elcome to Florida Caverns State Help Control Invasive by Keeping Them Park — a place to experience Florida’s Out of Your Landscape at Home rich and animal life. While you’re Invasive Plants Preventing the introduction and spread of invasive Where, we’d like to bring attention to some invasive plants in Florida is the most effective and least plants that are a serious ecological threat within this expensive means of protecting Florida’s natural park and other natural areas throughout the state. habitats. Here are a few things we can all do: You What Is An Invasive Plant? Learn more about invasive plants: Of the more than 4,000 plant found in Florida, http://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/guide/invplant.html hould 1,300 or more are non-native* or exotic; they come Volunteer to help remove invasive plants in your area. S from other countries or from other regions within Inspect your yard for invasive plants; discard them in Know the U.S. At least 130 of these exotic plant species are Water hyacinth on the St. John’s River, Palatka 1968 household trash (don’t compost). spreading rapidly throughout our natural areas. When they cause environmental or economic harm, they are Practice good stewardship: don’t transport invasive considered to be invasive. plants to other areas and never empty your aquarium into a Why Should We Care? body of water, not even a canal. So, What’s The Problem? Invasive plants are costing Floridians a lot of money; Avoid chopping aquatic plants with boat propellers as In their native ranges, plants generally do not become nearly 80 million taxpayer dollars were spent in 2005 some plant fragments can grow into new infestations. to control them. If not kept in check, invasive plants a nuisance. Today, with modern transportation, many Remove plant fragments from boats/trailers after use; can create ideal breeding grounds for mosquitos, cause exotic plants have caught a free ride to Florida. Once check clothing, shoes, and pets for seeds after hiking. here, they are free from natural enemies that existed serious navigation blockages, and major flooding Ask your nursery or garden center for native and/or in their home range (insects, diseases, etc.), and can problems during storms. Boating, swimming, hiking non-invasive plants. outgrow and replace Florida’s native plants. and other uses of natural areas can also be made diffi- cult, even dangerous, by invasive plant infestations. Watch for and report invasive plants found in this When Invasive Plants Replace Native Plants: park; note the location and tell a ranger. Native plants can be permanently eliminated, Keeping Things Under Control Take guided walks at state parks to learn about diminishing Florida’s natural diversity; After much research, we know that some invasive Florida’s native plants and animals. Animals that use native plants are often unable to plant species will never be eradicated in Florida; they adapt, so they may leave the area or die out; simply reproduce too fast. That is why we strive to keep them at the lowest feasible levels. The regular Invasive aquatic plants can completely fill the maintenance of invasive plants lessens overall environ- water column, driving fish and wildlife from the area. mental and economic damages and maintains habitat for native flora and fauna.

* The Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council defines an exotic (non- native) species as one introduced to Florida, purposefully or accidentally, from a natural range outside of Florida. A natural- Control of invasive plants allows greater enjoyment of our waters ized exotic is one that is self-sustaining outside of cultivation. and natural areas, and preserves Florida’s natural diversity.

Park staff controlling an air potato infestation Florida Caverns State Park Marianna, Florida www.floridastateparks.org/floridacaverns Kudzu infestation (850) 482-9598 6/10 Ligustrum sinense Identifying Invasive Plants Native to China, Chinese privet has escaped cultiva- The non-native plants in this brochure have tion and become naturalized in Florida. Introduced proven to be invasive in our park and region as an ornamental , it is planted extensively and are currently being controlled by park staff, as a hedge. Capable of forming dense thickets that contractors and volunteers. Do you recognize outcompete desirable native plants, its prolific seed any of them? Read on to learn more about these production and hardy growth allow it to invade quiet invaders. natural areas such as floodplain forests andw oodlands.

Lygodium japonicum Elaeagnus pungens Native to eastern Asia, Japanese climbing fern can Introduced from China and Japan in the early 1800s overtop forest trees, shading out and even killing Elaeagnus pungens as an , silverthorn is often grown Ligustrum sinense them. It often grows as a tangled mass over silverthorn - evergreen viney shrub; some thorns; Chinese privet - ; stalked and fencelines, smothering ground cover and tree as an evergreen hedge and is regularly planted along with wavy margins; flowers small, fragrant highways. Also spread by animals and birds, it is seedlings in the southeastern U.S. It thrives in damp fast-growing and thrives in a variety of conditions, places. While its leaflets are killed by winter frost, the causing ecological damage by hybridizing with native plant persists from year to year. Like other ferns, its Elaeagnus species, displacing other native species, reproductive spores can be carried long distances by and changing The balance and function of natural wind, vehicles, and even clothing and shoes. communities. Sapium sebiferum Lonicera japonica Introduced into the southeastern U.S. from China as early as the 1700s, Chinese tallow has been cultivated Japanese honeysuckle was introduced from Japan for about 1,500 years as a seed-oil crop. It spreads in 1906 for use as an ornamental plant. It will rapidly rampantly in large natural areas by outcompeting colonize disturbed habitats including fields, or adsides, native plants, and can thrive in well-drained uplands, forest edges, and fencerows. Capable of engulfing bottomlands, shorelines, and on floating islands. It small trees and shrubs with dense thickets of vegeta- is often called the “Florida aspen” due to its red fall tion, it can outcompete native plants for light, space, color, or “popcorn-tree” due to the three white seeds water, and nutrients, preventing their germination and Lonicera japonica Lygodium japonicum from each that resemble popcorn. growth. Japanese honeysuckle - vine; hairy; white flowers Japanese climbing fern - multi-lobed leaflets; fertile turn pale yellow leaflets have two rows of sporangia along margins Nandina domestica Native to China and Japan, nandina or heavenly , was introduced to the United States in 1804 as an ornamental plant. It has been observed in conservation areas, woodlands and floodplains and forms dense thickets that displace native vegetation. Nandina seeds are spread by wildlife, but the shrub also spreads by suckers and . Non-invasive horticultural selections are available in the nursery trade.

Plant descriptions excerpted from Identification & Biology of Non-Native Plants in Florida’s Natural Areas by K. A. Lange- land, H. M. Cherry, C. M. McCormick, and K. A. Craddock Nandina domestica Sapium sebiferum Identify plants in your own neighborhood: Burks, Second Edition, 2008. University of Florida-IFAS. nandina - to 2 m; leaflets to 6 cm; bright red berries Chinese tallow - tree to 10 m; milky sap; leaves turn orange in autumn; seeds resemble popped corn http://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/parks