Absinth Wormwood
Artemisia absinthium L.
PerennialUp to 4 ft
Silvery gray, finely cut leaves, small yellow flowers and a very distinctive smell.
Identification
Noxious Weeds
What Counts as Noxious
13 plants North Dakota wants controlled
A noxious weed is a plant that harms the environment, animals, crops or people, and the law requires landowners to control it. These are the ones on the state list.
The State List
Look for the leaves, flowers and roots
Canada Thistle
Cirsium arvense (L.) Scop.
PerennialUp to 4 ft
Spiny leaves, light lavender flowers and extensive roots that drive its spread.
Dalmatian Toadflax
Linaria genistifolia ssp. dalmatica (L.)
PerennialUp to 3 ft
An escaped ornamental whose deep root and waxy leaves make it hard to control.
Diffuse Knapweed
Centaurea diffusa Lam.
Annual or biennialUp to 2 ft
Grayish green and hairy, with mostly white flowers and spine tipped seed heads.
Leafy Spurge
Euphorbia esula L.
PerennialUp to 3 ft
Milky sap, narrow leaves and deep, spreading roots.
Musk Thistle
Carduus nutans L.
Biennial or winter annualUp to 7 ft
Nodding rose to purple flower heads. One plant can make 20,000 or more seeds.
Purple Loosestrife
Lythrum salicaria L.
PerennialUp to 8 ft
Rose purple flower spikes on wet ground, thick enough to slow water in ditches and canals.
Russian Knapweed
Acroptilon repens L.
PerennialUp to 3 ft
Grayish clumps with lavender, thistle like flowers and very dark roots.
Saltcedar
Tamarix ramosissima Ledeb.
Shrub or small tree5 to 20 ft
A shrub with scale like leaves and pink to white flowers. Also called tamarisk.
Yellow Toadflax
Linaria vulgaris
Perennial12 to 24 in
Yellow flowers with an orange, bearded throat that look like small snapdragons.
Spotted Knapweed
Centaurea maculosa Lam.
Biennial or short lived perennial1 to 3 ft
Pinkish purple flowers with dark fringed bracts. Takes hold fast on disturbed ground.
Houndstongue
Cynoglossum officinale L.
Biennial1 to 4 ft
Burred seeds that cling to animals and clothing, and a plant that is toxic to cattle and horses.
Palmer Amaranth
Amaranthus palmeri S. Watson
Summer annual6 to 8 ft
A fast growing pigweed that has cut corn and soybean yields sharply.
Descriptions adapted from “Weeds of the West” by Tom Whitson.
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