An invasive weed from eastern Asia has been found in Iowa for the first time. Iowa State University weed scientist, Bob Hartzler, recently confirmed a vine growing on the edge of a wooded area in Marion County is the dreaded “mile-a-minute” weed.
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The mile-a-minute weed has been a big problem in Pennsylvania and other mid-Atlantic states for decades, but until now, the only sighting of the invasive vine in the Midwest was in Indiana.
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Hartzler says the mile-a-minute weed doesn’t present a big threat to farming in Iowa, right now.
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The mile-a-minute weed is an annual vine that can grow up to 20 feet long and has light green, triangular leaves. It also produces small blue berries. Hartzler wants Iowans who suspect they have an infestation of the weed to report it to him or the Iowa Department of Agriculture.
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