Less than half of the approximately 2630 plant species found in Norway occur naturally in this country. Of the species that have immigrated, 593 have become a permanent part of the Norwegian vegetation. More than 110 of these are thought to be expanding and some of them may have a significant impact on the vegetation.
Alien species have come here from all parts of the world. They have arrived on ships, by road and rail transport, in seed mixtures and grass, as agricultural, horticultural and forestry plants, as garden plants, through tourism, by being sown on roadside verges, and with imports of grain and other consumer goods. Botanical gardens and gardening activities are responsible for the introduction of approximately 45 per cent of the species now spreading in Norway.
Alien species of vascular* plants that are spreading in Norway (excluding Svalbard)
* Vascular plants are plants with special tissues for transporting fluids, i.e. all ordinary plants with stems, roots and leaves. Mosses, lichens and algae are not vascular plants.
| English name |
Scientific name |
First appearance year/period |
Escaped from |
| European silver fir |
Abies alba |
|
Forestry |
| Sycamore |
Acer pseudoplatanus |
|
Gardens |
| Sneezewort |
Achillea ptarmica |
|
|
| Black bent |
Agrostis gigantea |
about 1930 |
|
| |
Amelanchier spicata |
|
Gardens |
| Columbine |
Aquilegia vulgaris |
Middle Ages |
Gardens |
| Sand rock-cress |
Arabis arenosa |
1913 |
Roadsides and railways |
| Garden arabis |
Arabis caucasica |
|
Gardens |
| Swedish arabis |
Arabis suecica |
1939 |
Roadsides and railways |
| Bucksbeard |
Aruncus dioicus |
|
Gardens |
| Wintercress |
Barbarea vulgaris |
about 1790 |
|
| Thunberg's barberry |
Berberis thunbergii |
|
Gardens |
| Hoary alison |
Berteroa incana |
about 1820 |
|
| Hungarian brome |
Bromus inermis |
about 1900 |
Grass cultivation (forage) |
| Warty cabbage |
Bunias orientalis |
1800-1810 |
|
| Spreading bellflower |
Campanula patula |
1830 |
|
| Sticky mouse-ear |
Cerastium glomeratum |
|
Roadsides and railways |
| Small toadflax |
Chaenorhinum minus |
|
Roadsides and railways |
| Pineapple weed |
Chamomilla suaveolens |
1862 |
|
| Common blue sow-thistle |
Cicerbita macrophylla |
|
Gardens |
| Hairless blue sow-thistle |
Cicerbita plumieri |
|
Gardens |
| Spring beauty |
Claytonia sibirica |
|
|
| Canadian fleabane |
Conyza canadensis |
1870 |
|
| White dogwood |
Cornus alba |
|
Gardens |
| Hollyberry cotoneaster |
Cotoneaster bullatus |
|
Gardens |
| Diel's cotoneaster |
Cotoneaster dielsianus |
|
Gardens |
| Spreading cotoneaster |
Cotoneaster divaricatus |
|
Gardens |
| Shiny cotoneaster |
Cotoneaster lucidus |
|
Gardens |
| Himalayan cotoneaster |
Cotoneaster simonsii |
|
Gardens |
| Rough hawksbeard |
Crepis biennis |
|
|
| Bristly hawksbeard |
Crepis setosa |
1961 |
|
| Ivy-leaved toadflax |
Cymbalaria muralis |
|
|
| Bleeding heart |
Dicentra formosa |
|
Gardens |
| (whitlow grass) |
Draba nemorosa |
|
|
| Cockspur |
Echinochloa crus-galli |
|
|
| Canadian waterweed |
Elodea canadensis |
1925 |
|
| American willowherb |
Epilobium ciliatum |
|
|
| |
Epilobium glandulosum |
1928 |
|
| |
Epilobium watsonii |
1869 |
|
| Hairy rocket |
Erucastrum gallicum |
|
|
| Japanese knotweed |
Fallopia japonica |
|
Gardens |
| Giant knotweed |
Fallopia sachaliensis |
|
Gardens |
| Japanese knotweed x Giant knotweed |
Fallopia x bohemica |
|
Gardens |
| Sheep's fescue |
Festuca ovina ssp. capillata |
|
|
| Hard fescue |
Festuca trachyphylla |
|
Sown on roadsides |
| Shaggy soldier |
Galinsoga parviflora |
1830 |
|
| Gallant soldier |
Galinsoga ciliata |
about 1900 |
|
| cranesbill |
Geranium sibiricum |
about 1940 |
|
| Large-leaved avens |
Geum macrophyllum |
|
Gardens |
| |
Heracleum 'laciniatum' |
about 1850 |
Gardens |
| Giant hogweed |
Heracleum mantegazzianum |
|
Gardens |
| Dame's violet |
Hesperis matronalis |
|
Gardens |
| Indian balsam |
Impatiens glandulifera |
|
Gardens |
| Small balsam |
Impatiens parviflora |
about 1875 |
|
| Slender rush |
Juncus tenuis |
1899 |
|
| Scottish laburnum |
Laburnum alpinum |
|
Gardens |
| Laburnum |
Laburnum anagyroides |
|
Gardens |
| Prickly lettuce |
Lactuca serriola |
|
Gardens |
| Northern dead-nettle |
Lamium confertum |
|
|
| |
Lepidium densiflorum |
|
|
| Smith's pepperwort |
Lepidium heterophyllum |
|
|
| Dittander |
Lepidium latifolium |
|
|
| Narrow-leaved pepperwort |
Lepidium ruderale |
|
|
| Pale toadflax |
Linaria repens |
|
|
| Blue-berried honeysuckle |
Lonicera caerulea |
|
Gardens |
| Tartarian honeysuckle |
Lonicera tatarica |
|
Gardens |
| Nootka lupin |
Lupinus nootkatensis |
|
Sown |
| |
Lupinus perennis |
|
Sown |
| Garden lupin |
Lupinus polyphyllus |
|
Gardens |
| Dotted loosestrife |
Lysimachia punctata |
|
Gardens |
| Oregon grape |
Mahonia aquifolia |
|
Gardens |
| Welsh poppy |
Meconopsis cambrica |
|
Gardens |
| Monkey flower |
Mimulus guttatus |
|
|
| Sweet cicely |
Myrrhis odorata |
Middle Ages |
|
| Upright yellow-sorrel |
Oxalis fontana |
|
|
| White spruce |
Picea glauca |
|
Gardens and forestry |
| Sitka spruce |
Picea sitchensis |
|
Forestry |
| Dwarf mountain-pine |
Pinus mogu |
|
Forestry |
| (meadow-grass) |
Poa supina |
|
Roadsides and railways |
| Russian cinquefoil |
Potentilla intermedia |
|
|
| Small-flowered cinquefoil |
Potentilla thuringiaca |
|
|
| Oxlip |
Primula elatior |
|
Gardens |
| Yellow corydalis |
Pseudofumaria lutea |
|
Gardens |
| Mountain lungwort |
Pulmonaria montana |
|
Gardens |
| Red lungwort |
Pulmonaria rubra |
|
Gardens |
| (buttercup) |
Ranunculus cymbalaria |
1916 |
|
| Austrian yellow-cress |
Rorippa austriaca |
|
|
| Austrian yellow-cress x Creeping yellow-cress |
Rorippa austriaca x sylvestris |
|
|
| Red-leaved rose |
Rosa glauca |
|
Gardens |
| Japanese rose |
Rosa rugosa |
ca 1920 |
Gardens |
| "Himalayan giant" blackberry |
Rubus armeniacus |
|
Gardens |
| Russian dock |
Rumex confertus |
1931 |
|
| Elder |
Sambucus nigra |
Middle Ages |
Gardens |
| Red-berried elder |
Sambucus racemosa |
|
Gardens |
| Soapwort |
Saponaria officinalis |
|
|
| Siberian squill |
Scilla siberica |
|
Gardens |
| (nightshade) |
Scopolia carniolica |
|
|
| Caucasian stonecrop |
Sedum spurium |
|
Gardens |
| Sticky groundsel |
Senecio viscosus |
about 1750 |
|
| Tall rocket |
Sisymbrium altissimum |
|
|
| Canadian goldenrod |
Solidago canadensis |
|
|
| Early goldenrod |
Solidago gigantea |
|
|
| Swedish whitebeam |
Sorbus intermedia |
|
Gardens |
| Sand spurrey |
Spergularia rubra |
|
|
| Snowberry |
Symphoricarpos albus var. laevigatus |
|
Gardens |
| Yellow oxeye |
Telekia speciosa |
|
Gardens |
| Alpine penny-cress |
Thlaspi caerulescens |
1874 |
|
| Crimson clover |
Trifolium incarnatum |
|
Sown |
| |
Trifolium spadiceum |
|
|
| Western hemlock |
Tsuga heterophylla |
|
Gardens |
| Slender speedwell |
Veronica filiformis |
|
|
| Common field speedwell |
Veronica persica |
|
|
Source: Fremstad, E. & R. Elven 1997: Alien plants in Norway; a review.
Norsk geografisk tidsskrift Vol. 51. 199-218.