Multitudes of invasive plants are filling our fields, woods and roadsides, choking out natives and offering little or no benefit to wildlife. The Norfolk Conservation Commission has compiled this alphabetical list of invasive species found in Norfolk along with websites that explain the best practices for managing them.
Burning bush, Euonymus alatus, is easy to identify by its winged branches. It has red berries that birds enjoy and its leaves turn bright pink or red in the fall. It spreads rapidly, even in the shade, choking out native undergrowth and creating a monoculture. For management recommendations by the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service, click here.
You can see this plant growing in Norfolk on the southern end of Old Goshen Road.
Oriental bittersweet, Celastrus orbiculatus, is an aggressive woody vine with berries enclosed in an orangey-yellow covering that opens in the fall to reveal red-orange fruits. Its leaves turn yellow. Bittersweet can climb as high as 50 feet and damage or even kill trees. To see Penn State Extension recommendations for the best ways to handle this vine, click here.
You can see this plant growing in Norfolk at the intersection of Smith and Old Goshen Roads.