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Initiated in 2019, MoIP's Callery Pear "Buyback" program draws statewide attention to the threats of this highly invasive tree, also referred to by the name of one of its cultivars—Bradford pear. This year, in partnership with Forest ReLeaf of Missouri, Forrest Keeling Nursery, and the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC), MoIP will host its Callery (Bradford) pear buyback program on April 22 in a record 17 Missouri locations.

Homeowners are invited to cut down one or more Callery pear trees and receive one free, non-invasive tree at this event. To be eligible for one free native tree, participants must register and submit a photo of their cut-down Callery pear. One free native tree will be provided to each registered participant at the selected location on the day of the event, April 22, from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m.

Registration for the buyback event is open now. Learn more about the event and register here.

MoIP is grateful to the Richard King Mellon Foundation and the Missouri Community Forestry Council for their financial support of the 2025 Callery Pear Buyback Program, as well as to Forrest Keeling Nursery and Forest ReLeaf of Missouri for tree donations. Financial and administrative support also comes from the Missouri Prairie Foundation and MDC.

We hope you enjoy our news in this issue, summarized here and detailed below, and, as always, please let us know your invasive plant-related questions, ideas, or concerns. We'd like to know what information you would find especially helpful to include in State of Invasives.

–Urge Missouri Representatives to Approve Senate Bill 105 and House Bill 60

–Roundup® Formulations Change: Roundup® is No Longer Synonymous with Glyphosate

–2025 Invasive Plant Action Awards Deadline: April 30

–Invasive Plant Success Story: Conversion of Tall Fescue to Wildflowers on a Tree Farm

–Missourians Making a Difference: Stephen Bybee

–Invasives to Treat in Spring: beefsteak plant, wintercreeper, birdsfoot trefoil, and bush honeysuckle sprouts.

–Congratulations to MoIP Member Brian Davidson

Thank you for taking action to identify and control invasive plants!

Carol Davit, MoIP Chair

Many thanks to all who have contacted Missouri Senators and Representatives about the bills introduced this session to halt the sale of select invasive plants. Senate Bill 105 passed the Senate 32 to 1. House Bill 60 passed unanimously out of the Conservation & Natural Resources Committee. 

Please make sure you have contacted your State Representative to respectfully request his/her support for these bills as they move through the legislative process. You can find your State Representative here.

Photo of the invasive vine, Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica), by Chris Evans/Bugwood

By Angela Sokolowski, Invasive Species Coordinator, Missouri Department of Conservation

Herbicides can be a key tool in controlling invasive plants to sustain native biodiversity and to improve working lands like tree farms (see story below). One such commonly used herbicide for these purposes has long been glyphosate, sold for decades under the brand name of Roundup®.

Glyphosate-based Roundup® products marketed to farmers and other land managers are still available on the market. However, Roundup® brand herbicide products marketed for lawn and garden use no longer contain the original active ingredient glyphosate. Instead, they contain a variety of active ingredient combinations that could cause unintended results if used like glyphosate.

In 2024, the makers of Roundup® removed glyphosate from American Roundup® products marketed for lawn and garden (residential) uses. The new formulations contain combinations of diquat, fluazifop, imazapic, triclopyr, pelargonic acid, MCPA (2-methyl-4-chlorophenoxyacetic acid), quinclorac, dicamba, and sulfentrazone.

All of these ingredients vary in how they affect plants, in risks to human health, and how they act in the environment. These products feature the words “Exclusive Formula” on the label, and each has a distinctly colored label and cap.

Whereas the glyphosate-only products were generally recommended for use on undesirable vegetation in lawns, landscape beds, vegetable gardens, and hardscapes alike, the new products are recommended for use in specific areas of the lawn or garden. Also, some of the new products called “Dual Action” are designed to have long-lasting (residual) effects, preventing plant growth for up to 12 months. Glyphosate does not cause residual effects. 

Important for consumers to know: 

• New Roundup® lawn and garden products contain new ingredients that can cause unintended effects if used in non-recommended areas, such as sterilizing garden beds for up to 12 months, or injuring nearby trees and shrubs.
• To ensure safe and proper use, always read the product label and all instructions before purchasing or using any herbicide, including Roundup® products.                                                                         

Important for land managers, agencies, and conservation organizations to know: 

• Professionals who provide the public with vegetation management recommendations should be aware and inform their clients of the changes. 
• Agencies and organizations that post online or printed materials with plant management and herbicide information should check that the brand name Roundup® is not used synonymously or interchangeably with the active ingredient glyphosate, and make corrections accordingly. 
• Glyphosate-based Roundup® products marketed to farmers and other land managers are still available on the market.

For more information, consult this webpage from the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture.

Photo above of various formulations of Roundup® and inset photo of the active ingredients of one formulation by Carol Davit

Call for 2025 MoIP Invasive Plant Action Award Nominations: April 30 Deadline

Invasive plant detection, control, research, and planning is hard work. We are sure you know individuals and groups worthy of recognition for their efforts to take action to reduce the negative effects of invasive plants, and we encourage you to nominate them for an award.

MoIP established the Invasive Plant Action Award program to recognize the outstanding work being done in Missouri to control invasive plant species. The Action Awards celebrate exceptional effort and leadership in the field and also serve as a way to demonstrate to the broader community how controlling the spread of invasive plants on Missouri farms, forests, woodlands, prairies, gardens, parks, neighborhoods, roadsides, and along waterways is very possible and very important land stewardship. Members of MoIP evaluate nominations and select winners annually.

There are four MoIP award categories: Individual Citizen or Individual Organization; Individual Professional; Group Collaborators; and Researchers. Find details on each category, past winners, and the application form here. Nominations are due April 30, 2025.

Pictured above is 2021 MoIP Awardee Linda Lehrbaum, right, with MoIP Council member Malissa Briggler

With the ongoing challenge of controlling invasive plants in native habitats, along roadsides, on working lands, yards, around businesses, schools, and in parks, we can all use some good news!

We hope that in reading these invasive plant success stories, you will have an added spring in your step as you carry your loppers, backpack sprayer, or other control tools to your work site. Many thanks to tree farmer Jim Ball for contributing the success story below.

While non-native, cool-season tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) is an important forage grass in Missouri, its invasive qualities cause it to spread into native habitats where it can degrade native biodiversity. One reason tall fescue is successful at spreading is because it is allelopathic, meaning it produces compounds that can adversely affect the growth or germination of surrounding plants. 

This trait makes fescue problematic not only in natural communities, but also on tree farms, where it is a bane to farmers growing oaks, pecans, and other valuable native trees for lumber, nuts, and other forest products.

At his tree farm in Caldwell County, Jim Ball killed the fescue over about 20 acres, between rows of oak and walnut trees. After the tall fescue was dead, he planted a mix of shade-tolerant native wildflowers and grasses through the CP-42 cost-share program to support pollinating insects, administered by the Farm Service Agency. 

In 2017, Jim and his wife Schatzi Ball were named the American Tree Farm System’s North Central Regional Outstanding Tree Farmer of the Year, and in 2024, the couple was recognized as the 2024 Missouri Outstanding Tree Farmers of the Year by the Missouri Tree Farm Committee.

Learn more about how to control tall fescue here. Learn more about the CP-42 cost-share program here. 

Many thanks to Jim Ball for providing the photos above and below of his tree farm. Top photo from David Stoner/MDC

Missourians Making a Difference: Stephen Bybee

Throughout Missouri, many individuals are making significant progress in the early detection and control of invasive plants. MoIP is pleased to highlight their efforts. 

Missouri Conservation Corps Project Director Stephen Bybee took time out of his schedule to describe his work. Enjoy!

When was Missouri Conservation Corps founded, and what is its mission? 

Since 2021, Missouri Conservation Corps (MCC) has been organizing and hosting volunteer workdays in Kiwanis Park and in other local parks and green spaces in Columbia, Missouri, engaging community volunteers to remove invasive honeysuckle and to restore native species. MCC acquired its 501c3 nonprofit status in December 2022. 

Our mission is to involve citizens in meaningful service, environmental stewardship, and leadership development to reduce climate impacts. 

What are your primary responsibilities with MCC?

As the project director, since our unofficial start in 2021, I guided MCC through the process of achieving 501(c)(3) status and a funding arrangement with the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC), with much help from MDC Community Forester Ann Koenig. I organize dozens of volunteer work days annually to remove invasive plants, and plant natives, as well as conduct educational programming on the importance of this work to the community.

What is your professional background?

I have worked in several different fields, ranging from volunteerism to coffee roasting, to photography, media analysis, and volunteer management. My first “job” after college was a volunteer position with the Rio Grande National Forest in southern Colorado. My volunteer management skills have been sharpened by serving as a volunteer coordinator for the Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri, and by volunteering my own time and energy for many different organizations in and around Columbia. My background in native plants, invasive species, and natural resources is self-taught, and has been honed by volunteering for groups like Columbia Treekeepers, Missouri Native Plant Society, and Russell Elementary Outdoor Classroom Committee. 

What are some of the invasive plant control projects you have led over the years? Why are they important? What has been the impact? 

Since 2021, MCC has led more than 100 volunteer activities in Columbia’s Kiwanis Park, Garth Nature Area, Bonnie View Nature Sanctuary, MKT Trail, and at the Arrow Rock State Historic Site. We have effectively cleared more than 15 unruly acres of invasive honeysuckle from the 20 acres of Kiwanis Park. The honeysuckle sprouts that appear each year are very easy to manage, requiring only hand pulling. These events are important because they remove invasive species from our parks and green spaces, making way for native plant restoration in these spaces that in turn supports insects, songbirds, and other animals, and they bring community members together outdoors to work toward a common goal: Restoring native habitat and benefiting Columbia’s parks and other green spaces, while getting acquainted with members of the community.

Read more here.

Photo of Stephen Bybee at a bush honeysuckle removal workday in Columbia by Rebecca Allen

Not all invasive plants are most effectively treated at the same time of year, and treatment methods can differ according to the seasons. Here, we highlight several species to treat in spring. You can find treatment guidelines for many invasive plants other than those highlighted below at moinvasives.org. 

Note: Treatment methods may differ considerably if invasives are found in otherwise intact, highly biologically diverse areas, in disturbed areas/altered landscapes, or if invasives are found in or near water. When using chemicals to treat invasives, always read label instructions.

Beefsteak plant (Perilla frutescens), also known as perilla mint, will soon be visible in pastures, open woods, and other areas. This herbaceous plant can grow to 3 feet tall, and has, like other members of the mint family, square stems, and serrated, opposite leaves that can vary from green to purple. Flowers bloom from July to October and are white to purple. While the plant is grown and sold at specialty Asian food markets and is an ingredient in many culinary dishes, it is highly toxic to cattle.

Beefsteak plant is most effectively treated from April through June. Beefsteak plant can easily be pulled, but it can cause skin rashes. It can be controlled via foliar spraying with a 2% solution of glyphosate. Learn more about beefsteak plant here.

Photo by Marisa Williams, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Bugwood.org

Wintercreeper (Euonymous fortunei) was covered in our winter 2025 enewsletter, because the leaves are green or reddish, making it easy to spot in winter, and because it can be treated with herbicide when native plants are dormant.

However, wintercreeper can also be controlled in spring, when new foliage emerges. When the ground is wet, small vines can be pulled. Large stems climbing up trees can be carefully cut, with the cut stem treated with herbicide (40% triclopyr solution when above freezing). Foliage can be treated with a 3% triclopyr solution, mixed with a non-ionic surfactant along with methylated seed oil or similar crop oil to help the herbicide stay on the foliage for better uptake by the plant.

Photo above of wintercreeper by Carol Davit

In Missouri, birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) occurs statewide, but mostly north of the Missouri River in fields, roadsides, waste places, and on other disturbed areas.

Native to Europe, this legume was planted widely in Missouri to prevent erosion at highway construction sites. It is also planted for cattle forage, but when it escapes to native habitats, it can cause ecological degradation.

Birdsfoot trefoil is a many-branched perennial with prostrate to ascending stems reaching 6 to 24 inches tall. Flowers are in umbels, terminal, with the typical configuration of pea flowers, and bright golden yellow. Blooms May–September. The leaves are compound, with 3 leaflets (a terminal and 2 opposite) some distance below. Two basal leaves are actually stipules, not technically part of the compound leaf, but added to the true leaflets it looks like there are 5 total leaflets. All are variably oblong. Fruits are beaked, slender, upright pods bearing 5-14 seeds.

Low mowing can prevent flowers from going to seed. Selective, postemergence herbicide combinations for effective control are Milestone® (aminopyralid) at 5 to 7 per acre broadcast or 1/4 ounce per gallon of water with surfactant added for spot treatment, or a product containing triclopyr at a 0.5 to 1.5% solution with surfactant added.

Find more details at the Missouri Department of Conservation birdsfoot trefoil page.

Photo above of birdsfoot trefoil by John Munt

It is fairly straightforward to recognize large shrubs of bush honeysuckle (Lonicera mackii and other non-native, woody Lonicera species), and they can be treated in spring by foliar spraying or by cutting and treating the stems in fall.

In spring, many of the seeds germinate, with sprouts popping up like the one pictured here. If the soil is moist and fairly loose, they can usually be pulled by hand. Honeysuckle sprouts can also be controlled by spraying them with a 4% solution of glyphosate. Learn more about bush honeysuckle control here.

Photo above by bush honeysuckle by Susan Farrington

On March 3, 2025, U.S. Forest Service Mark Twain District Botany, Invasive Species, Rangelands Program Manager Brian Davidson was presented with the Professional Conservationist of the Year Award by the Conservation Federation of Missouri.

Among his many professional achievements through his long career with the USFS, Brian pioneered the Integrated Non-Native Invasive Species Control Project, which revolutionized invasive species mangement in Mark Twain National Forest lands. He championed monitoring and research, and participated in multiple collaborative efforts including serving on the Missouri Natural Areas Committee and MoIP.

March 3 was also Brian's last day before beginning his well deserved retirement. We will miss his service to MoIP, but welcome Rebecca Landewe with the USFS as an incoming member.

Photo above of MDC Invasive Species Coordinator Angela Sokolowski, Brian Davidson, and Rebecca Landewe by Carol Davit

State of Invasives aims to:

• Provide useful information to you/the leaders of your organization, agency, or business to help you recognize and control invasive plants and reduce their negative impacts, introduce you to our work, explain the challenges of invasive plants, and make the case for bold action and how this will benefit Missouri and Missourians. 

• Share talking points that you can use when communicating about invasive plant detection and control within your agency, business, or organization, and to your customers or stakeholders. 

• Empower you and your audiences to recognize invasive plants and take action—around your office building, behind your parking lot, on your back 40, right of way, back yard, around your crop field, or on any other land you or your group owns or manages. Our MoIP Video: A Landowner Tour is one of MoIP's many useful resources at moinvasives.org.

We hope the information in this enewsletter is helpful, and we’d like to hear from you. What questions or ideas do you have? Would you like to share the invasive plant action you or your organization or business are taking with us? If so, contact us at info@moinvasives.org.