List of invasive species in the Everglades
Plant species
As the fields of ecology and environmental studies develop, exotic species attract more attention and their effects become more apparent. Mid-20th century biology texts about invading species reflected more complacency than alarm, as contemporary wisdom about them assumed the host environment would be largely immune.

List of invasive species in the Everglades

Section Title: Plant species
Table Section Text: As the fields of ecology and environmental studies develop, exotic species attract more attention and their effects become more apparent. Mid-20th century biology texts about invading species reflected more complacency than alarm, as contemporary wisdom about them assumed the host environment would be largely immune.

Scientific name	Common name(s)	Origin / Year(s) introduced	Purpose of introduction

Melaleuca quinquenervia A stand of tall trees with white trunks along a canal or lake bed	Melaleuca, paperbark, tea tree, cajeput, punk tree, white bottlebrush tree	Australia, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands / 1906	Landscaping, drainage

Melaleuca tree seeds were scattered by aircraft in order to drain flooded portions of the Everglades. They were considered excellent landscaping trees as late as 1970 and planted along canals to stabilize soil or act as windbreaks.

Lygodium microphyllum An image looking up into tall cypress trees that are covered in vines that spread out toward the bottom	Old World climbing fern	Tropical Asia, Africa, and Australia / Observed already established in 1958	Unknown purpose

The Old World climbing fern has taken over tree islands in the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge in the northern Everglades, completely blanketing some of them, and crowding smaller vegetation by shading native seedlings and overwhelming trees.

Schinus terebinthifolius Branch of a shrub showing elliptical leaves and bunches of green and red berries	Brazilian pepper, Florida holly, Christmas berry, pepper tree	Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay / 1840s	Landscaping

Brazilian pepper was marketed as a southern alternative to holly. Birds and small mammals have spread its seeds by eating the red berries and expelling them from their digestive tracts, allowing the plants to establish in very remote areas that are difficult to reach and hamper control efforts.

Casuarina equisetifolia, Casuarina glauca, Casuarina cunninghamiana Tall conifer with dark green needles and thin branches and trunk	Australian pine, beefwood, ironwood, she-oak, horsetail tree	Australia, South Pacific Islands, Southeast Asia / Late 19th century	Landscaping

Three species of tree are considered collectively to be Australian pines. They were planted as windbreaks along canals and agricultural fields, and as shade trees in the middle of the 20th century.

Colubrina asiatica Shrub with rachis network of leaves and branches and small leaves	Latherleaf, Asiatic or common colubrina, hoop with, Asian snakeroot	Brought to Jamaica from Asian traders in the 1850s / Naturalized in South Florida by 1933	Medicinal supplies

Latherleaf grows in dense mats that crowd and shade native vegetation, threatening several endangered plants. It has successfully spread to every protected area in the Florida Keys, and is well entrenched in remote areas of Everglades National Park where it threatens coastal hardwood forests and mangrove islands.

Eichhornia crassipes A plant floating on the surface of water, showing orbicular curved leaves and purple flowers	Water hyacinth, water orchid	Amazon basin / 1884–1890	Waterscaping

Water hyacinths are free floating and have been a particular problem in northern Florida waterways, but since they began to grow in the Everglades, their rapid reproduction (they can double their population every 6 to 18 days and will increase the coverage of surface water by 25% a month if gone unchecked) has impeded the controlled release of water by blocking canals and water control devices.

Pistia stratiotes A plant floating on the surface of water, showing ridged rosette-like leaves	Water lettuce, water cabbage	Africa or South America / In Florida by 1774	Possibly accidental

Water lettuce is similar to water hyacinths in that it is also free-floating, reproduces rapidly, blocks canals and water control devices, and can form mats that block sunlight and oxygen to plants and animals under water.

-	Burma reed, silk reed, cane grass, false reed	Southern Asia / 1916	Escaped from USDA test gardens

Burma reed is a grass with large, dry plume-like flowerets that invades the pine rockland ecosystem—one of the most endangered habitats in the state—feeding fires.

Hydrilla verticillata Flat shallow body of water with an airboat in the background and two people standing on it holding plants they apparently pulled from the water, which in the foreground is full of plants with long strands and short even pinnate formations	Hydrilla, water thyme, Florida elodea, waterweed	Sri Lanka / 1950s	Possibly spread from aquariums, found on every continent except Antarctica

Like the other water plants, hydrilla reproduces rapidly. Although it is not free floating, it grows quickly to the water surface, and if it breaks apart it can form new plants from fragments.

Dioscorea bulbifera Tree trunk covered by a vine with large deltoid-shaped leaves	Air potato, potato yam, air yam	Asia: introduced during slave trade / In Florida by 1905	Escaped from USDA test gardens, landscaping

The air potato is an aggressively growing vine that exhibits tubers on the outside rather than underground, which can promote its rapid growth when they fall to the ground.

Cupaniopsis anacardioides Short tree with full bushy leaves of indiscriminate shape	Carrotwood, Beach Tamarind, Green-leaved Tamarind, tuckeroo tree	Australia / 1960s	Landscaping

Carrotwood grows easily in many South Florida habitats, including coastal dunes, beaches, marshes, pine rocklands, hammocks, mangrove forests, and cypress swamps.

Rhodomyrtus tomentosa Shrub showing short elliptical leaves and small pink flowers and white greenish buds	Downy rose myrtle, downy myrtle, hill gooseberry, hill guava	Asia / Established by 1924	Landscaping

Downy rose myrtle was recently added to priority invasive species lists for its tendency to overtake pine rockland ecosystems. Typically pine rocklands consist of slash pines towering over saw palmetto (Serenoa repens) understory shrubs and small herbs.

Sentence(s)

Melaleuca quinquenervia is an invasive plant in the Everglades.

final_sentence: Melaleuca quinquenervia is an invasive plant in the Everglades.