Homeowner warned after sharing photo of mystery plant popping up in yard: 'Good luck'

A Virginia Redditor started seeing a plant popping up all over their garden and asked the community at r/whatplantisthis to help identify it. 

"Got a couple dozen of these popping up all over my yard. Any idea what they are?" wrote the original poster, alongside a few photos. 

The top-voted commenter identified the plant as sweet autumn clematis. This plant is native to northeastern Asia and is invasive in North America. Other homeowners have had clematis vines rapidly take over their property.

Invasive plants are more than just an eyesore and a pain to remove. They cause considerable amounts of damage. 

When a species is moved from one habitat to another, it is freed of the checks and balances it evolved with. This can create an opportunity for it to spread in its new home, outcompeting native species, and establishing a monopoly on vital resources. Over time, this can create a decline in biodiversity and ecosystem services that humans and wildlife alike depend upon. 

This loss of ecosystem services translates into a range of damages for society. One study suggested that over the course of 50 years, invasive species have caused over $1 trillion in costs. Another estimated the damage in hundreds of billions of dollars annually across the planet.  

Building and maintaining a native garden helps avoid these consequences while still giving homeowners a beautiful and eco-friendly garden. These have the added bonus of properly supporting local pollinators and being drought-resistant since native plants have adapted to the local climate. 

The Reddit community's sympathies were with the original poster dealing with invasive sweet autumn clematis. 

"Good luck digging up the whole root system, and the dozens of others you will encounter over the next few years," wrote the original poster. "Put it in a Dutch oven in the sunlight for a day or two."

"At this stage it's easy enough to just dig up with a shovel and pull it out," replied another.

What's the hardest thing about taking care of your yard? Mowing the lawn 🏡 Controlling weeds 🌿 Keeping pests at bay 🐿️ I don't have a yard 🤷 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

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