Thursday, March 19, 2015

Fill in the Gaps! Chinese wisteria (Wisteria sinensis)

It's hard to believe that the first day of spring is tomorrow, especially for those still shoveling snow!  The first Chinese wisteria (Wisteria sinensis) flowers have been spotted in south Georgia and now is a good time to keep an eye out for infested areas.

Chinese wisteria (Wisteria sinensis) by Robert Vidéki, Doronicum Kft., Bugwood.org

EDDMapS is Bugwood's website for mapping and reporting invasive species nationwide.  It includes data from all types of sources, herbariums to homeowners and federal agencies to citizen scientist programs.  It relies on accurate and quality reports of invasive species occurrences to fill in the maps to show a complete distribution of a species.  As Chinese wisteria is most easily seen when it is flowering, help us fill in the gaps on the map in the next several weeks!


The easiest way to report where you find Chinese wisteria is to use one of the BugwoodApps!  The SEEDN app is an app for reporting invasive species occurrences for the southeastern U.S. and is available on iOS (Apple products) and Android devices.  If you don't have a smartphone, tablet, or other such device, you can report findings through EDDMapS. Remember to take a picture of the plants you find with your report!  Once your reports are verified, it will color in the map where data is currently missing.  Happy scouting!

To view distribution maps of Chinese Wisteria: Chinese wisteria distribution
For identification information and other resources on Chinese wisteria: Chinese wisteria information
To view images of Chinese wisteria: Chinese wisteria images