California Invasive Plant Inventory Database

Before looking at this database, please read the information on the Invasive Plant Inventory, including how plants were listed and what the ratings mean.

Show all plants

Filter plants by region:
Selecting a floristic province will show only plants found in all regions of that province, not those found in only one or a few regions. Select an individual region to see all plants found there.

• CA Floristic Province (CA-FP)
  • Cascade Range (CaR)
  • Central West (CW)
  • Great Valley (GV)
  • Northwest (NW)
  • Sierra Nevada (SN)
  • Southwest (SW)

• Great Basin Province (GB)
  • Modoc Plateau (MP)
  • Sierra Nevada East (SNE)
• Desert Province (D)
  • Mojave Desert (DMoj)
  • Sonoran Desert (DSon)

• Plants invasive in all provinces (All CA)

     > See map of regions

     > See abbreviation and scores key

     > Read how the Inventory was compiled.

Click on column heading to sort the table. Click on the scientific name for the Plant Assessment Form, or the icon for the Plant Profile. You can also download a tab-delimited file of this data which can be imported into Microsoft Excel or other programs.

Scientific Name	Common Name	Rating	Alert	Imp.	Inv.	Dis.	Doc.	Regions	Habitats of Concern and Comments
Acroptilon repens	Russian knapweed	2Moderate		B	B	B	3.2	·CA-FP ·GB	Scrub, grasslands, riparian, pinyon-juniper woodland, forest. Severe impacts in other western states. Spreading in many areas of CA.
Ailanthus altissima	tree-of-heaven	2Moderate		B	B	B	3.0	·CA-FP ·GB	Riparian areas, grasslands, oak woodland. Impacts highest in riparian areas.
Alhagi maurorum	camelthorn	2Moderate		B	B	B	3.2	·GV ·SW ·SNE ·D	Grassland, meadows, riparian and desert scrub, Sonoran thorn woodland. Very invasive in southwestern states. Limited distribution in CA.
Atriplex semibaccata	Australian saltbush	2Moderate		B	B	B	2.9	·All CA	Coastal grasslands, scrub, upper salt marsh. Limited distribution, but can be very invasive regionally.
Bassia hyssopifolia	fivehook bassia	3Limited		C	C	B	2.7	·All CA	Alkaline habitats. Weed of agriculture or disturbed sites. Impacts minor in wildlands.
Brassica rapa	birdsrape mustard, field mustard	3Limited		C	B	B	1.8	·CA-FP ·SNE	Coastal scrub, grasslands meadows, riparian. Primarily in disturbed areas, Impacts appear to be minor or unknown in wildlands.
Bromus diandrus	ripgut brome	2Moderate		B	B	A	3.3	·All CA	Dunes, scrub, grassland, woodland, forest. Very widespread, but monotypic stands uncommon.
Bromus hordeaceus	soft brome	3Limited		B	C	A	2.8	·All CA	Grasslands, sagebrush, serpentine soils, many other habitats. Very widespread, but primarily in converted annual grasslands.
Bromus japonicus	Japanese brome, Japanese chess	3Limited		B	C	B	2.6	·CA-FP ·GB ·D	Great Basin grassland, valley and foothill grassland, pinon and juniper woodland, lower montane coniferous forest
Bromus madritensis ssp. rubens	red brome	1High		A	B	A	3.0	·All CA	Scrub, grassland, desert washes, woodlands
Cardaria chalepensis	lens-podded white-top	2Moderate	Alert	B	B	C	3.2	·CA-FP ·GB	Central Valley wetlands. Limited distribution in CA. May not be as invasive as C. draba.
Centaurea diffusa	diffuse knapweed	2Moderate		B	B	B	3.3	·CaR ·CW ·NW ·SN ·SW ·GB	Severe impacts in other western states. Limited distribution in CA with impacts higher in some locations.
Centaurea maculosa	spotted knapweed	1High		A	B	B	3.4	·CA-FP ·GB	Riparian, grasslands, wet meadows, forests. More widely distributed in other western states.
Chorispora tenella	blue mustard	4Eval No List		U	C	C	1.5	·CaR ·GV ·SW ·GB	Impacts unknown
Cirsium vulgare	bull thistle	2Moderate		B	B	B	3.3	·CA-FP ·GB	Riparian areas, marshes, meadows. Widespread, can be very problematic regionally.
Convolvulus arvensis	field bindweed	4Eval No List		C	B	B	3.5	·All CA	Only known as agricultural weed
Dactylis glomerata	orchardgrass	3Limited		C	B	B	2.9	·CA-FP ·GB	Grasslands, broadleaved forest, woodlands; common forage species. Impacts appear to be minor.
Daucus carota	wild carrot, Queen Anne's lace	4Eval No List		D	C	B	2.7	·All CA	Very widespread, but primarily in disturbed sites, particularly roadsides
Descurainia sophia	flixweed, tansy mustard	3Limited		C	B	B	1.9	·All CA	Scrub, grassland, woodland. Impacts appear to be minor, but locally more invasive in NE CA.
Egeria densa	Brazilian egeria	1High		A	A	B	3.1	·GV ·SN ·SW ·SNE	Streams, ponds, sloughs, lakes, Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
Elaeagnus angustifolia	Russian-olive	2Moderate		B	A	B	3.3	·CW ·GV ·SW ·SNE ·DMoj	Interior riparian. Impacts more severe in other western states. Current distribution limited in CA.
Erodium cicutarium	redstem filaree	3Limited		C	C	A	3.1	·All CA	Many habitats. Widespread. Impacts minor in wildlands. High-density populations transient.
Halogeton glomeratus	halogeton	2Moderate		B	A	B	3.0	·CaR ·SW ·GB ·DMoj	Scrub, grasslands, pinyon-juniper woodland. Larger problem in NV. Monotypic stands are rare.
Holcus lanatus	common velvet grass	2Moderate		B	B	A	2.9	·CA-FP ·GB ·DMoj	Coastal grasslands, wetlands. Impacts can be more severe locally, especially in wetland areas.
Hordeum marinum, H. murinum	Mediterranean barley, hare barley, wall barley	2Moderate		B	B	A	2.8	·All CA	Grasslands; H. marinum invades drier habitats, while H. murinum invades wetlands. Widespread, but generally do not form dominant stands.
Kochia scoparia	kochia	2Moderate		B	C	B	3.2	·CW ·GV ·SW ·GB ·D	Scrub, chaparral, grasslands
Lactuca serriola	prickly lettuce	4Eval No List		D	B	B	3.1	·All CA	Primarily an agricultural and roadside weed
Lepidium latifolium	perennial pepperweed, tall whitetop	1High		A	A	A	3.1	·CA-FP ·GB ·DMoj	Coastal and inland marshes, riparian areas, wetlands, grasslands; potential to invade montane wetlands.
Lotus corniculatus	birdsfoot trefoil	4Eval No List		D	B	B	2.8	·CA-FP ·GB	Primarily a turf or agricultural weed in CA
Melilotus officinalis	yellow sweetclover	4Eval No List		D	C	C	3.3	·CA-FP ·GB	Present in human-disturbed habitats only
Oxalis corniculata	creeping woodsorrel	4Eval No List		D	C	C	2.2	·All CA	Primarily a turf weed in CA
Phragmites australis	common reed	5Native		B	B	B	2.5	·All CA	Genetic issues make it unclear which strains are native to CA.
Poa pratensis	Kentucky bluegrass	3Limited		C	B	B	2.7	·All CA	Grasslands scrub, riparian areas. Widespread turf plant. Abiotic impacts unknown.
Polypogon monspeliensis and subspp.	rabbitfoot polypogon, annual beardgrass	3Limited		C	C	B	2.3	·All CA	Margins of ponds and streams, seasonally wet places, edge of coastal dunes. Widespread. Impacts appear to be minor.
Robinia pseudoacacia	black locust	3Limited		C	B	B	2.8	·CA-FP ·GB	Riparian areas, canyons. Severe impacts in southern states. Impacts minor in CA.
Rumex crispus	curly dock	3Limited		C	C	A	2.7	·All CA	Grasslands, vernal pool, meadows, riparian. Widespread. Impacts appear to be minor.
Salsola paulsenii	barbwire Russian-thistle	3Limited		C	C	C	2.9	·SW ·SNE ·D	Desert and Great Basin scrub. Limited distribution. Impacts in desert appear to be minor.
Salsola tragus	Russian-thistle	3Limited		C	B	B	2.8	·All CA	Desert dunes and scrub, alkali playa. Widespread. Impacts minor in wildlands.
Saponaria officinalis	bouncingbet	3Limited		C	B	C	2.5	·CW ·GV ·NW ·SW ·GB	Riparian scrub and woodland. Impacts unknown or minor, but appear to be locally variable.
Sonchus asper	spiny sowthistle	4Eval No List		D	B	B	3.1	·All CA	Primarily an agricultural weed
Tamarix parviflora	smallflower tamarisk	1High		A	A	B	3.1	·CaR ·CW ·GV ·SN ·SW ·SNE ·DMoj	Riparian areas, desert washes, coastal scrub
Tamarix ramosissima	saltcedar, tamarisk	1High		A	A	A	3.3	·CW ·GV ·NW ·SN ·SW ·SNE ·D	Desert washes, riparian areas, seeps and springs
Taraxacum officinale	common dandelion	4Eval No List		D	B	B	2.8	·CA-FP ·GB	Primarily a turf weed in CA

Nomenclature:

Scientific names are based on The Jepson Manual.
For each species, the first common name is based on the Weed Science Society of America's "Composite List of Weeds", followed by other names used in California.

Citation:

Cal-IPC. 2006. California Invasive Plant Inventory. Cal-IPC Publication 2006-02. California Invasive Plant Council: Berkeley, CA.