CINCINNATI -- As of Sunday, it's illegal to sell 38 different plants in the state of Ohio.
The list of invasive plant species was passed into law in December. It's illegal for anyone to sell, distribute, import or intentionally disseminate the plants on the list, according to the revised law.
Several types of honeysuckles, olive plants, fig buttercups, the common reed and hybrid cattails are all included on the list.
“A lot of these species offer all those qualities people look for when they’re buying a plant; there’s demand for them,” Alistair Reynolds, a forester for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources told the Columbus Dispatch. “Up until now, we didn’t have any rules preventing the sale of them. There were no rules keeping them from getting into Ohio.”
The law permits disposal and controlling of the plant "without further spread of the species." Studying the plants for educational purposes as sanctioned by the state Department of Agriculture.
If a Department of Agriculture representative finds one of the listed plants, the representative may "seize, order removed from sale or destroy" the plant, the law says.
The Midwest Invasive Plant Network compares nearby states' plant assessments. You can see that regional list here.
