Invasive Flora Repository: Traits, environmental tolerances, and invasion history of invasive plant species in the United States.

Species traits may serve as proxies for ecological mechanisms that drive invasion success and, therefore, are a promising framework for investigating invasion processes and predicting future outcomes of species that have been recently introduced. However, although many efforts exist to document species traits of plants, a centralized database of invasive plant species in the United States is not currently available. We have compiled traits data for 1024 invasive plants in the United States across 28 species characteristics, including functional morphological, reproductive, and dispersal traits, as well as characteristics related to the invasion history of the species, such as origin and invasion pathways. We identified our list of invasive plant species from EDDMapS, a web-based national network that aggregates observation records and distribution data of invasive species and pests in the United States and Canada, and the U.S. Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (US-RIIS). Traits data were collected from various online factsheet databases, including the CABI Compendium: Invasive Species, the USDA Plants Database, the North Carolina State Extension Plant Toolbox, the UC-Berkeley Jepson Herbarium, the USFS-Fire Effects Information System, and University of Michigan's CLIMBERS. We aimed to create a comprehensive database on traits of invasive species that can be utilized by researchers and conservationists and serve as a reference for those involved in the monitoring and control of invasive species. These data are available for reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Attribution) licensing.