A non-native plant that spreads rapidly and disrupts the local ecosystem by outcompeting indigenous species for water, light, and nutrients. Land managers and farmers closely monitor these plants because they can quickly overrun pastures, choke out cash crops, and require expensive eradication efforts.
Heard on the job
We need to spray that patch of Japanese knotweed before the invasive exotic takes over the entire riparian buffer.
Insider tip
A plant can be exotic without being invasive, but once it starts displacing local vegetation, it crosses the line into a serious management problem.
Also heard as
- invasive species
- alien invasive