EPPO Global Database

EPPO Reporting Service no. 05 - 2002 Num. article: 2002/089

Examples of alien invasive plant species in Finland


The Finnish Ministry of the Environment wrote a report on ‘Alien species in Finland’ for the Conference of the Parties of the CBD which includes many examples of introduced species in Finland. The EPPO Secretariat has extracted the examples of introduced plants.

Ancient alien species
It is estimated that about 200 alien plants have spread to Finland with traditional agriculture practices during the last 3000 or 4000 years. The examples of Scleranthus annuus (Caryophyllaceae) and Agrostis capillaris (Poaceae) are given.

Historical alien species
The following examples of plants introduced for gardening purposes and which have spread to other habitats are given: Heracleum mantegazzianum, H. persicum (Apiaceae), Impatiens glandulifera (Balsaminaceae), Lupinus polyphyllus (Fabaceae), Rosa rugosa (Rosaceae). More recently, Reynoutria japonica (Polygonaceae), Cornus alba (Cornaceae), Petasites hybridus and P. japonicus (Asteraceae) have also shown a growing tendency to invade natural habitats. Glyceria maxima (Poaceae) and Aster x salignus (Asteraceae) are invading wetlands and shores. Rosa glauca, Fragaria moschata, Amelanchier spicata and Cotoneaster lucidus (Rosaceae) are considered as less invasive (at least for the time being). The cases of Elodea canadensis (Hydrocharitaceae) and Sambucus racemosa (Caprifoliaceae) are also mentioned.


Sources

Kurtto, A.; Tomminen, J.; Leppäkoski, E.; Nummi, P. (2000) Alien species in Finland. Finnish Ministry of the Environment, 24 pp.
http://www.vyh.fi/luosuo/lumo/lumonet/aliens.htm