In the battle against invasive species phrag, Ontario is arming itself with money, herbicides and helicopters

Standing on a rural stretch of McCowan Road north of Toronto, Dayna Laxton, York Region’s invasive species specialist, takes a good look at the frontline in her battle against a relentless occupying force.The federal government long ago labelled phrag Canada’s worst invasive species. You’ll find the enemy lining almost any country road or highway in Southern Ontario, and flourishing in wetlands and coastal marshes. It’s called the European common reed, but its full scientific name is Phragmites australis, and its known as Phragmites, or just phrag.