Trees on official invasive plant lists: what New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania say
New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania each publish a list of plants their rules treat as invasive or noxious. This page reports which woody plants New York and Ohio name, what each rule says about selling and planting them, and what Pennsylvania's list does and does not name.
This page is for tree owners. It reports what the named sources say and is not advice about your tree: for that, ask a qualified arborist or one of the offices under Who to call.
Checked against the sources at the bottom of this page on October 9, 2026. Rules, fees and pay change: the source has the last word.
This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. It does not say that any tree on a property is on a list, or that anyone may or may not plant, keep or sell a tree. Each rule below covers its own state only, and lists change, so the rule text itself is the check.
New York
New York State's invasive species rules sit in Part 575 of Title 6 of the state codes. The prohibited list, 6 NYCRR 575.3 as published by the Legal Information Institute, says no person shall sell, import, purchase, transport, introduce or propagate a prohibited species, and no person shall knowingly possess one with intent to sell. Among its plants, the woody ones include sycamore maple, Japanese angelica tree, Amur cork tree, autumn olive, smooth buckthorn, common buckthorn, gray florist's willow and border privet.
The regulated list, 6 NYCRR 575.4, is shorter. Its plant entries are Norway maple, Japanese virgin's bower, burning bush, winter creeper, Chinese silver grass and black locust. The rule says no person shall knowingly introduce one into a free-living state, although regulated species are legal to possess, sell, buy, propagate and transport.
Ohio
The Ohio Administrative Code rule 901:5-30-01, shown effective February 13, 2023, has the director of the Ohio Department of Agriculture declare 63 plants invasive. Its paragraph B bars selling, offering for sale, propagating, distributing, importing or intentionally spreading any of them in Ohio. Paragraph D says a person may dispose of or control the plants, or use them for research or education under a compliance agreement, in a way that does not spread them. Paragraph F says the director may exempt a cultivar if scientific evidence is presented that it is not invasive. The woody plants it names include tree of heaven, Russian olive, autumn olive, white mulberry, princess tree, Callery pear, European buckthorn, glossy buckthorn, crack willow, Siberian elm and several honeysuckles.
Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania Code section 7 Pa. Code 110.1 is the noxious weed control list set by the state's Noxious Weed Control Committee. Its entries are purple loosestrife and its cultivars, Canada thistle, multiflora rose, Johnson grass, musk thistle, bull thistle, jimson weed, mile-a-minute, kudzu, shattercane, giant hogweed and goatsrue. It names no tree.
The three side by side
| State | Some of the woody plants named | What the rule says about them |
|---|---|---|
| New York, prohibited | Sycamore maple, Japanese angelica tree, Amur cork tree, autumn olive, smooth buckthorn, common buckthorn, gray florist's willow, border privet | No selling, importing, purchasing, transporting, introducing or propagating. |
| New York, regulated | Norway maple, black locust, burning bush, winter creeper | Legal to possess, sell, buy, propagate and transport. Introducing into a free-living state is not allowed. |
| Ohio | Tree of heaven, Russian olive, autumn olive, white mulberry, princess tree, Callery pear, European buckthorn, glossy buckthorn, crack willow, Siberian elm | No selling, offering for sale, propagating, distributing, importing or intentionally spreading. |
| Pennsylvania | None | The list names multiflora rose, a shrub, and no tree. |
Other states, provinces and countries keep their own lists, and this page has not read them. The guide on choosing a tree reports what the sources say about planting, and the guide on reporting a pest in the United States lists the offices that take reports of plant health problems.
Who to call
- ISA Find an Arborist: the ISA directory for an arborist who can identify a tree
- Report a pest in the United States: the national and state offices that take plant health reports
- Choosing a tree: what the sources say about picking a tree for a site
Sources
- New York State, 6 NYCRR 575.3 Prohibited invasive species, via Cornell Legal Information Institute, read October 9, 2026
- New York State, 6 NYCRR 575.4 Regulated invasive species, via Cornell Legal Information Institute, read October 9, 2026
- Ohio Department of Agriculture, Ohio Administrative Code 901:5-30-01 Invasive plant species, via Cornell Legal Information Institute, read October 9, 2026
- Pennsylvania Code and Bulletin, 7 Pa. Code 110.1 Noxious weed control list, read October 9, 2026