Often exotic (non-indigenous) plants were brought into a new area because of there desireable features (resistence to disease, ability to cope with little water, ability to help reduce erosion, nice flowers, etc.) but some, set loose in a new environment, dominate local species. Now many are trying to combat invasive species but like many problems it is quite difficult to solve once it reaching the point that more than a few people take notice. The following articles and web sites explore this topic.

1. Invasive Species Weblog - Blog by Jennifer Forman Orth, Ph.D with a large amount of infomation on invasive species.

2. Weeds Gone Wild: Alien Plant Invaders of Natural Areas - "a web-based project of the Plant Conservation Alliance's Alien Plant Working Group, that provides information for the general public, land managers, researchers, and others on the serious threat and impacts of invasive alien (exotic, non-nat

3. Love Me Tendril - "Chinese wisteria, Japanese honeysuckle, English ivy, mile-a-minute . . . taking over roadsides and stream banks, invading neighborhoods and parks." by David Montgomery, Washington Post, Sep 2004.

4. Invasive Plants in Your Backyard - Invassive species cost to the United States "national economy has been estimated as high as $137 billion per year, and it is increasing." from the Nature Conservancy.

5. To Save the West, Kill a Plant - "The tamarisk, an invasive species introduced to the United States from Eurasia, is a deep-rooted plant that aggressively obtains water from the soil and groundwater. A single mature tree can produce up to 500,000 seeds per year, crowding out native plants along rivers and creeks and reducing wildlife habitat. The species now infests all the major rivers, springs, ditches, and wetlands in ten states-including Texas, Arizona, Utah, Colorado..."

6. Lab on hunt for ways to curb foreign fauna and flora - "The center's scientists are trying to figure out ways to stop the growing spread of invasive plants and animals that have been accidentally introduced to foreign ecosystems, posing environmental and economic threats. A 2000 Cornell University study estimated that 50,000 nonnative plants and animal species cause $137 billion worth of damage a year in the United States."