Mile-a-minute weed, an invasive weed from eastern Asia, has been found for the first time in Iowa.

A concerned landowner in Marion County requested identification assistance with a vine that was growing on the edge of a wooded area near a garden, where the weed was identified as the invasive species. Lane Kozel, deputy weed commissioner for the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, tells KCII News the weed is a vine that grows extensively and can reach up to 20 feet long; it latches on to other plants, and really likes direct sunlight and will grow as high as need be to get it. Mile-a-minute weed forms dense mats that can drive out native species. Kozel said that the plant being found in Iowa seems to be an outlier, as it is normally found on the east coast.