Buckthorn
Introduced to North America in the 1880’s, European Buckthorn has been a nuisance ever since. Like many invasive species, the plant was brought over from Europe as a decorative shrub. Today, it has the connotation of being anything but decorative. 
The Buckthorn plant can be found in the northern half of the United States including the Great Plains and Canada. According to a research journal by the University of Wisconsin Press, "Surveys of European buckthorn populations reveal that it dominates the understory of some red oak Quercus rubra forests and can decimate populations of native herbaceous plants.” Buckthorn is a common pest here in Wisconsin and can be found nearly everywhere in the Midwest.
Source: http://web.ebscohost.com/views/static/html/Error.htm?aspxerrorpath=/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer
Photos: Robert H. Mohlenbrock. USDA SCS. 1989. Midwest wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide to plant species. Midwest National Technical Center, Lincoln. Courtesy of USDA NRCS Wetland Science Institute. Usage Requirements.
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