Preliminary List of Plants

The steering committee was able to evaluate a few plants to test the criteria. A datasheet was developed for each species to collect references specific to each plant. The committee relied on the Invasive Plant Atlas of New England (IPANE) website for much of the information. This is a very valuable reference as it contains the most current data regarding distribution of some species in Maine. Once the datasheet was completed, a worksheet was used posing the criteria as questions to determine if specific plants met each of the criteria. A sample data sheet and work sheet are included with this report. (Appendix 2) The plants evaluated and the outcomes were as follows:

Lonicera morrowii (Morrow’s honeysuckle) – Invasive
Elaeagnus umbellata (Autumn olive) – Invasive
Celastrus orbiculatus (Oriental bittersweet) – Invasive
Rhamnus cathartica (Common buckthorn) – Invasive
Rosa multiflora (Multiflora rose) – Invasive

The plants listed above are a preliminary list to use as examples to test the criteria. They do not represent a regulated list of plants.

This process of evaluating plants takes time and expertise, hence the short list of plants. Species with abundant information listed on the IPANE web site can be evaluated quite quickly. If a person must track down other referenced material to determine the invasive characteristics or distribution it can be very time consuming. When Massachusetts was developing their list, the state and private donors contributed $71,000 to hire a consultant to help establish the process, vet the criteria and evaluate the 83 plants for invasiveness. (http://massnrc.org/mipag/index.htm) In Vermont the process for evaluating plants took several years, because the evaluations were completed by committee members as time permitted. The resources required to evaluate plants, must be a consideration as the state moves forward with this process.

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Preliminary List of Plants