Invasive (Goat's rue) plants in Canada form a symbiotic association with strains of sv. officinalis originating from the Old World.

The toxic legume plant, is native to the Eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea regions. This legume is considered to be a noxious weed, and its establishment in Canada may have resulted from ornamental planting and/or field trials. In its native range, a highly specific nitrogen-fixing symbiosis with the bacterium, symbiovar (sv.