Best Introduced
The Ailanthus webworm moth is a small insect in the family Attevidae, found across much of North and Central America. Adult moths display distinctive bright orange forewings marked with white spots outlined in black, and they are notably active during daylight hours, unlike most moth species. The la...
Wild pansy, Viola tricolor, is a small annual or short-lived perennial native to Europe and parts of western Asia. Its flowers commonly combine violet, blue, yellow, and white, giving rise to the name heartsease and other traditional names. The species contributed genetically to the cultivated garde...
A Eurasian annual widely naturalized in North America, valued for centuries in herbal medicine for its anti-inflammatory properties and commonly brewed as a calming tea.
Anthidium manicatum, commonly called the wool carder bee, is a solitary bee species native to Europe that has been introduced to North America and other regions. Females collect plant fibers from hairy leaves and stems, which they use to line their nest cavities, giving the species its common name....
Ragged robin, Silene flos-cuculi, is a herbaceous perennial native to Europe and parts of western Asia, where it grows in damp meadows, marshes, and stream margins. Its pink flowers have five petals, each divided into four narrow lobes that create a distinctly ragged appearance. Drainage, agricultur...
Red campion, Silene dioica, is a perennial or biennial flowering plant native to Europe and parts of western Asia. It bears rose-pink flowers with five deeply notched petals and commonly grows in hedgerows, woodland margins, roadside banks, and other partly shaded places. The species is dioecious, m...
The Cynthia moth (*Samia cynthia*), also known as the Ailanthus silkmoth, is a large saturniid moth native to Asia. It was introduced to Europe and North America in the mid-19th century in an attempt to establish a commercial silk industry. The larvae primarily feed on the leaves of the tree of heav...
Corn cockle (Agrostemma githago) is an annual flowering plant in the carnation family that was historically widespread as a weed of European grain fields. It has slender stems, narrow leaves, and pink-purple flowers, but its seeds contain toxic compounds and can contaminate harvested grain. Improved...
The ailanthus silkmoth, Samia cynthia, is a large moth in the family Saturniidae, native to parts of East Asia and first described by Dru Drury in 1773. Its larvae commonly feed on tree-of-heaven, or Ailanthus altissima, and produce silk that has been used commercially outside the domesticated silkw...
Megachile apicalis is a leafcutter bee native to Europe and Asia that was accidentally introduced to the United States in the 1980s, where it is notable for pollinating alfalfa.
A Eurasian perennial (Silene latifolia) introduced to North America, widely studied in evolutionary biology as a model organism for the genetics of sex determination in plants.
Yellow Loosestrife (Lysimachia vulgaris) is a wetland perennial native to Europe and Asia, widely naturalized in North America, with clusters of bright yellow star-shaped flowers.
A Eurasian annual legume (Vicia villosa) widely cultivated as a nitrogen-fixing cover crop and forage plant, now naturalized as a common roadside wildflower across North America.
An introduced Eurasian biennial whose flowers open only in the morning, earning the folk name 'Jack-go-to-bed-at-noon,' and producing large dandelion-like seed heads at maturity.
Hylaeus leptocephalus is a Palearctic masked bee described by Morawitz in 1871, notable as an introduced species established in North America.
An annual clover native to Europe (Trifolium arvense) with distinctive soft, fuzzy gray-pink cylindrical flower heads resembling a rabbit's foot, naturalized across North America.
Megachile sculpturalis, the giant resin bee, is a large solitary bee native to East Asia that has become an invasive species in North America and Europe since 1994.
A Eurasian annual weed naturalized on every inhabited continent and considered one of the world's most widespread flowering plants, named for its heart-shaped seed pods.
Moth Mullein (Verbascum blattaria) is a European biennial naturalized across North America, distinguished by its white or yellow five-petaled flowers with prominent purple-hairy stamens.
A perennial clover native to Europe (Trifolium hybridum) introduced to North America in the 19th century as a forage crop and now naturalized in meadows and roadsides.
A Eurasian perennial (Tussilago farfara) introduced to North America, one of the earliest spring bloomers, producing yellow flowers before its leaves emerge in late winter.
A low-growing annual or biennial legume native to Eurasia (Medicago lupulina) with small yellow flowers and distinctive black kidney-shaped seed pods, naturalized worldwide.
Prickly Lettuce (Lactuca serriola) is a Eurasian annual naturalized worldwide and widely considered the closest wild ancestor of cultivated lettuce (Lactuca sativa).
A Eurasian biennial naturalized across North America, one of the earliest spring-blooming mustards, with young leaves historically consumed as a winter salad green.
A biennial legume native to Eurasia (Melilotus albus) introduced to North America as forage and a soil-nitrogen improver, now naturalized as a widespread roadside weed.
Osmia taurus is a solitary mason bee native to East Asia that was introduced to the United States in the early 2000s and is notably expanding its range across the Appalachian region.
Rough Cinquefoil (Potentilla norvegica) is an annual or biennial wildflower of Eurasian origin, widely naturalized across North America in disturbed soils and roadsides.
A Eurasian perennial introduced to North America, now considered invasive across much of the continent, bearing distinctive yellow and orange snapdragon-like flowers on upright stems.
A Eurasian annual weed (Sinapis arvensis) naturalized across North America and considered a major pest of cereal crops, though young leaves and seeds have long been used as food.
