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Old World climbing fern (Lygodium microphyllum)

Japanese climbing fern (Lygodium japonicum) OldOld WorldWorld climbingclimbing fernfern –– TheThe PerfectPerfect WeedWeed • Grows Fast • Spreads easily and quickly • Growth form difficult to control • Fire tolerant • Invades a wide variety of habitats • Grows in very remote and undisturbed areas • Has been found as far north as Orange and Brevard Counties Old World climbing fern smothers native species Close up of Lygodium pulling large native trees down inside a large tree island Old World climbing fern quickly builds up thick mats of rachis material Old World climbing fern acts as a ladder for fire - carrying the flames into the canopies of trees Lygodium –1993 Lygodium –2003

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### # Estimated Coverage: Estimated coverage: 17,000 acres 100,000+ acres Model of invasive spread of Lygodium microphyllumin southern Florida

197819931995199719992009 How to identify: Leaflets usually without lobes & without hairs on the lower surface; leaf stalks articulate (left behind when leaf drops) Reality – looking for incipient populations in the Keys! Too close for comfort! Lygodium in coastal areas of western Everglades National Park. JapaneseJapanese climbingclimbing fernfern –– TheThe BetterBetter thanthan PerfectPerfect Weed?Weed? 9Grows Fast 9 Spreads easily and quickly 9 Growth form difficult to control 9 Fire tolerant 9 Invades a wide variety of habitats 9Grows on higher and drier ground than OWCF 9Has now been found as far south as Palm Beach County How to Identify: Leaflets usually lobed & with some hairs on the lower surface; leaf stalks not articulate (they remain attached to leaflet blades) What is being done? •Biological Control Research •Advancements in Control Technologies •Interagency Cooperation •Education and Outreach •Monitoring •Not enough! Florida EPPC Lygodium Task Force: – 1999 Lygodium Workshop •What We Knew •What We Didn’t Know – 1999 Lygodium Emergency Action Plan Recommendations – 2001 Lygodium Management Plan for Florida – 2004 Lygodium Workshop • Research Needs for L. microphyllum – 2005 Lygodium Management Plan Update – will have L. microphyllum focus For additional information and pictures of Old World and Japanese climbing ferns:

•Institute of Food and Agricultural Science (IFAS) publication “Identification and Biology of Non-Native Plants in Florida’s Natural Areas” edited by K.A. Langeland and K. Craddock Burks •UF-IFAS Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants website at http://aquat1.ifas.ufl.edu •Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council website at www.fleppc.org To report occurrences of Old World and Japanese climbing ferns:

•Florida Natural Areas Inventory (FNAI) Florida Invasive Plant Geodatabase project – all invasives occurrence data –Kathy Burks, [email protected], www.fnai.org

•Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council website at www.fleppc.org/database/data_intro.htm

•FDEP, Bureau of Invasive Plant Management – Contact Drew Leslie and kill it! [email protected] – www.dep.state.fl.us/lands/invaspec/index.htm