By DOUG GRAVES
Ohio Correspondent

CINCINNATI, Ohio — They’re often used in floral arrangements and coveted for their colorful flowers. Plants such as Queen Anne’s lace or common teasel are adored by many.

But ask the agriculture industry, and experts will tell you these are nothing more than unwanted invasive plants.

“Many farmers, growers and members of the general public don’t realize the full extent of invasive plants,” said Theresa Culley, president of the Ohio Invasive Plants Council (OIPC). “I think that more people, especially those in the agriculture and nursery industries, are increasingly now coming to recognize the ecological dangers of invasive plants and hopefully, are willing to work together to come up with workable solutions.”

The top 10 invasive plants in Ohio include Japanese honeysuckle, Japanese knotweed, autumn olive, common reed or Phragmites, purple loosestrife, garlic mustard, multiflora rosa, reed canary grass, buckthorns and bush honeysuckle.

This is only the tip of the invasive iceberg. There are 500 non-native invasive plants in the state, and roughly $200 billion is spent on eradicating these.

“Invasive species can ruin pasturelands or interfere with crop production,” Culley said. “For example, Western states are spending millions of dollars on control and eradication programs for plants such as spotted knapweed.”

Many invasive plants were accidentally brought to the United States on cargo ships. Others were brought here with a purpose. Autumn oil was originally introduced because of its ability to fix nitrogen in the soil and its berries for wildlife. Garlic mustard was originally introduced as a cooking herb. Callery pear was introduced as root stock for ornamental pears.

But these are examples of invasive species gone bad because of their flourishing nature. “In terms of control, it really depends on the species and the area of Ohio in terms of how effective control measures are,” Culley said.

“Here in southwest Ohio we have been fighting Amur Honeysuckle for several decades, but it still seems to be spreading, while my colleagues in northern Ohio are sometimes surprised to hear that it is even a problem.”

OIPC is a coalition of agencies, organizations and individuals throughout Ohio concerned about the introduction and spread of invasive, non-native plants in Ohio. OIPC is headquartered at the University of Cincinnati.

“We hold meetings and research conferences every two years and we attract a lot of people, but to date, participating by farmers has been rather limited,” Culley said. “We have high attendance among land managers, researchers, extension agents and nurserymen. We need to do a better job of reaching out directly to the agricultural community.”

For more information about invasive species, write the OIPC at: OIPC, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, P.O. Box 210006, Cincinnati, OH 45221-0006.