A person owning, possessing or having charge of lands in this State, whether improved or unimproved, inclosed or uninclosed, who shall knowingly permit any Canada thistle to stand thereon until its seeds ripen, shall be liable to a penalty of twenty-five cents ($0.25) for every stalk or branch thereof, to be sued for and recovered in a civil action, with costs, by any person, in his name, in any court of competent jurisdiction.
N.J.S. § 4:7-54