Invasive palms in your region

[Botanicus]

On 12/20/2017, 10:50:24, PalmatierMeg said:

At least in my area I haven't run across "forests" of invasive queens or Washies, which may be the reason they may be Class II rather than Class I invasives. Both have been way overplanted. Queens really hate our alkaline calcareous soil and without out dutiful care and fertilization eventually die lingering deaths. In the future fusarium wilt  may take care of both palm species. However, FL has a number of non-palm non-native trees that are so invasive they destroy whole ecosystems. Queens and Washies could never compete. The worst of these is melaleuca, the paperbark tree that creates a mono forest as silent as death - no birds or other animals. Very creepy to walk through. I spent 15 years working on a State wildlife preserve to eliminate invasives like this. Melaleuca were imported to dry up swamps which at one time were believed to be the source of disease. I am highly allergic to them and they are nigh on impossible to eliminate without great effort and expense. They flower 3-4x per year here. If you cut them down and walk away, the dying tree drops its seeds and the stump sprouts new stems. If you burn it, the tree drops its seeds. At Little Pine Island we had to cut each tree down with chain saws. A group of men followed with buckets of stump killer to paint each newly cut stump. The trees were hauled to a staging area, chipped and blown into the back of tractor trailers then hauled across the county to be burned. The area had to be treated periodically to catch new growth.

Australian pines grow huge, are shallow-rooted so fall during hurricanes, spread their tiny seeds everywhere on the wind and drop their needles everywhere. Brazilian pepper grow massive, impenetrable thickets on vacant land and produce seed-laden red fruit to spread themselves. These are 3 of the worst but there are others. Invasive palms don't pose too much of an issue at the moment.

Melalueca, Australian pines, etc. are nothing compared to what the Army Corps of Engineers did to south Florida.

[PalmatierMeg]

1 hour ago, Botanicus said:

Melalueca, Australian pines, etc. are nothing compared to what the Army Corps of Engineers did to south Florida.

And still are. I worked 17 years at a mitigation bank that had to deal with those guys.

[chad2468emr]

1 hour ago, PalmatierMeg said:

And still are. I worked 17 years at a mitigation bank that had to deal with those guys.

Ugh, seriously. One thing after the other with them. 

Honestly, South Florida has so many invasive species between the plants and the reptiles and everything else I can't even count anymore. On one hand its cool to live with all these amazing species, but on the other, its very depressing when you see what it does to local ecology. :/ 

[Ubuntwo]

11 hours ago, Botanicus said:

Melalueca, Australian pines, etc. are nothing compared to what the Army Corps of Engineers did to south Florida.

It's honestly tragic what we have done to our environment, no matter the method. Humans have destroyed so much of Florida's wilderness - from petty thieves taking rare orchids and palms like P. sargentii, to people planting invasive species because they look nice, all the way up to corrupt politicians disregarding the natural beauty of this place and favoring money.

[Palmsbro]

  I have seen Syagrus romanzoffiana and Washingtonia grow wild in parts near here. A few livistonas are also found uncomfortably close to a nature preserve (there is one in the parking lot and a few more cultivated specimens within ~50m of it). 

  PS: The US Army Corps Of Engineers is kind of known for causing environmental damage. They are not especially well-loved among environmentalists/conservationists.

[sarasota alex]

Current Category II Invasive list (cat II = invasive but not shown to alter natural habitat) for Florida includes - Phoenix reclinata, Cocos nucifera, Syagrus romanzoffiana, Ptychosperma elegans, Livistona chinensis, Washingtonia robusta, and Chamaedorea seifrizii. Bismarckia nobilis is being evaluated for inclusion. Phoenix reclinata is being considered for a move to Category I Invasive list (cat I = shown to alter natural habitat), because of the mangroves displacement. If moved to Cat I, it would be illegal to sell or plant.

[Botanicus]

6 hours ago, sarasota alex said:

Current Category II Invasive list (cat II = invasive but not shown to alter natural habitat) for Florida includes - Phoenix reclinata, Cocos nucifera, Syagrus romanzoffiana, Ptychosperma elegans, Livistona chinensis, Washingtonia robusta, and Chamaedorea seifrizii. Bismarckia nobilis is being evaluated for inclusion. Phoenix reclinata is being considered for a move to Category I Invasive list (cat I = shown to alter natural habitat), because of the mangroves displacement. If moved to Cat I, it would be illegal to sell or plant.

Who exactly is enforcing the "illegal" planting of Cat 1 listed plants?

[Funkthulhu]

I know it's spring in Nebraska because all these Ravenea rivularis are popping up everywhere!  Every big box store I walk in they're just taking over the place!  Them and those darned thick-log corn-plants!   

[sarasota alex]

On 4/4/2018, 9:03:30, Botanicus said:

Who exactly is enforcing the "illegal" planting of Cat 1 listed plants?

Florida Department of Environmental Protection and individual county equivalent agencies. Do they have resources to do anything about it? Mostly no. Can they if they want to? Yes they can. Most of the time they react to someone reporting a violation.

[sarasota alex]

This just in hot off the press! Butia odorata is now officially considered an established exotic plant in Geneva and Houston Counties in Alabama. Study published on Feb 26 of this year.