PlantLegitIndiana: invasive & noxious plant laws
Indiana's Terrestrial Plant Rule, 312 IAC 18-3-25 (Natural Resources Commission, in force since 2020), declares 44 invasive plants to be pests. It is illegal to sell, offer or grow for sale, gift, barter, exchange, distribute, transport, transfer or introduce them in Indiana. Exemptions cover people holding a permit from the state entomologist and approved destruction projects. A proposed amendment adding 12 more species (including Callery pear, Norway maple and burning bush) has not been adopted, so those plants are not listed here.
Official sources
- 312 IAC 18-3-25 (LII)
- Indiana DNR — Terrestrial invasive plants
- Indiana DNR Terrestrial Plant Rule brochure (PDF)
- Federal Noxious Weed List, 7 CFR § 360.200 (USDA APHIS) — applies in every state
Prohibited invasive terrestrial plant (312 IAC 18-3-25) — no selling, gifting, bartering, exchanging, distributing, transporting or introducing (44)
| Scientific name | Common name / notes |
|---|---|
| Achyranthes japonica | Japanese chaff flower |
| Ailanthus altissima | tree of heaven |
| Alliaria petiolata | garlic mustard |
| Alnus glutinosa | black alder |
| Artemisia vulgaris | mugwort |
| Arthraxon hispidus | small carpgrass |
| Berberis thunbergii | Japanese barberry |
| Carduus acanthoides | spiny plumeless thistle |
| Carduus nutans | musk thistle |
| Celastrus orbiculatus | Asian bittersweet |
| Centaurea stoebe | spotted knapweed |
| Cirsium vulgare | bull thistle |
| Conium maculatum | poison hemlock |
| Convolvulus arvensis | field bindweed |
| Coronilla varia | crown vetch |
| Dioscorea polystachya (oppositifolia) | Chinese yam |
| Dipsacus fullonum | common teasel |
| Dipsacus laciniatus | cut-leaved teasel |
| Elaeagnus umbellata | autumn olive |
| Euonymus fortunei | wintercreeper |
| Euphorbia esula | leafy spurge |
| Frangula alnus | glossy buckthorn |
| Hesperis matronalis | dame's rocket |
| Humulus japonicus | Japanese hops |
| Lepidium latifolium | pepperweed |
| Lespedeza cuneata | sericea lespedeza |
| Ligustrum obtusifolium | blunt-leaved privet |
| Lonicera japonica | Japanese honeysuckle |
| Lonicera maackii | Amur honeysuckle |
| Lonicera morrowii | Morrow's honeysuckle |
| Lonicera tatarica | Tatarian honeysuckle |
| Lonicera x bella | Bell's honeysuckle |
| Microstegium vimineum | Japanese stiltgrass |
| Morus alba | white mulberry |
| Phalaris arundinacea | reed canarygrass |
| Phellodendron amurense | Amur cork tree |
| Phragmites australis subspecies australis | common reed |
| Polygonum perfoliatum | mile-a-minute vine |
| Reynoutria japonica | Japanese knotweed |
| Reynoutria sachalinensis | giant knotweed |
| Reynoutria x bohemica | Bohemian knotweed |
| Rhamnus cathartica | common buckthorn |
| Vincetoxicum nigrum | black swallow-wort |
| Vincetoxicum rossicum | pale swallow-wort |
Check plants against Indiana law →
Informational only, not legal advice. Lists change; always check the official source linked above before you buy, sell, plant or move a plant. Lists checked 2026-10-14.