Jefferson Parish, LA Invasive Plant Rules: Prohibited Species (2026)

6 of the parish's landscaping standards division ties every required tree, shrub, and buffer planting to the List of Approved Plant Materials, a species roster kept in the UDC appendix. Subsection (c) makes clear that the list, not a developer's preference, decides what counts: plant material indigenous or acclimated to South Louisiana's growing conditions qualifies, while anything the list marks prohibited does not count toward the landscaping requirement even if it is left standing or newly planted on site, and the same subsection singles out invasive exotic species and artificial plants as barred from satisfying the section's requirements.

6-1, but trees on the prohibited list and exotic invasive species receive no credit at all, no matter their size or canopy contribution. The parish layers a species-diversity cap on top of the prohibition: developments needing between six and forty trees may not let a single species make up more than thirty-five percent of the total, and developments needing more than forty trees are capped at twenty percent per species, pushing site plans away from monoculture plantings of a handful of hardy but invasive species.

The planning director retains narrow discretion to approve alternate cultivars not on the list where they match existing canopy or neighborhood character, but that discretion runs only to under-listed natives and new horticultural varieties, not to species the list has affirmatively prohibited.