Quarantine on invasive vine made permanent

State officials have made permanent the quarantine on beach vitex, an invasive vine that’s been discovered on dunes in Sandbridge and Norfolk’s Willoughby Spit.

The quarantine, which started in late October, prohibits the movement of any part of the plant into, within or from Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Accomack County and Northampton County. The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services board voted to make the restrictions permanent Thursday, according to its Web site.

Beach vitex, nicknamed “coastal kudzu,” is one of a few plants that will grow on the beach, so some property owners have planted it for ornamental purposes.

But it has the potential to destroy dunes, choke out native plants and ravage habitats, including that of  the endangered loggerhead sea turtle, according to the agriculture department. For those reasons, the plant is already banned in the Carolinas.

Virginia Beach officials have said  residents should leave beach vitex alone if they have it on their property. Digging it up will spread it, said Cal Schiemann, the agricultural extension agent for Virginia Beach. It’s best to wait until spring before scraping off the plant’s bark and applying a herbicide with a brush, he said.