Identification Guide For Invasive Exotic Plants of the Florida Keys 2005-2006 Burma Reed credit: APIRS Prepared by Kate Hadden, Kaita Frank & Chuck Byrd The Nature Conservancy Revised January 2005 for the Florida Keys Invasive Exotics Task Force FKIETF Invasive Exotics – Table of Contents Category I: Invasive Exotics that are altering Florida Keys native plant communities by displacing native species, changing community structures or ecological functions, or hybridizing with natives. Asiatic Colubrina (Colubrina asiatica)……..…………………………………………...3 Australian Pine (Causaurina spp)……………………………………………………….2 Beach Naupaka (Scaevola sericea)………………………………………………………9 Brazillian Pepper (Schinus terebinthifolius)…………………………………………..11 Burma Reed (Neyraudia reynaudiana)……………………………………………….…8 Laurel Fig (Ficus microcarpa)…………………………………………………………...4 Lead Tree (Leucaena leucociphala)………………………………………………….….5 Melaleuca (Melaleuca quinquinervia)…………………………………………………..7 Queensland Umbrella Tree (Schefflera actinophylla)…………………………..….…10 Sapodilla (Manilkara zapota)…………………………………………………………….6 Seaside Mahoe (Thespia populnea)…………………………………………………….12 Category II: Invasive Exotics that have increased in abundance or frequency but have not yet altered Florida Keys plant communities to the extent shown by category I species……………………………………………………………13 Air Potato ( Dioscorea bulbifera)………………………………………………………23 Asian Sword Fern (Nephrolepis multiflora)…………………………………………...29 Asparagus Fern (Asparagus densiflorus)……………………………………………...17 Bowstring Hemp (Sansevieria hyacinthoides)…………………………………………36 Carrotwood (Cupaniopsis anacardiodes)……………………………………………...21 Central American Sisal (Furcraea cabuya)……………………………………………25 Earleaf Acacia (Acacia auriculiformis)………………………………………………...14 Fountain Grass (Pennisetum setacea)………………………………………………….33 Ganges Primrose (Asystasia gangetica)………………………………………………..18 Guava (Psidium spp.)…………………………………………………………………...34 Guinea Grass ( Panicum maximums)………………………………………………….30 Lantana (Lantana camara)……………………………………………………………..28 Life Plant (Kalenchoe spp.)……………………………………………………………..27 Madagascar Rubber Vine (Cryptostegia madagascariensis)………………………….20 Napier Grass (Pennisetum purpureum)………………………………………………..32 Night-Blooming Cereus (Hylocereus undatus)………………………………………..19 Oyster Plant (Tradescantia spathacea)………………………….……………………..41 Porterweed (Stachytarpheta urticifilia)………………………………………………...38 Pothos (Epipremnum pinnatum)……………………………………………………….24 Puncture Weed (Tribulus cistoides)……………………………………………………42 Sea hibiscus (Hibiscus tiliaceus)………………………………………………………..26 i Sickle Bush, (Dichrostachys cinera)……………………………………………………22 Sisal Hemp (Agave sisalana)……………………………………………………………15 Torpedograss (Panicum repens)………………………………………………………..31 Tropical Soda Apple (Solanum viarum)……………………………………………….36 Tropical Almond (Terminalia catappa)………………………………………………..40 Wedelia (Wedelia trilobata)…………………………………………………………….37 Woman’s Tongue (Albizia lebbeck)……………………………………………………16 Yellow Elder( Tecoma stans)…………………………………………………………...39 Category III: Invasive Exotics that have not yet become a problem in the Florida Keys but are to be watched……………………………………………………43 Bahia Grass (Paspalum notatum)………………………………………………………64 Beach Vitex (Vitex rotundifolia)……………………………………………………….72 Black Olive (Bucida bucera)……………………………………………………………48 Black Olive ( Budida spinosa)……………………………………………………….....49 Bracelet Wood ( Jacquinia arbora)…………………………………………………….56 Chastetree (Vivitex trifolia)…………………………………………………………….73 Chinaberry (Melia azedarach)…………………………………………………………59 Crowfoot Grass (Dactyloctenuim aegyptium)………………………………………….53 Date Palm (Phoenix spp.)……………………………………………………………….65 False Banyan (Ficus altissima)…………………………………………………………54 Governor’s Plum (Flacourtia indica)………………………………………………….55 Ground Orchid (Oeceoclades maculata)………………………………………………63 Jumbie Bean (Macroptilium artopupureus)……………………………………...……57 Kopsia (Ochrosia parviflora)…………………………………………………………...62 Madagascar Periwinkle (Cantharanthus roseus)……………………………………..51 Natal Grass (Rhynchelytrum repens)…………………………………………………..66 Orange-Jessamine (Murraya paniculata)……………………………………………..61 Orchid Tree (Bauhinia variegata)……………………………………………………..46 Papaya (Carica papaya)………………………………………………………………...50 Paper Mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera)……………………………………………47 Phasey bean (Macroptilium lathyroides)………………………………………………58 Pink Shower Tree (Tabebuia spp.)……………………………………………………..68 Pitch Apple (Clusia rosea)……………………………………………………………...52 Red Sandlewood (Adenanthera pavonina)…………………………………………….44 Shoebutton Ardisia (Ardisia elliptica)…………………………………………………45 St. Augustine Grass (Stenotaphrum secundatum)…………………………………….67 Tamarind (Tamarindus indicus)……………………………………………………….69 Wandering Jew (Tradescantia spp.)……………………………………………………70 Wood Rose (Merremia tuberosa)……………………………………………………….60 Yellow Alder ( Turnera ulmifolia)……………………………………………………..71 Zoysia Grass (Zoysia japonica)………………………………………………………...74 ii Category I Invasive Exotics that are altering Florida Keys native plant communities by displacing native species, changing community structures or ecological functions, or hybridizing with natives. 1 Scientific Name: Casuarina equisetifolia, Causaurina cunninghamiana, Causaurina glauca Common Name(s): Australian pine, ironwood, beefwood, she-oak, horsetail tree Height: Up to 150 feet Leaves: Gray-green, needlelike, jointed branches that resemble leaves. Flowers: Inconspicuous, in small axillary clusters Bark: Reddish brown to gray, rough, brittle, peeling Fruit: Tiny, single seeded winged nutlet formed in woody cone-like clusters Other: Occurs throughout south Florida on sandy shores, in pinelands and disturbed sites such as filled wetlands, road shoulders, cleared land and empty lots. Once established, Australian pines dominate areas almost to the total exclusion of native vegetation by chemically suppressing seed germination and smothering seedlings and other plants with thick, dense litter. Treat- Basal or stump with 10%-30% Garlon 4 ment: APIRS- http://aquat1.ifas.edu www.co.miami-dade.fl.us/derm/badplants.htm 2 Scientific Name: Colubrina asiatica Common Name(s): Asiatic or common Colubrina, latherleaf Height: A sprawling shrub to 10 feet with smooth, trailing or spreading branches. Leaves: Alternate, shiny dark green above with serrated edges, 1.5-3.5 inches long Flowers: Small and greenish white, in few-flowered clusters. Bark: N/A. Evergreen with diffuse slender branches. Fruit: Capsule, green and fleshy turning to brown when dry. Other: Latherleaf invades coastal strand, dunes, mangrove-buttonwood forests, pine rockland, the margins of hardwood forests, and disturbed sites. The sprawling growth habit enables it to smother native vegetation and it has been known to form a near monoculture if left unchecked. Seeds float in seawater and are transported by ocean currents to other sites. Resprouts from injured stems. Treat- Foliar with 3% Garlon 4 in cut grid pattern ment: www.co.miami-dade.fl.us/derm/badplants.htm APIRS- http://aquat1.ifas.edu 3 Scientific Name: Ficus microcarpa Common Name(s): Laurel Fig, Indian Laurel, Laurel rubber, Banyan tree Height: Up to 50 feet Leaves: Simple, alternate, dark glossy green with leathery texture. Can be elliptical, oval or diamond-shaped. Up to 5 inches long. Flowers: Tiny and numerous, hidden inside immature fig structure. Bark: Milky and gray Fruit: Yellow or dark red when ripe Other: The tree has a spreading growth habit with numerous aerial roots that may eventually become secondary trunks supporting the large, lateral branches. This is the most frequently encountered non-native fig species found invading natural areas in Florida. It often grows as an epiphyte on other trees (especially palms) or as a lithophyte on turnpike overpasses, bridges, walls, buildings and other concrete or stone structures. This tree invades hardwood forests and other native plant communities where it competes heavily with native plants for sunlight, nutrients, and space. Treat- Basal with 5% Garlon 4 ment: APIRS- http://aquat1.ifas.edu APIRS- http://aquat1.ifas.edu 4 Scientific Name: Leucaena leucocephala Common Name(s): Lead tree Height: Shrub or small tree to 25 feet in height Leaves: Gray-green, bipinnate leaves and numerous 3/8 to 1/2 inch, slightly sickle- shaped leaflets. Flowers: Terminal or axillary flower spikes produce white, multi-stamened, powderpuff-like flowers. Bark: Smooth, light gray to tan. Fruit: Pods are narrow, four to six inches long, 1/2 inch wide, green turning to brown and produced in clusters. Seeds are brown and somewhat flattened. Other: Lead tree is a weedy, fast-growing tree that readily invades coastal strand, pine rockland, the margins and canopy gaps of hardwood forests, and open disturbed sites. Population densities can be high if left unchecked. Tends to grow in dense groups. Treat- Basal or stump with 40% Garlon 4 ment: APIRS- http://aquat1.ifas.edu www.co.miami-dade.fl.us/derm/badplants.htm 5 Scientific Name: Manilkara zapota Common Name(s): Sapodilla, Chicle-gum tree Height: Large tree, reaching 50 feet or more Leaves: Dull dark green, leathery and alternate. Grow in clusters on the ends of twigs. Oblong or elliptical in shape, notched at apex. 2-4 inches long, covered with brownish fuzz. Flowers: Flowers are light yellow, six-lobed, about ½ inch wide. Occur in clusters. Bark: Reddish brown bark Fruit: Brown berries about ½ inch in diameter, with spongy brownish flesh. Thick skinned. One or more brownish black flat seeds. Other: Evergreen shrub occurring in hardwood hammocks and other habitats, shading and dense seeding a problem Treat-