Dovefoot Geranium

Stems: Slender, weak & hairy. They branch and spread across the surface of soil.

Leaves: Rounded and radiate from a central point.

Flowers: Bright dark pink to red violet. Flowers are borne on stalks from the upper nodes.

Eradicate: Remove plants before flowering helps prevent new infestations. Remove most or entire root. Monitor areas for seedlings and resprouts. Flowers: Seal in plastic bag & put in trash.

English Hawthorn

Long-lived, deciduous, small tree to large shrub. Its branches have sharp thorns & leaves are deeply lobed.

Flowers: White but can have pink tint & clustered in groups of 10-20 on short stalks.

Leaves: Deciduous, alternately arranged & closely clustered on short shoots. Variable in shape, mostly ovate to triangular with 3-7 deep, sharp lobes.

Stems: Usually branch from single trunk. Twigs can be hairless & smooth or hairy & often tipped with thorns.

Berries: Deep red, drupe-like pome fruits that are elliptic to spherical in shape.

Eradicate: 1) Pull up with 5-6" of root. 2) Cut as close to ground as possible & apply SJI County herbicide to stems in ground.

English Holly

Slow-growing evergreen shrub/small tree, grows 15 to 30'. May have a single trunk, or several more bush like stems.

Bark: Smooth and silver-gray.

Leaves: 1 to 3" leaves are dark green, thick, waxy and shiny. They usually have sharp, thick spines along the leaf edges.

Flowers: Small, white, inconspicuous, and sweet smelling.

Berries: Red & used with leaves as Christmas decorations. Plants are male or female, with berries found only on female plants.

Eradicate: 1) Pull up with 5-6" of root. 2) Cut as close to ground as possible and apply SJI County herbicide to stems in ground.

Garden Helleborine

Grows about 10-32" tall. Plants are sparsely to densely hairy.

Flowers: Light pinkish-greenish color, somewhat one-sided in arrangement. Each flower has three light greenish sepals and three petals.

Leaves: Alternate arrangement, oval to narrow oval to lance shape in outline, 2-7" long by 0.6-3" wide.

Eradicate: Remove plants before flowering helps prevent new infestations. Remove most or entire root. Very strong roots so shovel and moist ground makes removal easier.

Herb Robert "Stinky Bob"

Low growing, small plant that can be mistaken as a ground cover. The plant is hairy, shallowly rooted & have pungent odor when crushed.

Flowers: 5 pink petals.

Leaves: Deeply dissected and light green. The foliage turns red in late fall.

Stems: Upright to spreading, hairy and turn red in high light conditions.

Eradicate: Remove plants before flowering. Remove most or entire root. Monitor areas for seedlings and resprouts.

Scotch Broom

Bushy shrub that grows 3-6' tall.

Green Branches: Sharply angled with five green ridges, and hairy when young.

Small Leaves: Occur in groups of three. Each leaf is oblong and pointed at both ends.

Flowers: Bright yellow.

Fruit: Blackish-brown pods with hairs on the seams.

Eradicate: 1) Pull up with 5-6" of root. 2) Cut as close to ground as possible and apply SJI County herbicide to stems in ground.

Shiny Geranium

Small plant that can be mistaken as a ground cover.

Leaves: Rounded, kidney shaped & shiny. Divided into lobed sections that each have their own 3 lobes at the tip. Leaf blades are 0.4 to 1.6" wide.

Stems: Typically upright to spreading & often have bright reddish tinge.

Flowers: Pink to magenta with 5 petals.

Eradicate: Remove plants before flowering. Remove most or entire root. Monitor areas for seedlings and resprouts.

Spurge Laurel

Shade tolerant shrub, 2-4ft tall. Leathery evergreen 1-5" long.

Flowers: Small, Yellow/green & appear in clusters at the base of leaves.

Leaves: Alternate & abundant at shoot tips. Narrow & oval, wider above the middle & between 1"-5" long. Smooth, dark green, & shiny on top.

Mature bark: Gray with yellow hue while young branches are green.

Berries: Little & black with one seed, which are poisonous. Green berries turn blue/black.

Eradicate: 1) Pull up with 5-6" of root. 2) Cut as close to ground as possible & apply SJI County herbicide to stems in ground.

Tansey Ragwort

Yellow flowers grow in flat-topped clusters. Each flower has 13 petals with a daisy-like appearance.

Leaves: Twice divided, with leaf stems on leaves near base. Young leaves form a rounded base or rosette. Older leaves are alternate along the stem.

Stems: Reach up to 4' tall, numbering one to many from roots. They branch near their tips.

Eradicate: Remove plants before flowering. Remove entire root. Monitor areas for seedlings and resprouts. Flowers: Seal in plastic bag & put in trash. Mowing alone is not effective.

Teasel (Common)

Develops stout, fleshy taproot in rosette stage that can be more than 2' long & 1" in diameter at the crown. They grow to be 1-7' tall.

Flowers: Up to 4" tall, occur individually at tips of leafless flower stems. Pale purple to dark pink.

Leaves: Wavy margins & spines on underside. Stem leaves are opposite & prickly.

Eradicate: Remove plants before flowering. Removal of 2-3" of root is usually sufficient to kill plant. Monitor for new sprouts.

Thistle (Bull)

Bull thistle grows 3' to 7' tall with one upright branched stem. Young plants grow a rosette.

Flowers: There are many, 1.5 to 2" in diameter. Purple or pink-magenta flowers top each stem.

Leaves: Alternate and coarsely lobed with a spined tip. Each leaf is long with sharp spines.

Eradicate: Remove plants before flowering. Young plants can be dug with shovel when in rosette or seedling stage. Remove full root. Flowering heads: Bag and send to transfer station.

Thistle (Canada)

Grows 2 to 5' tall with slender grooved stems that branch only at top.

Flowers: Bloom in clusters at tip of stems. Petals are purple, pink (sometimes white).

Leaves: Alternately arranged & lance shaped. Young plants begin as rosette and grow to upright stems.

Eradicate: Remove plants before flowering. Removal of 2-3" of root is usually sufficient. Repeating this a month later should kill most plants. Mowing or cutting at tight bud stage can be effective.