Kalamazoo Faces New Invasive Plant Threat From Rare Purple Jewelweed

Kalamazoo is battling its second invasive plant threat of the 2025 season. Keep an eye out for this beautiful, yet dangerous plant spreading throughout Southwest Michigan as this purple bloom isn't as sweet as it seems!

First the Vine, Now the Flower:

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Just weeks ago we were alerted to a new threat to Michigan wildlife lurking in our own backyard: Black Dog Strangling Vine. Reports claim Michigan's official state botanist was visiting the Oakland/Winchell neighborhood and identified a dangerous and invasive vine:

the epicenter of the outbreak is at a yard slightly north of Chevy Chase on the west side of Oakland Drive. And then from there, it pops up in pretty much every other yard all the way to [Spruce Street] where I’ve identified it in the yard across the street from me. -  Dropseed Native Gardens & Ecological Restoration

Now, the Michigan DNR has detected a second invasive weed in the Kalamazoo area. According to the DNR rare purple jewelweed, also known as Himalayan balsam, was recently detected in Frays Park near Drake Rd. and West Main.

Due to a citizen’s online report, the plant recently was detected in the City of Kalamazoo’s Frays Park...Once the patch of plants was located and positively identified, BCK CISMA and some new invasive species program staff with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources met onsite to pull all visible plants and dispose of them.

Both an independent citizen report and an encounter by Hannah Whiteman, landscape coordinator at Kzoo Parks, lead to the involvement of the Michigan DNR and the Barry, Calhoun and Kalamazoo Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area (BCK CISMA) officials who say this invasive weed steals nourishment from nearby native plants and contribute to faster riverbank erosion due to their shallow root systems.

While a press release from the Michigan DNR claims the Kalamazoo site is the only active population in the lower peninsula anyone who encounters the plant is asked to report it here using the Midwest Invasive Species Information Network (MISIN).