goutweed
Aegopodium podagraria L.

Overview

Appearance

Aegopodium podagraria is a creeping, herbaceous perennial that can grow to be 15.7-39.4 in. (0.4-1 m) tall.

Foliage

The basal and lower leaves have long petioles. There are usually 9 leaflets per lower leaf, although this can vary. Each leaflet is ovate with an acute or acuminate apex. The bases of these leaflets can be rounded or cordate. The lower leaflets are 1-3 in. (3-8 cm) long and have a serrate margin. The upper leaflets are similar to the lower leaflets, but are smaller and ternate in their arrangement, and have shorter petioles.

Flowers

The white flowers are arranged in umbels that are 2.25-4.75 in. (6-12 cm) in diameter. Each umbel is borne on a long peduncle, and has 15-25 rays that are about 1 in. (2.5 cm) or more in length. The flowers of Aegopodium podagraria appear in June.

Fruit

The brown fruits oblong-ovoid, laterally flattened and 0.12-0.16 in. (3-4 mm) long.

Ecological Threat

Digging up this plant can often be counterproductive as fragmentation of the root system stimulates reproduction via the stolons. The non-variagated form is particularly aggressive.

Resources

• Weeds Gone Wild: Alien Plant Invaders of Natural Areas - Plant Conservation Alliance
• Weed of the Week - USDA Forest Service
• Plant Invaders of Mid-Atlantic Natural Areas - National Park Service

Selected Images

Maps

Invasive Listing Sources

• City of Ann Arbor Michigan Parks and Recreation
• Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, 1994.
• Connecticut Invasive Plant List
• Connecticut Invasive Plant Working Group
• Connecticut Noxious Weeds
• Invasive Plant Species of West Virginia
• Maine Noxious Weeds
• Massachusetts Invasive Plants Advisory Group List
• Massachusetts Noxious Weeds
• Massachusetts Prohibited Plant List
• National Park Service, Mid-Atlantic Exotic Plant Management Team Invasive Plant List
• Native Plant Society of Oregon, 2008
• Non-Native Invasive Plants of Arlington County, Virginia
• Ontario’s Invading Species Awareness Program Tracked Species List
• Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Invasive Plants
• Plant Invaders of Mid-Atlantic Natural Areas
• Rhode Island Natural History Survey
• Vermont Noxious Weeds
• WeedUS - Database of Plants Invading Natural Areas in the United States
• West Virginia Invasive Species Strategic Plan and Volunteer Guidelines 2014
• West Virginia Native Plant Society, Flora West Virginia Project, and West Virginia Curatorial Database System, September 3, 1999
• Wisconsin Noxious Weeds
• Wisconsin's Invasive species rule – NR 40

References