Florida has beautiful native plants and exotic plants that make wonderful landscape enhancements. Our weather promotes a wonderful growing environment for an abundance of plant life. Unfortunately, those same conditions encourage invasive exotic pest plants.
A weed is a plant dealing with an unhappy person. We have a great deal of native “weeds” that might be a bit of a nuisance, but aren’t causing an environmental problem. We shun fantastic plants that we have deemed to be “weeds,” which fill a biological niche. According to the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council, Category I Invasive Plant Species are “ Invasive exotics that are altering native plant communities by displacing native species, changing community structures or ecological functions, or hybridizing with natives. “ Category II Invasive Plant Species are “Invasive exotics that have increased in abundance or frequency but have not yet altered Florida plant communities to the extent shown by Category I species.” These species may become ranked Category I if ecological damage is demonstrated.
Here is a list of Category I plants commonly found in Hernando County:
Mimosa/silk tree, coral ardisia, asparagus fern, Australian pine, camphor tree, wild taro, air potato, cogongrass, lantana camara, nandina/Heavenly bamboo, sword fern, skunkvine, Mexican petunia, Chinese tallow, schefflera, Brazilian pepper, tropical soda apple, Caesar’s weed.
A list of Category II plants commonly found in Hernando County includes:
Coral vine, wax begonia, silverthorn, bottlebrush, golden rain tree and Chinaberry.
For a complete list of both categories, go to:
http://www.fleppc.org/list/2015FLEPPCLIST-LARGEFORMAT-FINAL.pdf
Often, people will respond to this list by saying, “Not my _____!” Fill in the blank. They ask, “Why do they sell these plants if they are invasive exotic plants?” The Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council is not a regulatory body. Some of the plants are listed as Federal Noxious Weeds, Florida Noxious Weeds, Florida Prohibited Aquatic Plants or are regulated by local ordinance. Only those plants are prohibited from sale or distribution. It is possible to walk into your nearest big box store and find some of the plants listed above for sale.
The next statement we often hear is, “Well, I keep mine under control.” Wind, birds and insects spread the plant seeds. It is within the very nature of invasive exotics to survive, thrive and conquer under adverse circumstances. They are a plant out of place and don’t have the natural predators or weather factors to keep them in check.
No plant is a bad plant. Some plants are the wrong plant in the wrong place. Does that mean all exotic plants are troublesome? Not at all! The FLEPPC list of invasive plant species represents only about 11% of more than 1,400 exotic species that have been introduced into Florida. (FLEPPC 2015 List of Invasive Species.)
Invasive exotics take over an area and displace native plants. Many species of wildlife are not opportunistic, and can’t decide to eat something else, or to change their habitat. The entire food chain is disrupted. Wildfires and flooding issues increase. Property values decrease. Management costs increase.
The best thing to do is to educate yourself. Study the FLEPPC list and other sites. University of Florida’s Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants has a website to learn about invasive plant species. Don’t purchase plants that are considered invasive. Beware of the friendly neighbor wishing to share plants that are “so easy” to care for. Watch for the words, “They grow everywhere! I can’t kill them!”
Let’s all work together to keep our paradise beautiful and environmentally friendly. Invasive exotic plants – the more you know, the less they’ll grow.
If you’re not sure if you have an invasive exotic or not, you can bring a sample to the Extension Office at 16110 Aviation Loop Dr, Brooksville 34604 or email a photo to me at LillyB@hernandocounty.us