Laurens County, SC Invasive Plant Rules: Prohibited Species (2026)

Chapter 33's tree protection appendix does not regulate invasive plants already growing on existing private land; its Table D.6 nuisance species list operates only inside the county's development review process for new subdivisions and commercial or industrial projects. Ten tree species, Bradford/Callery pear, tree-of-heaven, Chinese wisteria, Japanese maple, chinaberry, empress tree, golden bamboo, mimosa/silk tree, Chinese tallow tree and wild olive, along with six shrub and vine species, privet, nandina, Japanese honeysuckle, kudzu, English ivy and multiflora rose, are declared invasive and "should be removed." Because they sit on the nuisance list, a developer can cut them down as part of site work without first obtaining the tree removal development permit that every other protected, specimen or historic tree requires.

The tradeoff runs the other direction too: none of the listed species can be planted to satisfy a subdivision's replacement-tree obligation after a protected tree comes down, and none can be used to meet the ordinance's separate landscaping, buffer or street-tree planting standards for new development. The list mixes true tree-canopy invasives, tree-of-heaven and Chinese tallow, with a groundcover vine, kudzu and English ivy, and an ornamental grass-like plant, golden bamboo, so its reach inside the tree ordinance is broader than its "nuisance tree species" heading suggests.