand and the United States. • Alligator Weed is an immersed aquatic plant. • Alligator Weed can grow in water and on dry land. • Alligator Weed can grow large interwoven mats in the water or along shorelines. • Alligator Weed stems are long, branched and hollow. Return to contents

7. Spotted Knapweed • Spotted Knapweed or Centaurea Maculosa is native to eastern Europe and was introduced to North America. • Spotted Knapweed is a species of Centaurea. • In 2000 Spotted Knapweed occupied more than 7 million acres of in the U.S. • Knapweed is a pioneer species found in recently disturbed sites or openings. • Once it has been established at a disturbed site, it spreads into the surrounding habitat. Return to contents

8. Water Lettuce • Water Lettuce or Pistia Stratiotes is a genus of aquatic plant. • Water Lettuce is in the Arum family. • Water Lettuce is called Water Cabbage, Nile Cabbage, or Shellflower. • The genus name is derived from the Greek word πιστός (pistos), meaning "water," and refers to the aquatic nature of the plants.

9. Garlic Mustard • Garlic Mustard or Alliaria petiolata is native to Europe, Western and Central Asia and Northwest Africa. • Garlic Mustard is a biennial flowering plant in the brassicaceae or mustard family. • In the first year of growth Garlic Mustard forms a clump of round shaped slightly wrinkled leaves, that when crushed smell like garlic. • In the spring the plants flower producing cross shape white flowers that grow in dense clusters. • Garlic Mustard is found growing in the margins of hedgerows. • When the blooming is complete Garlic Mustard produces upright fruits that release seeds in mid-summer.

10. Created by Jack Grennan, Finn Bowles and Milo Bowles