About

Gorse was intentionally introduced into the southern Oregon’s coastal ecosystem in the late 1800’s. It is now rated one of the top 100 worst invasive species worldwide according to the World Conservation Union. It is the most successful invasive plant we have along the Oregon coast.

Gorse is native to western and central Europe, where it is cultivated for hedgerows, and used as forage for livestock in areas of poor soil. Gorse is a weed in more than 30 countries. In Australia and New Zealand where it has taken over hundreds of thousands of hectares of land, seven insects have been released as biological control agents; results are pending.

The purpose of this blog is to distribute information collected about this threat, and to encourage conversations that lead to better control and eventual containment of this invasive plant.