BRIMLEY, Mich. — An aggressive, fast-spreading invasive plant is taking root in Michigan’s eastern Upper Peninsula, where officials say it’s already spreading through backyards and waterways.
Michigan’s worst infestations of invasive purple jewelweed are concentrated around Brimley and Sault Ste. Marie in Chippewa County, though it was also found in Kalamazoo last year — the only known active population downstate.
Purple jewelweed is a type of flowering impatiens plant that can crowd out native wildflowers and destabilize soil along streambanks, where its shallow roots increase the risk of erosion…