PA Noxious Weed List: Classes, Sales Ban and Landowner Duties

Pennsylvania’s noxious weed list, kept by the Department of Agriculture (PDA), names 61 plants: 22 in Class A, 38 in Class B and 1 in Class C, and every federal noxious weed counts as Class C by default. Listed plants can’t be sold, transported, planted or propagated in the state, and that now includes landscape staples like burning bush, Japanese barberry and Callery pear. The law behind the list is the Controlled Plant and Noxious Weed Act, Act 46 of 2017, which sits in Title 3, Chapter 15 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes.

What do Class A, B and C mean?

PDA sorts each noxious weed by how far it has spread and whether it can still be wiped out (PDA lists, 3 Pa.C.S. § 1519):

Class	What it means	State priority	Plants
A	In Pennsylvania but limited to a few areas	Stop new infestations and eradicate existing ones	22
B	Widely established; can’t feasibly be eradicated	PDA may require control to contain an injurious infestation, or offer education and advice	38
C	Not known in Pennsylvania; on the federal noxious weed list (7 CFR 360.200)	Keep it out and eradicate any that turn up	1 named, plus all federal noxious weeds

Which plants are on Pennsylvania’s noxious weed list?

This is PDA’s current list as we checked it on November 14, 2026. The committee adds plants through notices in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, so check PDA’s list before you buy or sell.

Class A (22)

Giant hogweed and goatsrue (both with active PDA field programs), kudzu, Palmer amaranth, waterhemp, tall waterhemp, animated oat, dodder (non-native species), broomrape (non-native species), wavyleaf basketgrass, European frogbit, European water chestnut, water primrose (Ludwigia grandiflora ssp. hexapetala), Brazilian waterweed, yellow floating heart, Ravenna grass, wild chervil, chocolate vine (Akebia quinata), Japanese privet (Ligustrum japonicum), parrot feather, starry stonewort and Japanese blood grass (Imperata cylindrica ‘Red Baron’).

Class B (38)

Group	Plants
Thistles and field weeds	Bull thistle, Canada thistle, musk thistle, Johnsongrass, shattercane, poison hemlock, wild parsnip (wild types only), mugwort, garlic mustard, Japanese stiltgrass, lesser celandine
Vines	Mile-a-minute, Japanese hops, oriental bittersweet, black swallow-wort, pale swallow-wort
Knotweeds	Japanese, giant and Bohemian knotweed
Trees	Tree-of-heaven, Callery pear, Japanese angelica tree
Shrubs	Multiflora rose, Japanese barberry, burning bush, common buckthorn, glossy buckthorn, Chinese privet, European privet, border privet, and Amur, Morrow’s, Bell’s, Tatarian and Standish (fragrant) honeysuckle
Water and wetland plants	Purple loosestrife and other exotic Lythrum (including European wand loosestrife), Eurasian watermilfoil, hydrilla

Class C (1, plus the federal list)

Water soldier (Stratiotes aloides), plus every plant on the Federal Noxious Weed List that isn’t already in Class A or B.

Can you buy or plant burning bush, barberry or Callery pear in PA?

No, apart from a handful of approved cultivars. Section 1515(b) makes it a violation to distribute, cultivate or propagate a noxious weed, and the law’s definition of “distribute” covers selling, offering for sale, giving away, importing and moving the plant within the state (§ 1515, § 1502). The only exception in that subsection is an individual permit for research or education.

PDA has approved these exempted varieties, which can be sold statewide:

• Japanese barberry: the WorryFree series (Crimson Cutie, Lemon Cutie, Lemon Glow and Mr. Green Genes), which PDA describes as infertile and seedless, and Proven Winners Sunjoy Todo and Sunjoy Mini-Maroon
• Glossy buckthorn: ‘Fine Line’
• European privet: ‘Golden Ticket’

Exemptions are requested by the variety’s owner, such as the breeder or patent holder. PDA tells nurseries and garden centers not to apply themselves. If you’re replacing a hedge or foundation planting, ask for the cultivar name on the tag. A generic “red barberry” or “burning bush” isn’t exempt.

Do I have to remove noxious weeds from my property?

Not automatically. The law doesn’t order every landowner to clear listed plants. PDA says it doesn’t enforce control of Class B weeds on land because they’re so widespread, though it does enforce the sales ban (PDA program information). What the law does give PDA is the control order:

• The order (§ 1517): PDA can order a person to carry out treatment measures for noxious weeds. The order has to describe the problem, say what treatment is required and set a completion date. It’s served in person or by certified or registered mail.
• Appeal: you have 15 days after receiving the order to ask in writing for a hearing. If you don’t, the order becomes final.
• Who pays (§ 1518): the person under the order pays for the treatment. If you don’t comply, PDA notifies you and your municipality by certified mail. The municipality then does the work and can recover its costs from you.

In practice, Class A plants such as giant hogweed get the state’s attention; a knotweed patch or a row of burning bush usually doesn’t. Removing them is still smart if they’re spreading into lawns, beds or a neighbor’s yard, and you can’t hand the dug-up plants to someone else to replant.

What are the penalties?

Under § 1543, breaking the chapter, a permit, a regulation or an order is:

• First offense: a summary offense, with a fine of at least $100 plus costs, up to 90 days in jail, or both.
• Another offense within three years: a second-degree misdemeanor, with a fine of at least $500 plus costs, up to two years in jail, or both.
• Civil penalty: up to $10,000 per violation, plus the cost of remediation, containment or eradication, assessed only after notice and a chance for a hearing.

How do plants get added to the list?

The Controlled Plant and Noxious Weed Committee decides (§ 1511). The Secretary of Agriculture chairs it. Members include the secretaries of Conservation and Natural Resources, Environmental Protection and Transportation, the directors of the Fish and Boat and Game commissions, the chairs and minority chairs of both legislative agriculture committees, and three appointees from farming, the nursery and turf industry, and a Pennsylvania college or university.

Before it acts, the committee holds a public meeting announced in the Pennsylvania Bulletin at least a week ahead, with the plants under consideration listed. Additions and removals take effect 60 days after they’re published. The statute itself started with 11 Class A and 9 Class B weeds; the committee has since grown the list to 61.

What is Pennsylvania’s controlled plant list?

Controlled plants are allowed but regulated, because they can spread or cause problems if not contained. The list has one entry: hemp, meaning Cannabis sativa with a delta-9 THC concentration of no more than 0.3% on a dry weight basis. Growing, holding, moving or selling a controlled plant without a PDA permit is a violation (§ 1515(c)), and PDA runs a separate Hemp Program for those permits.

How do I report a noxious weed?

Use PDA’s noxious weed complaint form (PDF). For giant hogweed, call PDA’s toll-free Giant Hogweed Hotline, 1-877-464-9333, describe the plant and leave a daytime number. PDA’s giant hogweed brochure warns that its sap, on sweaty skin in sunlight, causes painful burning blisters within 24 to 48 hours, and it advises against mowing, cutting or weed-whacking it. Look for a plant 8 to 14 feet tall with leaves up to 5 feet across, hollow stems with purple blotches, and flat white flower heads up to 2½ feet across in June or July.

Sources

• PDA, Controlled Plant and Noxious Weed Lists
• PDA, Noxious Weed Program Information
• PDA, Exempted Varieties Information and Application
• 3 Pa.C.S. §§ 1502, 1511, 1515, 1517, 1518, 1519 and 1543 (unofficial copies; current as of January 1, 2026)
• HB 790 of 2017 (Act 46), approved October 30, 2017

Last checked November 14, 2026.

Common questions

Is burning bush illegal in Pennsylvania?

Burning bush is a Class B noxious weed in Pennsylvania, so it can’t be sold, given away, moved or planted. PDA doesn’t enforce control of Class B weeds already growing on land, so an existing shrub isn’t something the state is coming after, but you can’t sell or transplant it.

How many noxious weeds does Pennsylvania list?

61 as of November 14, 2026: 22 in Class A, 38 in Class B and 1 in Class C. Every plant on the federal noxious weed list also counts as Class C by default.

Can nurseries sell Japanese barberry in Pennsylvania?

Only approved exempt cultivars: the WorryFree series (Crimson Cutie, Lemon Cutie, Lemon Glow and Mr. Green Genes) and Proven Winners Sunjoy Todo and Sunjoy Mini-Maroon. Other Japanese barberry is a Class B noxious weed and can’t be sold.

Do I have to remove Japanese knotweed from my property in PA?

Not unless PDA issues you a control order. Japanese knotweed is Class B, and PDA says it doesn’t enforce control of Class B weeds on land. If PDA does order treatment and you don’t comply, your municipality can do the work and recover its costs from you.

What is the penalty for selling a noxious weed in Pennsylvania?

A first offense is a summary offense with a fine of at least $100 plus costs and up to 90 days in jail. A repeat within three years is a second-degree misdemeanor. PDA can also assess civil penalties of up to $10,000 per violation.

See every Pennsylvania building, digging and contractor rule on our Pennsylvania guide. To identify a plant, use our weed identification guide, and see how other states handle it in noxious weed laws by state.