New additions to Washington State Noxious Weed List
New additions to the 2016 Washington
State Noxious Weed List
The Washington State Noxious
Weed Control Board at its Nov. 3, 2015 meeting in Wenatchee adopted changes to
the 2016 weed list.
The Lewis County Noxious Weed
Control Board will consider and adopt changes to the County Weed List at their
February 16, 2016 public hearing and meeting. More information about the Weed
list is available by contacting the Weed Program at 360 740 1215.
The three new additions to
the Class C, 2016 state noxious weed list includes:
English hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) is a long-lived small tree that
has been used in landscaping because of its white, showy flowers, bright red
fruit, and sharp spines that made it useful as a hedgerow. It has been escaping
cultivation in western Washington, most particularly on San Juan Island, where
it is encroaching on agricultural land and in natural areas. It is also capable
of hybridizing with the native western hawthorn. Adding this species as a
noxious weed would not prohibit its transport or sale in the state of
Washington.
Ventenata (Ventenata dubia) is a weedy, nonnative, invasive,
annual grass that has rapidly expanded in perennial grass systems and in
disturbed areas and managed areas in the past two decades throughout the
Pacific Northwest. In Washington, it is most prevalent in the southeastern
region. It is a particular problem in pasture, CRP, and hay production systems,
where it can significantly reduce hay yields.
Medusahead (Taeniatherum caput-medusae) is another weedy,
nonnative, winter annual grass with long awns that can be somewhat spreading
and twisting, and are covered in small barbs. The unpalatable grass invades
many ecosystems, including grasslands and sagebrush steppe, where it significantly
reduces native plants and valuable forage.
Additional actions by the
WSNWCB included the removal of lepyrodiclis (Lepyrodiclis holosteoides) from
the noxious weed list, a change in classification the Class B noxious weed
common bugloss in Chelan County and a change to the scientific name of
spikeweed from Hemizonia pungens, to Centromadia pungens.