wildland weeds winter 2003 - se-eppc · pdf filewater hyacinth, and alligator weed ......

Wildland WeedsWildland WeedsPrsrt std

U.S. PostagePAID

Gainesville, FLPermit No. 726

WINTER 2003WINTER 2003

Untreated 1 week after treatment 4 weeks after treatment

Eurasian Watermilfoil treated with Renovate (1 ppm), shows the eventual collapse of the plant structure below the surface of the water.

Purple Loosestrife Water Hyacinth

Eurasian Watermilfoil Alligator Weed

SePRO Corporation 11550 North Meridian Street, Suite 600, Carmel, IN 46032

©2003 SePRO Corporation. Renovate is a registered trademark of Dow AgroSciences and manufactured for SePRO Corporation. Always read and follow label directions before buying or using this product.

Renovate.We couldn’t think of a better name for wetland

and lake restoration.

New from the Aquatic Prescription Specialists

Introducing the newest aquatic herbicide development in over

15 years, Renovate aquatic herbicide.

Renovate was designed to be effective on both submersed and

floating emergent plants—a feature that allows Renovate to restore

wetlands, marshes and shorelines as well as lakes, ponds and canals.

With its highly effective systemic mode of action, Renovate provides

selective control to help restore aquatic habitats knotted with nuisance

and exotic plants including Eurasian Watermilfoil, Purple Loosestrife,

Water Hyacinth, and Alligator Weed among others.

Renovate is a systemic herbicide which controls the

entire plant. Renovate rapidly enters plants through

leaf and stem uptake, moving throughout plant tissues and

downward into the roots disrupting the plant’s growth

metabolism. Renovate stimulates uncontrolled growth

that results in bending and twisting of stems and leaves—

“epinasty”—and ultimately results in the collapse of the plant.

Renovate’s selective, systemic chemistry is an outstanding

partner in rotation with other biological control agents and should

be your first choice for use in Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

programs. And Renovate’s formulation is compatible with other

aquatic herbicides, adjuvants, and surfactants providing greater

application flexibility—outperforming

comparable application programs.

For more information about

Renovate, contact your SePRO

Aquatic Specialist, or call us at

1-800-419-7779. Visit our

web site at www.SePRO.com.

Renovate was developed for aquatic use to control bothsubmersed and floating emergent plants such as:

And because Renovate is very effective on broadleaf plants,

while leaving beneficial native grasses untouched, it accelerates

habitat “renovation.”Available in

2.5 gallon containers

Direct all editorial and advertising inquiries to:Karen Brown, EditorWildland Weeds7922 NW 71st StreetGainesville, FL 32653352/392-1799; FAX 352/[email protected]

Direct address changes to:Jackie SmithDEP - Invasive Plant Management3111-B13 Fortune WayWellington, FL 33414561/791-4720; FAX 561/[email protected]

Editorial Committee:Mike BodleKathy Craddock BurksJim CudaTom FucignaKen Langeland

WILDLAND WEEDS 3

FLORIDA EXOTIC PEST PLANT COUNCIL

Wildland Weeds (ISSN 1524-9786) is a quarterly publication of the FloridaExotic Pest Plant Council (FLEPPC) and the Southeast Exotic Pest PlantCouncil (SE-EPPC).

Wildland Weeds is published to provide a focus for the issues and concernsregarding exotic pest plant biology, distribution and control. To become amember of FLEPPC or SE-EPPC and receive the Council newsletter andWildland Weeds magazine, contact the respective Treasurer.

Wildland WeedsWildland WeedsWINTER 2003, VOLUME 7, NUMBER 1

Visit these websites:Florida EPPC: www.fleppc.org

Southeast EPPC: www.se-eppc.org

On the Cover:Native Agave missionum (Agavaceae) in bloom in Virgin Islands NationalPark (St. John) with the British Virgin Island of Tortola in the background.Beautiful - but there are still weeds in paradise! See article on pg. 16.Photo by Dan Clark.

The Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council has not tested any of the products advertised or referred to inthis publication, nor has it verified any of the statements made in any of the advertisements or articles. The Council does not warrant, expressly or implied, the fitness of any product advertised orthe suitability of any advice or statements contained herein.

Officers

Mike Bodle, ChairSouth Florida Water

Management District561/[email protected]

Jim Burney, Chair-ElectAquatic Vegetation Control, Inc.561/[email protected]

Heidi Rhoades, Secretary561/[email protected]

Kristina Kay Serbesoff-King,TreasurerSouth Florida Water


Karen Brown, EditorUniversity of FloridaCenter for Aquatic

& Invasive Plants352/[email protected]

Directors

Jim CudaUniversity of FloridaEntomology Department352/392-1901 Ext. [email protected]

Robert EganHabitat Restoration Resources239/[email protected]

Bill SnyderNational Park Service941/[email protected]

Andrea Van LoanDivision of Forestry352/372-3505 Ext. [email protected]

John VolinFlorida Atlantic University954/[email protected]

Amy FerriterSouth Florida Water


Matthew KingPalm Beach County561/[email protected]

Chris LockhartHabitat Specialists, Inc.561/[email protected]

Committee Chairs

By-lawsDennis Giardina941/[email protected]

CAST RepresentativeDennis GiardinaKen Langeland (alternate)

EditorialKaren Brown

EducationLeesa SoutoMidwest Research Institute321/723-4547 Ext. [email protected]

FNGA/FLEPPC LiaisonDoria GordonUniversity of FloridaThe Nature Conservancy352/[email protected]

LegislativeMatthew King

Local ArrangementsTony PernasFlorida/Caribbean Exotic

Plant Management TeamSouth Florida Ecosystem Office305/[email protected]

MembershipAndrea Van Loan

MerchandiseBill Snyder

NominationsKen LangelandUniversity of FloridaAgronomy Department352/[email protected]

OutreachTom FucignaR.L. Weigt Environmental

Consultants, Inc.561/[email protected]

Plant ListKathy Craddock BurksFlorida Dept. Environmental

ProtectionBureau of Invasive Plant

Management850/245-2809 Ext. [email protected]

Program ChairJackie SmithFlorida Dept. Environmental

ProtectionBureau of Invasive Plant

Management561/[email protected]

ResearchJohn Volin

TrainingKen GioeliSt. Lucie County Extension561/[email protected]

VendorsScott DitmarsenDow AgroSciences813/[email protected]

WebmasterTony Pernas

Work Groups

Australian PinesRobert Egan

Brazilian PepperJim Cuda

CarrotwoodChris Lockhart

DioscoreaMike Bodle

GrassesGreg MacDonaldUniversity of FloridaAgronomy Department352/392-1811 Ext. [email protected]

LygodiumAmy Ferriter/Tom Fucigna

SkunkvineBrian NelsonSWFWMD352/[email protected]

Chinese TallowCheryl [email protected]

MelaleucaFrancois LarocheSouth Florida Water


SOUTHEAST EXOTIC PEST PLANT COUNCIL

PresidentBrian Bowen Tennessee Dept Environment

and Conservation Division of Natural Heritage 615/[email protected]

Vice President Joyce Bender Kentucky State Nature

Preserves Commission 502/573-2886 [email protected]

SecretaryKristen Gounaris Allen Richmond National Battlefield 804/795-5019 [email protected]

TreasurerTony Pernas, Florida EPPC

SE-EPPC Chapters andRegional Organizations:AlabamaFloridaGeorgiaKentuckyMid-AtlanticMississippiNew EnglandNorth CarolinaTennessee

Table of Contents5 Air Potato Eradication Project

by Joshua Platt

7 Pest Plant Packets for Lake Peopleby Fritzi S. Olson

9 Origin of Air Potato Identified by Bill Overholt, Colin Hughes, Caronia Wallace & Eric Morgan

11 Merry Christmas Sennaby Ken Langeland

13 Evaluation of Foliar Application Herbicides for Control of Christmas Sennaby Ken Langeland, D. W. Clark, R. K. Stocker & G. E. MacDonald

14 FLEPPC Board Gets Down and Dirty

15 Q&A With Great Results

16 Weeds are Still “Weeds” in Paradiseby “Weedman” Dan Clark

19 One Man’s Weed…is Another Man’s Treasure!

20 Internodes

23 Notes from the Disturbed Edge

4 WINTER 2003

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION AND ELIGIBILITY

The Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council is soliciting grant proposals fornon-native invasive plant education and outreach projects in the Stateof Florida. The intent of is to provide funding to organizations or indi-viduals who wish to educate the public about non-native invasiveplants and their impacts. Proposals will be accepted from individuals,public or private nonprofit organizations, and academic institutions.

Award preference will be given to proposals that meet the followingcriteria:

�Involve a plant or plants listed on FLEPPC’s 2003 List of InvasiveSpecies (found on www.fleppc.org).

�Educational message will reach a large segment of the community.�Includes partnerships (please specify type and degree of involve-

ment for partner entities).�Demonstrate matching funds or in-kind contributions.�Increase local community awareness of non-native plants through

local charettes, volunteer events, web site development, and distri-bution of educational materials.

�Assist local communities in developing area specific non-nativeplant control ordinances and programs.

�Heighten community awareness about non-native invasive plantidentification, control and prevention.

�First time applicants and new projects, but repeat applicants willstill be considered.

GENERAL INFORMATION/SELECTION PROCEDURES

�Proposal should be limited to 4 pages (10 point font minimum)not including maps or other graphic attachments.

�Grants may not be used to fund capital expense items (sprayers,chain saws, machinery, herbicide) or to fund control or large-scaleherbicide application activities.

�The FLEPPC Education Committee will review all grants andaward letters will be sent via electronic mail by May 1, 2004. Iffull funding is not available, partial funding may be awarded.

�Proposal submission deadline is March 15, 2004.

�Requests for funding should not exceed $1000.00 and all fundsawarded are to be used within 1 year of receipt.

�A final report that includes copies of any educational materialscreated through the project should be submitted to the FLEPPCEducation Committee within 90 days of project completion.

�Applicant/organization must present a summary of results at theFLEPPC Annual meeting (poster or presentation) or provide a sum-mary article for Wildland Weeds, the FLEPPC quarterly magazine.

�Preferred method of proposal submission is via electronic mail.Send proposals via email, fax, or mail to:

Leesa Souto, Manager of Educational ProgramsEmail: [email protected]

Midwest Research Institute - Florida Division1470 Treeland Boulevard, S.E. • Palm Bay, FL 32909-2211(321) 723-4547 Ext. 200 • Fax: (321) 722-2514

RFP also online at www.fleppc.org

�Title �Short Project Summary

(< 100 words)�Project Description

�Location - include name ofcounty, city, a local map orarea description (section,township, range), andletter of support fromlandowner.

�Target plant(s)�Target audience�Method of implementation�Timeline for completion�Summary of expected

results�An evaluation component

that demonstrates successat reaching target audience

�Collaborative organizationsand descriptions of theircontributions (pleaseinclude contact informationfor all partnerorganizations)

�Description of prioractivities that may helpapplicant accomplish theproject

�Total project costs, detailedbudget that itemizes EPPCrequested funds andmatching funds, and budgetnarrative.

�Contact information, name ofprincipal investigator andbrief summary ofqualifications.

FLEPPC EDUCATION AND OUTREACH SMALL GRANTSRequest for Proposals - FY 2003/2004 • Proposal Due Date: March 15, 2004

Drawing on recent publications by the USDA Forest Service, National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, USDA APHIS PPQ and the Southeast Exotic Pest Plant Council, a new CD-ROMhas been compiled that covers the identification characteristics, distribution, and control options for 97 invasive tree, shrub, vine, grass, fern, forb, and aquatic plant species of concern in theeastern United States. For each species, a menu of control options is presented, including mechanical treatments, specific herbicide prescriptions, and, for selected species, recent advances inbiological control. While not an official list of "invasive" plants throughout the eastern United States, the CD includes Federal Noxious Weeds and those listed by State regulatory agencies, pestplant councils and other organizations. This publication will aid landowners, foresters, resource managers, and the general public in becoming familiar with invasive plants in their area.

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONSProposals must include the following:

Request free copies of this CD-ROM from Richard Reardon,FHTET, USDA Forest Service, Morgantown, West Virginia,

(304) 285-1566, [email protected] or fromwww.invasive.org

Full contents of the CD also will be available at the Invasive and Exotic Species of North America web site: www.invasive.org

For more information, contact Chuck Bargeron at [email protected], Webmaster,The Bugwood Network, www.bugwood.org and

ForestryImages.org, www.forestryimages.org 229-386-3298

The CD features the complete text and images from the following publications:• Nonnative Invasive Plants of Southern Forests: A FieldGuide for Identification and Control. James H. Miller. 2003.USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station.

• Biological Control of Invasive Plants in the EasternUnited States. Roy Van Driesche, Suzanne Lyon, Bernd Blossey, MarkHoddle and Richard Reardon. 2003. USDA Forest Service, Forest HealthTechnology Enterprise Team.

• Plant Invaders of Mid-Atlantic Natural Areas.Jil Swearingen, Kathryn Reshetiloff, Britt Slattery and Susan M. Zwicker. 2002.National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

• Southeast Exotic Pest Plant Council Invasive PlantManual. Southeast Exotic Pest Plant Council. 2003.

Invasive Plants of Eastern United States: Identification and Control (CD-ROM)USDA Forest Service, Forest Health Technology Enterprise Team

The project was funded by the USDA Forest Service, Forest Health Technology Enterprise Team in Morgantown, WV.Publication No. FHTET-2003-08

WILDLAND WEEDS 5

IntroductionToday’s high school students are

tomorrow’s voters, policy makers, environ-mental caretakers and concerned citizens.Faced with this certainty, it is of the utmostimportance to instill in these individuals asense of environmental stewardship and anawareness of current environmental issues.An educated society is perhaps the mostimportant ally for our environment in thefuture. As exotic introductions are one ofthe most serious threats to our environ-ment and to our native flora and fauna, itis imperative that students fully under-stand this issue. Traditional teaching meth-ods, even with the addition of technologyand other current techniques, still fallshort of providing students with insightinto the actual impact of these species. TheAir Potato Eradication Project wasdesigned to take students a step furtherand immerse them in a simulation of actu-al environmental management of an exoticinvader. Students became the environmen-tal managers as they learned about theproblem of exotic species and acceptedresponsibility for the removal of speciesfrom an area of degraded cypress dome oncampus.

Our study site was located at NewDimensions High School in Kissimmee,FL, across the street from a large NatureConservancy preserve and adjacent to alarge tract of unspoiled habitat. Thecypress dome was in very poor condition,but it had value both as a wetland and as abuffer zone to the larger land area. As anedge habitat, it was vulnerable to exoticpest plant invaders and was accessible tostudents. The proximity to the school, thecondition of the area and its potential valueall contributed to making the site an excel-lent choice for our removal and restorationproject.

The dominant invader in the area wasair potato (Dioscorea bulbifera), whichblanketed the understory and covered thetrunk of 80% of the trees. This fast-grow-

ing and highly fecund vine had literallytaken over the area, reducing the diversityof species and adversely affecting the con-dition of the other species present. Becauseof its ability to spread rapidly, this concen-tration of D. bulbifera in close proximity tothe Nature Conservancy land presented apotentially important problem for them.The goal of the project was to remove thisthreat and restore the cypress dome to amore pristine state.

Project overviewFrom the Fall of 2002 through the

Spring of 2003, 125 students inEnvironmental Science and Biology classesat New Dimensions High School partici-pated in the Air Potato EradicationProject. The project consisted of threephases designed to expose students to allaspects of the exotic species managementprocess. Students would follow the pro-gression of tasks from identification andtargeting of species, to land surveys, todesign and implementation of a manage-ment plan and, finally, restoration of anarea with native vegetation. Students beganto learn about the problem of exoticspecies with introductory readings, activi-ties, videos and a research project on exot-ic animal species. In the second phase, stu-dents were assigned an area within thestudy site, and were challenged to develop

and implement a viable management planfor removing D. bulbifera that could be usedon a broader scale in the future. In the finalphase, students were given the opportunityto participate in planning restoration workand planting native species in previouslyovergrown areas. The culmination of theentire project was an Exotic Species Day atschool where students gave presentationson the results of their research and theirmanagement efforts.

The management simulationAs with any real management situa-

tion, students had to deal with choice oftechniques, working within a fixed budgetand working with a fixed amount of timeand labor available. In pairs, students wereassigned 3 x 3 meter plots within the studyarea that they would restore. Students wereable to choose from all of the techniquesavailable to land managers, from herbicideapplication, to physical removal, to variouscombinations of the two and anything theycould dream up from their studies of theliterature. Every method and tool wasgiven a fixed cost and labor value designedto simulate their true benefits as seen by anenvironmental manager. A successful plannot only would eliminate the D. bulbifera,but also would minimize both the amountof money spent and the effort required.Thus, students managed their plots underthe same constraints that a land managerwould, and their results could be appliedon a larger scale.

ResultsResults were quantified using two sep-

arate indices. First the project was meas-ured for its success as an educational expe-rience. Student attitudes, as judged byattendance for project work and surveys ofopinions, indicated that it was a favorableexperience and increased student interest inscience. Standardized test results were usedas well since approximately half of the

A Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council Education and Outreach Grant Project

Air Potato Eradication Project:A Teaching Model for the Management of Exotic Species

continued on page 6

by Joshua Platt

6 WINTER 2003

school population participated in the proj-ect. Our school was in the top three inOsceola County for Science FCAT scoresand our overall school grade increased froma D to a C, indicating academic gains fromthis and many other projects at the school.

Removal of D. bulbifera was a success,though the project must continue inupcoming years if the species is to be com-

pletely eradicated. Overall, 237 pounds oftubers were removed from the site, with amaximum of 78 pounds in two hours oneday. In addition, vines were stripped fromevery tree and removed from 85% of theground. All plots showed less than 10%regrowth after eight weeks.

PartnershipsThe entire project was made possible

by grants and support from various organ-izations. In its early stages the project wassupported by a grant from the BinghamEnvironmental Education Foundation(BEEF) at The University of Florida.Further funding was received from theOsceola Foundation for Education Grantsfor Great Ideas Program. And finally, fund-ing of the current and most successfulphase of the project was provided by aFlorida Exotic Pest Plant CouncilEducation and Outreach Grant.

New Dimensions High School hasnow formed a mutually beneficial partner-ship with The Nature Conservancy, work-ing at their preserve in Poinciana, FL. Ourstudent volunteers assist in their constantfight against exotic species on the property,

from removal of exotics, to seed collectionfrom native species, and planting of nativespecies. Over the course of 3 volunteerdays last year, students contributed almost400 volunteer hours. This partnershipcontinues at the school, and has expandedinto a second program promoting wetlandseducation and remediation.

ConclusionsThis project was a tremendous suc-

cess. By immersing students in the actualexperience of managing an exotic invader,they learned first hand just how daunting atask it can be. This experience will leave alasting memory of how devastating thesespecies are to the environment. Perhapsmost important, these individuals are nowempowered by what they have accom-plished to help the environment. They cansee how a small contribution on their partcan have a lasting effect on their world. Inaddition, many students who once lackedmotivation in school now have found arenewed excitement for science.

For more information, contact Joshua Platt [email protected]

• Proven product performance• Returnable, refillable

containers with dry lock valves• Experienced sales force

Air Potato Eradication continued

K e y B e n e f i t s :

R o d e o ® h e r b i c i d e • D M A * 4 I V M h e r b i c i d e

G a r l o n * 3 A s p e c i a l t y h e r b i c i d e • G a r l o n * 4 s p e c i a l t y h e r b i c i d e

Solutions for Invasive Weed Control

www.dowagro.com/ivm 1-800-352-6776

*Trademark of Dow AgroSciences LLCAlways read and follow label directions

Specialty Herbicide Specialty Herbicide

Herbicide Herbicide

WILDLAND WEEDS 7

A Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council Education and Outreach Grant Project

Pest Plant Packets for Lake Peoplehe problem of invasive exotic plants is recognized world-wide, and Florida seems to be especially impacted bytheir introduction. The shorelines of Lake Santa Fe, other

dark water lakes, and the region’s sandhill lakes are no exception,especially with the ever-intensifying development taking placearound these popular water bodies. Education about these harm-ful invasive pest plants and the assis-tance of homeowners in stemming thetide of their spread is imperative if ournative ecosystems are to stand achance. The “Pest Plant Packets forLake People” project is one small effortto help.

As part of an invasive plant surveyand homeowner education project onLake Santa Fe in Alachua County,Current Problems, Inc., a non-profitcorporation in Gainesville, Florida,compiled a packet of information aboutinvasive plants and good waterfrontlandscaping habits. Homeownersseemed very pleased to receive thesepackets, as most that we talked withwere quite interested in the problem ofinvasive exotic plants.

After completing the survey anddiscovering additional plants, CurrentProblems decided to expand the pack-ets to include the Lake Region of NorthFlorida in general. An Education andOutreach grant from the Florida ExoticPest Plant Council made this possible.

We targeted the “Four Corners”area of north-central Florida, whichincludes parts of Alachua, Bradford,Clay and Putnam counties. The region is full of both dark andclear water lakes. Some are surrounded by cypress swamp. LakeSanta Fe is a dark water lake bordered by swamps featuringdahoon holly, red maple, pond cypress and black gum, and mixedbays farther in, along with buttonbush and other shrubs in theunderstory. Dense maidencane with scattered clumps of rushes,lilies and other emergent species line the shore. Other lakes, suchas Swan Lake, are the “sandhill” lakes, characterized by white sandbottoms, clear water, and much different vegetation close to theshorelines, such as turkey oaks, live oaks and pines. Sandhill lakesalso tend to be more inhabited by humans, providing more dis-turbed sites than the swamp-bordered lakes in the area. Invasive

plants can establish themselves anywhere it seems, but disturbedlands provide especially good opportunities. In addition, any ofthe lakes can have nuisance aquatic plants, especially hydrilla andwater hyacinth.

Because the spread of invasive exotic species and landscapinghabits may often be related, and because landscaping habits con-

tribute to the health of a lake, CurrentProblems wanted to include informa-tion on good waterfront landscapingpractices in addition to informationabout invasive plant species.

We consulted with the FloridaDepartment of Environmental Protection– Bureau of Invasive Plant Management,the UF/IFAS Alachua County ExtensionOffice, and the Alachua CountyEnvironmental Protection Department(ACEPD) to determine which plants todescribe in the Pest Plant Packet. TimHarris of ACEPD was especially helpful,as he had previously worked for theBureau of Invasive Plant Managementand had visited many of the lakes in ourtarget area.

The waterfront landscaping infor-mation included advice about what toplant in which zone along one’s shore-line, good landscaping managementpractices, and the value of healthyshorelines.

To develop the packet, CurrentProblems gathered together an assort-ment of materials already available,rather than producing new ones. Wefound excellent materials to include

from the Florida DEP-Bureau of Invasive Plant Management,UF/IFAS Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants, SouthwestFlorida and St. Johns River Water Management Districts, and theAlachua County Extension Office Florida Yards & NeighborhoodsProgram (FYN).

Wendy Wilber of the Florida Yards & NeighborhoodsProgram customized IFAS materials for our project and workedwith us in adapting the IFAS Fact Sheet 44B, “Selected InvasiveExotic Plants in the North Central Florida Lake Region” to pres-ent the plants chosen for the packet. (Fact Sheet 44B can berequested from the Alachua County Extension Office, 352-955-2402.)

by Fritzi S. Olson

Pest Plant Packets for Lake People

T

Wedelia

continued on page 8

8 WINTER 2003

Wendy also helped us bring twoworkshops to the community about inva-sive, exotic plants. Claudia Larson, presi-dent of the Gainesville Native PlantSociety, and Dan Rountree, president, andFritzi Olson, executive director of CurrentProblems, assisted with presentationsfocusing on the issue of invasive plants,plants of concern in our area, methods ofremoval, alternative species, and goodlandscaping practices and principles.Plant specimens were on hand to facilitateidentification among attendees. Manyhandouts, including the Pest PlantPackets, were available for participants totake home.

Pest Plant Packets also were distrib-uted at the Bonnie Melrose Lakefest inMarch, the public libraries, the local postoffices, and even a real estate office inMelrose to offer their customers. The PestPlant Packets seemed to be well receivedby area residents.

Current Problems hopes to assemblea similar packet about urban creeks in theGreater Gainesville area. These creeks arequickly being over-run by invasive exoticplants. We hope to garner citizen help torein in this spread and restore the habitatalong the city’s creek beds.

To help address the basic problem ofshoreline management practices amongresidents, businesses, agriculture opera-tions, forestry interests, and even govern-ment lands, Current Problems is launch-ing Restore A Shore. This new programseeks to educate and increase awarenessamong North Florida’s citizens about theimportance of healthy shoreline ecosys-tems, whether they be lake or pond, riveror creek, spring or sink, marsh or swamp,canal or drainage ditch. Invasive exoticplants, shoreline revegetation, nativeplants, good waterfront landscaping prac-tices, wildlife needs, and thoughtful livinghabits will be emphasized. Healthy shore-line ecosystems contribute tremendouslyto both water quality and wildlife habitat,important to us all – whether we alwaysrealize it or not.

For more information, contact the author at352-264-6827 or [email protected]

Sesbania

Pest Plant Packets continued

WILDLAND WEEDS 9

f you are reading this magazine, you’reprobably all too familiar with the devas-tation caused to Florida’s natural areas

by alien invasive plants. One of the mostdestructive is air potato, Dioscorea bulb-ifera, a vining member of the yam familythat rapidly climbs into tree canopies andsmothers native vegetation. Air potatoinvades a variety of natural habitats, includ-ing hammocks and pinelands, and its pres-ence is now felt in at least 23 Florida coun-ties, extending from the panhandle to thesouthern peninsula (Langeland andCraddock Burks 1998).

One promising strategy for combatinginvasive plants is classical biological control- the introduction into Florida of insect her-bivores that feed on air potato in its nativehome range. A major advantage of classicalbiological control is its sustainability. Oncean effective agent is established, it providespermanent control, often without any fur-ther inputs. However, classical biologicalcontrol is a long-term endeavor, and mustbe undertaken with great care; it often takesseveral years to identify and introduce safeand effective natural enemies. One reasonthat the process is so lengthy is the require-ment for host specificity. It must be demon-strated that candidate biological controlagents feed only on the target plant, andthus, pose little threat to native or econom-ically important plants. For air potato, thisis a particularly important issue becausethere are two native yams in Florida:Dioscorea villosa and D. floridana. Thescreening for non-target effects is doneunder highly secure quarantine conditions,and demand for these types of facilities inFlorida has surpassed space availability.Fortunately, the University of FloridaInstitute for Food and Agricultural Sciences(UF/IFAS) and United States Department ofAgriculture’s Agricultural Research Service(USDA/ARS) both recognized the need foradditional quarantine space several yearsago, and are in the process of constructing

new facilities in FortPierce and FortLauderdale. This willgreatly expand opportu-nities for conductingresearch on classicalbiological control ofboth invasive plants andexotic insect pests.

The best biologicalcontrol agents of airpotato, those most suited to eating thisweed and least likely to feed on the nativespecies, are likely to be found on plants thatare genetically similar to those found inFlorida. Air potato is not known to repro-duce sexually in Florida, and thus has prob-ably undergone little genetic change sincearriving in the state. This means that it isstill genetically similar to the original sourcein its native range, and probably still vul-nerable to biological control agents presentin the source population. Unfortunately, wehaven’t known the source of Florida’s airpotato until very recently.

In 1905, the United States Departmentof Agriculture sent aerial bulbils of air pota-to to Henry Nehrling, a nurseryman basedin Gotha, Orange County, Florida. The ori-gin of the bulbils sent to Mr. Nehrling isunknown. There is speculation that D. bulb-ifera was introduced into the United Stateswith slave ships coming from Africa in the‘early days of slavery’ (Coursey, 1967).Yams store well, which made them ideal forlong sea voyages.

Air potato is widely distributed in Asiaand tropical Africa, where it occurs in wildpopulations and is a minor agriculturalcrop. The center of origin of the genusDioscorea is thought to be Asia, although asecondary center of yam species diversityexists in West Africa. Centers of diversity ofa genus (areas with lots of different species)are usually found where the genus evolved.The interesting thing about yams is thatthere are two centers of diversity - one in

Asia and another in Africa. Dioscorea bulb-ifera is the only member of the genus thatoccurs in the wild in both Asia and Africa.Thus, determining the geographic source ofFlorida’s air potato becomes problematic.

Recently, the University of Florida (UF)and the University of Miami (UM) joinedforces to solve the mystery of the origin ofFlorida air potato. Previous work byJapanese scientists (Terauchi et al., 1991)showed that air potatoes from Asia andAfrica are quite different at the molecularlevel, and could be readily distinguished byexamining their chloroplast DNA. Usingthis technology, and with financial supportfrom the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Councilto Caronia Wallace, an undergraduate at theUniversity of Miami, it has been determinedthat Florida air potato is most likely ofAfrican origin.

Now that we are fairly certain of theFlorida air potato’s origin, efforts are under-way to explore for natural enemies. On atrip to Africa in June 2003, a collaborationwas established with the Crops ResearchInstitute in Ghana and Makerere Universityin Uganda. Florida’s Department ofEnvironmental Protection recently awardeda grant to UF/IFAS and UM to support thework in Ghana and Uganda, and to allowfurther genetic studies to narrow the searchin Africa for genotypes similar to thosefound in Florida.

For more information about air potato biologicalcontrol, please contact Bill Overholt at [email protected].

Bill Overholt1, Colin Hughes2, Caronia Wallace2 and Eric Morgan1

1/ Indian River Research and Education Center, University of Florida; 2/ Department of Biology, University of Miami

ReferencesCoursey, D. G. 1967. Yams: an account of the nature, origins, cultivation and utilization of the useful members of the Dioscoreaceae. Longmans, London. 229 pp.Langeland, K. A. and K. Craddock Burks (eds.). 1998. Identification and biology of non-native plants in Florida’s natural areas. University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida. 165 pp.Terauchi, R.; Terachi, T. and Tsunewaki, K. 1991. Intraspecific variation of chloroplast DNA in Dioscorea bulbifera L. Theoretical and Applied Genetics 81: 461-470.This research was supported by the Florida Agricultural Experiment Station and a grant from the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council, and approved for publication as Journal Series No.T-00646.

I

Origin of Air Potato Identified

Air potato engulfing cabbage palm in Glades County

A WEED BY ANY OTHER NAME

IS STILL JUST A WEED

Call it what you will. DuPont offers a portfolio of

vegetation management products to help you make

sure unwanted vegetation doesn’t stay where

it doesn’t belong.

DuPont™ Escort® XP, Krovar® I DF, Oust® XP and

Velpar® herbicides, plus Krenite® S brush control

agent have set the standard for weed and brush

control. Now, there’s new Landmark™ MP and

Landmark™ II MP herbicides from DuPont.

Contact your DuPont Vegetation Management

Service Center or DuPont vegetation management

representative for more information about the

products or programs that will work best for

you. And be sure to visit us on the Web at:

www.vegetationmanagement.dupont.com

*Registration may be pending in your state. See your local DuPont VegetationManagement Service Center or DuPont vegetation management representative for details and availability in your state.

Always read and follow the label. The DuPont Oval, DuPont™, The miracles of science™, Escort®, Krenite®, Krovar®, Landmark™,Oust® and Velpar® are registered trademarks or trademarks of DuPont or its affiliates.Copyright © 2003 E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company. All Rights Reserved. 9/03

IntroductionChristmas must be just around the

corner because home landscapes are col-ored with the bright yellow flowers ofChristmas senna (Senna pendula var.glabrata). Christmas senna is a long timefavorite landscape plant, commonly culti-vated as an ornamental in Florida at leastsince the 1940s (Bailey and Bailey 1947).Christmas senna is so named because itblooms during the Christmas season (Fall-Winter). It is popular, in part, because ofits showy yellow flowers (Fig. 1). This isespecially true in the northern part of thestate, where it is one of the few landscapeplants that bloom in late fall and early win-ter. It also is popular for butterfly gardens(Fig. 2). Christmas senna also is known asChristmas cassia, winter cassia, climbingcassia, cassia shrub, butterfly cassia, but-terfly bush, or just plain cassia. The com-mon name “cassia” is derived from thegenus Cassia, to which the species histori-cally belonged. “Climbing” describes theplant’s clambering growth habit when sup-port is available, while “shrub” refers to itsgrowth habit in open ground. In the nurs-ery trade it is known by the botanical nameof Cassia bicapsularis.

Christmas senna can be seen bloom-ing not only in landscapes, but also alongroadsides, canal banks, hammocks, marsh-es, and even mangrove communities. Itescaped from cultivation and has become aweed in natural areas and other sites incentral and southern Florida (Fig. 3).Those traveling the state by car will espe-cially notice the brilliant yellow flowersalong commonly traveled roads such asFlorida’s turnpike south of Orlando, I-75south of Sarasota, and SR 60 betweenYeehaw Junction and Vero Beach.

The virtues of Christmas senna as anornamental landscape plant have beenwell described (e.g. Dirr 2002; Gilmanand Black 1999; Bender and Felder1993). Little, however, has been pub-lished concerning the escape of this plant

into the wild. Because of the confusion intaxonomy, everyone may not realize thatthe plants for sale in the nursery trade arethe same species as those escaped andgrowing in the wild. This article will pro-vide information on the biology ofChristmas senna outside of cultivationand clarify the taxonomy.

DistributionChristmas senna is native to Brazil,

Peru, Bolivia and south to Paraguay andArgentina. It is cultivated in warm regionsof both hemispheres. In the US it occurs inFlorida, Texas (common in southernTexas), California, Arizona, and probablyin other Sunbelt states (Isely 1998). It iscultivated in all regions of Florida (Hunt1977, Nelson 1996). Herbarium recordsdocument it as outside of cultivation fromHillsborough and Brevard Counties southto Dade and Collier Counties (Wunderlinet al. 2003). It is reported from scrub andforest natural areas in Palm Beach Countyand from the edge of Lake Okeechobee inHendry County (EPPC 1996). In CollierCounty, it invades mangrove communitiesat the headwaters of the Baron River (per-sonal observation by the author). It wasreported as a weed of canal banks, road-sides, and fencerows in 1977 (Orsenigo1977). It has been observed in the wild insouth Florida since the early 1970s (D. F.Austin, Florida Atlantic University, 1995personal communication). It is noted asnaturalized in south Florida and becomingweedy in the Bahamas and disturbed areasin South America (Irwin and Barneby1982). Isely (1990) described it as moder-ately established outside of cultivation inFlorida.

Natural HistoryChristmas senna produces flowers

from October through January. Large num-bers of seeds are produced, which maturethrough the spring and summer. Seedsmay be dispersed by

WILDLAND WEEDS 11

Merry Christmas Sennaby Ken LangelandUF/IFAS Agronomy Department & Center for Aquatic and Invasive PlantsCooperative Extension Service

Fig. 1

Fig. 2

Fig. 3

Fig. 4continued on page 12

Ho! Ho! Ho!1

1. The invasive characteristics of this plant have not been assessed using the IFAS Assessment of Non-Native Plants in Florida’s Natural Areas.

12 WINTER 2003

birds, mammals, and/or human con-veyance but specific dispersal agents havenot been identified. Plants are hardy northof the frost line as they will regrow aftertops are killed by freezing (Maxwell andMaxwell 1961). Specimens (reported as C.bicapsularis) over 3 m (10 ft) are commonas far north as Charleston, South Carolina(Dirr 2002). The lack of herbarium recordsnorth of Hillsborough and BrevardCounties suggests that the plant has notescaped or effectively reproduced out ofcultivation in colder climates of the state.Plants may not produce viable seed whenthey are frozen back in winter, which is apossible explanation. However, sexualreproduction has been observed as farnorth as Gainesville (David Hall, 2003 per-sonal communication). Whether thespecies can become as abundant in thenorthern part of Florida remains for futuredetermination.

Christmas senna often becomes estab-lished in sunny openings and then clambersover adjacent vegetation (Austin 1998). Itdisplaces native plants in both disturbed and

undisturbed areas of Florida’s tropical ham-mocks, coastal strands, and canal banks (M.Renda, The Nature Conservancy, 1996 per-sonal communication).

TaxonomyThe genus Senna (Family Fabaceae) is

represented by ten species in Florida, fournative and six introduced (Wunderlin1998). The correct nomenclature for theFlorida plants called by the common nameChristmas senna is Senna pendula (Willd.)Irwin & Barn. var. glabrata (Vogel) Irwin& Barn. (synonym Cassia colutoides). Thisrevised nomenclature is based on the sepa-ration by Irwin and Barnaby (1982) of thelarge genus Cassia into Cassia, Senna, andChamaecrista based on male floral characteristics.

Christmas senna plants found in culti-vation or established in Florida usuallyhave been identified as Cassia bicapsularis,which they are not (Isely 1998). Thespecies Cassia bicapsularis, now properlycalled Senna bicapsularis (L.) Roxburgh,has been only slightly introduced into theUnited States and is not known to haveescaped in Florida (Isely 1990). Sennabicapsularis has leaflets in 3 pairs andflower stalks (pedicels) 3-5 mm (0.12-0.2in) long, while the commonly escapedSenna pendula has leaflets in 4-7 pairs andflower stalks (pedicels) 2 cm (0.08 in) ormore long (Isely 1998). The species namependula describes the growth habit of thebranches, which arch downward.

Botanical DescriptionChristmas senna is a sprawling ever-

green shrub to 4 m (13 ft) tall (or wide),with somewhat zigzag, sparsely hairystems. Leaves are alternate, stalked, even-pinnately compound, with 4 to 7 pairs ofleaflets, the larger ones occurring at theleaf tip. The leaflets are up to 4 cm (1.6in) long, oblong with rounded tips; leafstalks (petioles) have a gland on theupper surface, between lowermostleaflets (and occasionally between oth-ers). The flowers are yellow or yellow-green, 3 to 4 cm (1.2 to 1.6 in) across, in3- to 12-flowered racemes near the stemtips. Stamens in the flowers have promi-nent, curved filaments (Fig. 4). The fruitis a brown slender pod, cylindric,glabrous, 7 to 12 cm (3 to 5 in) long.

ControlChristmas senna can be controlled by

foliar or basal bark herbicide application.The following foliar applications on aspray-to-wet basis have been found effec-tive: 1.0% Roundup Pro, 0.5% Garlon 3A+ 0.375% Induce, 0.50 oz/gal Escort +0.375% Induce, 3.13% Brush-B-Gon.Basal bark application of 10% Garlon 4 inoil is used by the Southwest Florida WaterManagement District (Mack Sweat, 2003personal communication).

For more information, contact Ken Langeland [email protected]

Literature Cited

Austin, D.F. 1998. Invasive exotic climbers in Florida: Biogeography, ecology, and problems. Fla. Scientist 61: 106-117.

Bailey, L. H., and E. Z. Bailey. 1947. Hortus Second. Macmillan Co., New York. 778 pp.

Bender, S. and F. Rushing. 1993. Passalong Plants. University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill. 221 pp.

Dirr, M. A. 2002. Dirr’s Trees and Shrubs for Warm Climates: An Illustrated Encyclopedia. Timber Press, Portland, OR. 448 pp.

EPPC. 1996. Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council occurrence data base. Unpublished. Data available by requests via Web site:http://www.fleppc.org/.

Gilman, E. F. and R. J. Black. 1999. Your Florida Guide to Shrubs Selection, Establishment, and Maintenance. UniversityPress of Florida, Gainesville. 116 pp.

Hunt, S. 1977. Dig Manual: Guide to Identification and Selection of Florida Ornamental Plants. Fla. Dept. of Education,Career Education Center, Fla. State Univ., Tallahassee. 224 pp.

Irwin, H. S., and R. C. Barneby. 1982. The American Cassiinae: A Synoptical Revision of Leguminosae tribe Cassieae subtribeCassiinae in the New World. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. Vol. 35, Part I. 454 pp.

Isely, D. E. 1990. Leguminosae (Fabaceae). Vascular Flora of the Southeastern United States, Vol. 3, Part 2. Univ. of NorthCarolina Press, Chapel Hill. 258 pp.

Isely, D. E. 1998. Native and Naturalized Leguminoseae (Fabaceae) of the United States (exclusive of Alaska and Hawaii).Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT. xi, 1007 p.

Maxwell, L., and B. M. Maxwell. 1961. Florida Plant Selector. Maxwell Publ., Tampa. 116 pp.

Nelson, G. 1996. The Shrubs and Woody Vines of Florida. Pineapple Press Inc., Sarasota. 391 pp.

Orsenigo, J. R., D. S. Burgis, W. L. Currey, D. W. Hall, W. T. Scudder, T. J. Stelter, and D. B. Ward. 1977. Florida Weeds, PartII, A Supplement to Weeds of the Southern United States, Circular 419. Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute ofFood and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Gainesville. 19 pp.

Wunderlin, R. P. 1998. Guide to the Vascular Plants of Central Florida. University Press of Florida, Gainesville. 806 pp.

Wunderlin, R. P., and B. F. Hansen. 2003. Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants (http://www.plantatlas.usf.edu/).[S. M. Landry andK. N. Campbell (application development), Florida Center for Community Design and Research.] Institute for SystematicBotany, University of South Florida, Tampa.

Merry Christmas Senna continued

For the plants you love to hate…

PandionSystems, Inc.

Invasive Exotic PlantManagement

Ecologists and landmanagers…Specializing in complex control and research projectsrequiring a high degree of ecological proficiency andexperience.

Gainesville, Florida352-372-4747

[email protected]

IntroductionChristmas senna (Senna pendula

(Willd.) Irwin & Barn. var. glabrata (Vogel)Irwin & Barn.) has been commonly cultivat-ed as an ornamental in Florida at least sincethe 1940s (Bailey and Bailey 1947). Itescapes from cultivation in central andsouthern Florida and has become a weed innatural areas and other sites. It was reportedas a weed of canal banks, roadsides, andfencerows in 1977 (Orsenigo 1977) and hasbeen observed in the wild in south Floridasince the early 1970s (D. F. Austin, FloridaAtlantic University, 1995 personal commu-nication). It is noted as naturalized in southFlorida and becoming weedy in the Bahamasand disturbed areas in South America (Irwinand Barneby 1982). It often becomes estab-lished in sunny openings and then clambersover adjacent vegetation (Austin 1998). Itdisplaces native plants in both disturbed andundisturbed areas of Florida’s tropical ham-mocks, coastal strands, and canal banks (M.Renda, The Nature Conservancy, 1996 per-sonal communication). The purpose of thisstudy was to evaluate herbicides for controlof Christmas senna.

Materials and MethodsPLANT CULTURE

Christmas senna seeds were collected inJanuary 2000 from plants growing along aroadside in Lee County, FL. In May 2000,seeds were removed from the pods, scarified,and germinated in moist petri dishes. Uponreaching a height of 4.0 to 8.0 cm (1.6 to 3.2in), seedlings were planted in one-galloncontainers of commercial topsoil in a plastichouse at the UF/IFAS Center for Aquatic andInvasive Plants in Gainesville, Florida.Seedlings were allowed to grow from June2000 through April 2001, during whichtime they were transplanted to 2.5-galloncontainers. The plants were removed fromcontainers and planted on two-foot centersat the IFAS Agronomy farm (Green Acres)near Citra, Florida in April 2001. Plants

were overhead irrigated every other day andweeds were controlled by tilling and spotspraying with a glyphosate containing herbi-cide. Plants grew vigorously and attained 1.5to 3.0 meters in height.

HERBICIDE APPLICATION

Herbicides were applied November 9-10, 2001. Weather during and immediatelyafter herbicide application was clear, calm,and 78 F. Herbicides were applied on aspray-to-wet basis, which resulted in appli-cation of approximately 0.75 l of spray solu-tion per plant. Each herbicide treatment(Table 1) was applied to 10 randomlyassigned replicate plants. Induce (HelenaChemical), a nonionic fatty acid based sur-factant, was added to spray solutions ofTransline, Garlon 3A, and Escort. Water,containing no herbicide or adjuvant, wasapplied to experimental checks.

EVALUATION

Final evaluation for herbicide efficacywas determined on July 10, 2002 (eightmonths post application) as percent offoliage that was defoliated or attached andcompletely necrotic. Foliage that containedany green tissue was not considerednecrotic.

Results and DiscussionAll rates of Transline (0.750% to

0.125%), Garlon 3A at 1.0% and 0.5, Escortat 0.02 and .01 oz per gallon, Roundup Proat 2.0%, 1.5%, and 1.0%, and Brush-B-Gonat 3.13% gave complete control of Christmassenna (Table 1). Plants were completelydefoliated, woody plant parts were desiccat-ed and brittle, and plants showed no indica-tion of regrowth. In contrast, untreatedplants were defoliated 56% by cold damagebut were vigorously regrowing at the evalua-tion time in July. Roundup Pro at 0.5%resulted in excellent control with nine of tenreplicate plants being 100% defoliated.Lower rates of Garlon 3A (0.25% and0.063%) and Escort (0.025 oz/gal and

0.012 oz/gal) resulted in good to fair control.Roundup Super Concentrate at 1.95% pro-vided no control of Christmas senna.

Transline contains the active ingredientclopyralid, which is known to have excellentherbicidal activity on other leguminousweeds such as kudzu. It is not registered inFlorida but is scheduled to be registered incounties of western Florida (ScottDitmarsen, Dow AgroSciences, 2003 per-sonal communication).

Brush-B-Gon, is a dilute product oftriclopyr (0.75 lb a.e./gal), which is pack-aged for homeowner use and available insmall containers in retail garden supplystores. The dilution used in this study isthat recommended on the Brush-B-Gonlabel. The concentration of active ingredi-ent in this Brush-B-Gon dilution is inbetween the 1.0% and 0.5% dilutions ofGarlon 3A, which is a concentrated (3 lba.e./gal), commercial product.

Roundup Super Concentrate is aglyphosate containing product that is pack-aged for homeowners and available in retailgarden supply stores. It is more concentrat-

WILDLAND WEEDS 13

Evaluation of Foliar Applied Herbicides for Control of Christmas Senna1

Langeland, K. A., D. W. Clark, R. K. Stocker, and G. E. MacDonald; UF/IFAS Agronomy Department & Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants

Table 1. Control (%defoliation) of Christmas sennaeight months after foliar herbicide applications (alladditions of Induce, an adjuvant, at 0.375%).

Treatment % Defoliation0.750% Transline + Induce 1000.500% Transline + Induce 1000.250% Transline + Induce 1000.125% Transline + Induce 1001.000% Garlon 3A + Induce 1000.500% Garlon 3A + Induce 1000.250% Garlon 3A + Induce 950.063% Garlon 3A + Induce 820.020 oz Escort/gal + Induce 1000.010 oz Escort/gal + Induce 1000.025 oz Escort/gal + Induce 910.012 oz Escort/gal + Induce 772.0% Roundup Pro 1001.5% Roundup Pro 1001.0% Roundup Pro 1000.5% Roundup Pro 983.13% Brush-B-Gon 1001.95% Roundup Super Concentrate 59Untreated check 56

1. The invasive characteristics of this plant have not been assessed using the IFAS Assessment of Non-Native Plants in Florida’s Natural Areas.

14 WINTER 2003

ed (3.7 lb a.e./gal) than Roundup Pro (3 lb a.e./gal), which is packagedfor commercial applicators. The concentration of Roundup SuperConcentrate used (1.95%) is betweenthe two highest concentrations ofRoundup Pro used and would beexpected to perform as well based onherbicide rate. The lack of controlobserved with Roundup SuperConcentrate compared to RoundupPro may be related to adjuvants in thedifferent formulations (proprietaryinformation) but cannot be explainedin this study.

AcknowledgementsAppreciation is expressed to Mike

Ward, Elizabeth Jimenez and HillaryCherry for technical assistance, and toHelena Chemical, DuPont AgriculturalProducts, Monsanto Company, andDow AgroSciences for herbicides oradjuvants used in this study.

For more information, contact KenLangeland at [email protected]

The most recent quar-terly meeting of theFLEPPC Board ofDirectors took place atFort Jefferson NationalMonument in the Dry Tortugas NationalPark, 70 miles west of Key West, Florida.Following up on the 1995 exotic plantmanagement plan that FLEPPC helpeddevelop, board members spent severalhours removing exotic Agave plantsfrom Loggerhead Key. It was a pricklyjob and drew blood from several of us,but our time was well spent. During asweep of the island, we pulled or treatedAgave plants regrowing from an estab-lished population that was removed inthe late 1990s along with Australianpines (Casuarina equisetifolia) (see arti-cle by Tony Pernas, et al, WildlandWeeds, Winter 2001). – Ed.

The tenacious Jonathan Taylor of theNational Park Service organized the FLEPPC board member agave pull.

Foliar Applied Herbicides continued FLEPPC Board Gets Down and Dirty

S o l v i n g v e g e t a t i o n p r o b l e m sw i t h c o s t e f f e c t i v e s o l u t i o n s .

Invasive Plant ControlBrush Control

BaregroundTurf Management

Basal ApplicationsCut Surface Applications

Pre-emergent ControlAquatic EUP

For more information call Phil Waller at 863-619-6255 or visit www.vmanswers.com

WILDLAND WEEDS 15

Question:I review landscape plans for new construction on Florida’s Turnpike system. A lot of

plans are calling for Washingtonia robusta in groupings for accent trees. I usually argue that it’s preferable to use native species and recommend booted sabals

in lieu of washies. Knowing that Dade County has put some restrictions on the use ofwashingtonias, is there a stronger argument that this tree may soon be on the [FLEPPC]List of Invasive Species, or is this just a concern in extreme southern Florida?

Bruce Mantell, ASLA, Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise

Answer:The FLEPPC list committee has kept Washingtonia palms (Fan

Palm) on its unpublished “To Be Watched (TBW)” list for the pres-ent. This is because, despite numerous reports of “escapes” and estab-lishment from many regions of the state (Pinellas, Okeechobee,Brevard, MiamiDade Counties, for instance) few vouchered speci-mens and no reports of large, dense invasions have been made.Richard Wunderlin’s “Guide to the Vascular Plants of Florida (1998)”reports the Fan Palm as“Escaped from cultivation,”

strongly confirming the need for concern regard-ing Fan Palm populations already found inFlorida’s natural areas.

As I’m sure you’re aware, many invaders exhib-it low-level invasions, often for decades, beforesome factors or threshholds are met allowingwider incursions. It is often a nonnative plant’scontinued use and persistent intentional plant-ings that enable such threshholds to be overcomeand widespread invasion to proceed.

Several strategies aiming to predict plants’ invasion potentials have found palms, as a family, to have relatively low invasive characteristics. This includes the IFAS nonnative plant assessment strategy (http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/AG/AG10000.pdf,http://agronomy.ifas.ufl.edu/IFASassessmt.pdf) However, Washingtonia robusta, in theconsidered opinions of numerous field biologists and the published record of Floridaflora, already exhibits the ability to establish widely throughout many regions of Florida,and I must argue that it is wiser to err on the side of caution than to encourage the con-tinued use of this plant in horticultural plantings.

The Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council strongly recommends that the Florida TurnpikeEnterprise not use fan palm in its plantings and would strongly support the adoption ofan all native planting palette.

Best wishes, Mike Bodle, Chair, Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council

Results:Thanks for the information. This was forwarded to the Turnpike’s Landscape Architect

in the Planning Office. He passed the information to all Turnpike landscape design con-sultants. They have been advised to drop Washingtonia robusta from the plant list for allupcoming Turnpike landscaping projects that aren’t already under contract.

As a point of information, FDOT District 6 (Dade & Monroe Counties) also discour-ages new plantings of WR’s on state roads within their jurisdiction.

Bruce Mantell, ASLA, Florida’s Turnpike EnterpriseP.S. We have an upcoming District Landscape Managers meeting in November. I’ll be

more than happy to bring up the subject with my northern counterparts.

AQUATIC

VEGETATION

CONTROL, INC.ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES

6753 Garden Road, Suite 109

Riviera Beach, FL 33404

(561) 845-5525

(800) 327-8745

Fax: (561) 845-5374

email: [email protected]

www.avcaquatic.com

“Sound,value-oriented environmental stewardship”

Joint Symposium of theFlorida and Southeast

Exotic Pest Plant Councils

the 19th Annual FLEPPC and 6th Annual SE-EPPC Joint Symposium at the

Clarion Conference CenterPensacola Beach, Florida April 28 - April 30, 2004

Come and meet colleaguesfrom around the southeastern U.S. at a

spectacular location just steps away fromthe warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

Details to be posted on EPPC web sites

www.fleppc.orgwww.se-eppc.org

Q&A with Great Results

“Escaped” Washingtonia robusta found onthe rim of Lake Okeechobee. (A. Ferriter)

DON’T MISS

16 WINTER 2003

hile working on wildlandweeds for the FloridaDepartment of Environmental

Protection and the City of Sanibel, I oftenthought that the plants we learned todespise (usually accompanied by a greatdeal of respect) were from enticing, tropical,far-away places. When you scan the originsof the plants targeted for management andcontrol in Florida found in Ken Langelandand Kathy Burks’ book, Identification &Biology of Non-Native Plants in Florida’sNatural Areas (Langeland and Burks,1998), visions of places like Africa,Southeast Asia, Australia, Madagascar, andTropical America are conjured in the imagi-nation. I can’t count the number of times Ithought to myself, “It sure would be cool tobe someone like Dan Thayer (South FloridaWater Management District), Dr. Jim Cuda(University of Florida) or Greg Jubinsky(Florida Department of EnvironmentalProtection) and go visit some of those placesand see our invasive exotic plants in theirnative range behaving appropriately. It’dalso be pretty cool to work with people ofother countries to exchange information onplants we’re concerned about and see whatplants they’re combating.”

For me, wildland weed work andgraduate school years passed and a wisefriend of mine, Dr. Randall Stocker of theUniversity of Florida’s IFAS Center forAquatic and Invasive Plants, told me that ifI was interested in weeds and tropicalplaces, we needed to write a grant to getthere and take a look. Now on the surface,writing a grant to a federal agency thatincludes extended periods of time con-ducting weed research in a tropical para-dise seems a bit “over the top,” but uponreevaluating and removing a request for a45’ sailboat, our grant proposal had thegist of your typical North Georgia kudzuresearch proposal except we’d substituteCarnival for winter. After grant approvaland the big move, I quickly found thatwhen you move from the Southeast UnitedStates to a small Caribbean Island that is aworld-class vacation destination, your per-sonal and professional friends becomeeven closer, especially around the timeSanta comes to Spring Break. Since I’d like

to think that I choose friends of a high cal-iber, I don’t fault a single one.

On a slightly serious note, Caribbeanweed research, management and controlare not all rum drinking on a hammockgently swinging in the trade winds. Someof it is, but mostly it entails the tried andtrue methods of getting out in the woodswith armloads of field and scientific appa-ratuses and contraptions, sweltering in theheat, and being cut, scratched, poisonedand bit by sundry flora and fauna. The lureof the tropics is strong when you visit on acruise ship, however interns that haveworked here find themselves longing forthe cool autumn days in Tennessee whenthey don’t have to cut and drag tree limbsin the Anacardiaceae family through a cactus/thorn scrub.

Seemingly a boondoggle by my innercircle, the research project and NationalPark Service partnerships have been metwith approval from the U.S. Department ofAgriculture, the National Park Service, andsurrounding Caribbean nations. Like manyareas in the United States, invasive exoticplants in the Caribbean are not well under-stood. There is little scientific literaturediscussing the effects of these plants onnative ecosystems, how to manage andcontrol them, and what really belongs (isnative) versus what we, the “experts” (whoare often introduced, invasive, exoticspecies ourselves) profess to be non-native.

These are the age-old battles you’re alreadyfamiliar with. Reviewing the Flora of St.John (Acevido-Rodriguez, 1996), I foundthat of the approximately 750 plant speciesdescribed on the island, about 18 percentare non-native. The ratio is similar butslightly lower than that of Florida. Thelower ratio is probably due to the fact thatover 60 percent of the island is preservedas the Virgin Islands National Park. Moreimportant than the percent of non-nativeflora is the coverage of that flora.

A cursory examination of the distribu-tion and abundance of invasive exoticplants in the U.S. Virgin Island naturalareas is a part of the work underway.Another facet of the work involves appliedresearch in the Virgin Islands NationalPark to look at the effects of several inva-sive exotic plants on the native flora. Afterintroduction to the islands, species such as Triphasia trifolia (Rutaceae) andMelicoccus bijugatus (Sapindaceae) havebecome naturalized and have drasticallyexpanded their range over several hundredyears. Stem counts for T. trifolia haveexceeded 38,000 per hectare and ques-tions regarding the effects of these plantshopefully will be answered soon.Restoration using native plants afterremoval of invasive exotics also is beingexamined.

As important as it is to ask and answerquestions about invasive exotic plants, it is

Weeds are Still “Weeds” in Paradise by “Weedman” Dan ClarkNational Park Service Supervisory Exotic Plant Specialist, Florida/Caribbean Exotic Plant Management Team

W

Maho Bay, Virgin Islands National Park (St. John)

equally important to formulate a manage-ment plan and strategy to control theseplants in natural areas. The National ParkService has recognized this fact and formedExotic Plant Management Teams (EPMT)around the United States and in Hawaii tocombat the exotic plants infesting nearly2.6 million acres of NPS land. The teamsare designed after the strategic coordinatedresponse efforts used in wildland fire fight-ing. This year, the NPS expanded theFlorida Partnership EPMT to include theCaribbean and it is now called theFlorida/Caribbean EPMT. The same part-nership (Florida DEP and NPS) that hasbeen so effective in managing and control-ling invasive exotic plants in Florida since1999 is working similarly in theCaribbean.

Working with Tony Pernas, NPSExotic Plant Management Specialist andFlorida/ Caribbean EPMT Liaison, the firstweed management project of it’s kindknown in the Caribbean has been fundedand is scheduled to commence this winteron Buck Island just north of the U.S. VirginIsland of St. Croix. This 174-acre island isthe terrestrial portion of the Buck IslandReef National Monument and eight inva-sive exotic plant species are targeted forinitial treatment over a six-week period.Although the project may seem small inrelative size to many in the United States,the topography and logistics make it diffi-cult. However, positive results are expect-ed. Several plant and animal species listedas federally threatened or endangered, andterritorially protected, should benefit fromthe removal of nearly all invasive exoticplant species on the island.

While working in close proximity toso many different nations that have similarflora and issues of plant invasion andimportation, I’ve been communicatingwith representatives of some of them tobegin to form Caribbean Basin partner-ships on behalf of the U.S. National ParkService. To date, the Director of theNational Regional Parks of Martinique, the Minister of Agriculture and theEnvironment of the Dominican Republicand staff of several other Caribbean nationsare beginning to discuss the managementand control of invasive exotic plants in nat-ural areas of their countries. Collaborationsare blossoming between the U.S. NationalPark Service and other Caribbean nationsfor the exchange of technical expertise andother information related to management

and control of invasive exotic plants inCaribbean natural areas.

A final thought surrounds a mainconcern of local citizens of the U.S.Virgin Islands with regards to managinginvasive exotic plants with a long historyin the Caribbean. Many species and indi-vidual plants have significant historicalvalue and definitive knowledge of theirexact origin is sometimes sketchy. Treesstill exist that provided shade for slavesworking on sugar cane plantations in the17th century, many species were broughtby Europeans during the discovery andcolonization of the islands in the early16th century, and some species arethought to have been brought here fromTropical South America by the aboriginalTaino Indians thousands of years ago. Itcould be overwhelming to consider themany issues surrounding culturally andhistorically significant exotic plants in anarea where many people truly care aboutand connect with them at a deep level. Ihad never considered the issue at themagnitude it is here where one can read-ily see trade routes from Venezuela beingdeveloped a couple of thousand years agowith nominal vessels like sailing canoes.In the area of the Virgin Islands alone,one can look out from a tall mountain(1500’) and see 50-60 different islandseasily reached in one day by paddling.After pondering the dilemma, I saw aneed to shed some of my “purist” attitudeand concede that there are some exoticplant individuals in the Virgin Islandsand in the National Park (and somewhose species demonstrate truly invasivepotential that has already been realized)that need to be protected for these valuesin spite of their current biological draw-backs. I have begun to prompt park man-agers to examine ecosystems under theirstewardship and manage species for thepurpose stated in the park’s mission: “Toconserve the scenery and the natural andhistoric objects and the wildlife thereinand to provide for the enjoyment of thesame in such manner and by such meansas will leave them unimpaired for theenjoyment of future generations.” Thatstewardship can include preserving spe-cific individuals while controlling manyof the same species within the park. Thepublic and park staffs have been recep-tive to this notion so far.

The invasive plant work in theCaribbean is fulfilling and there is much to

do. Life here is fraught with challenges butthe rewards are equally splendid. Afterbeing a member of the U.S. Coast Guardfor 21 years, I never thought some peoplewould know me only as “The Weedmon,”and not by my name. Oh well, as long asthey know which weeds I work with. Iwonder what Thayer, Cuda, and Jubinskydid today? Oh well, back to the hammock,rum needs some ice!

For more information, contact Dan Clark at [email protected]

ReferencesAcevedo-Rodriguez, P. 1996. Flora of St. John, U.S. VirginIslands. New York Botanical Garden, New York. 581 pp.Langeland, K.A.; K. Craddock Burks, eds. 1998.Identification and biology on non-native plants inFlorida’s natural areas. University of Florida, Gainesville,Florida. 165 pp.

WILDLAND WEEDS 17

“Over 20 Years… Leading the way

in effective, efficient and economical

Aquatic & Natural AreaExotic Pest Plant Management”

P.O. Box 1469Eagle Lake, FL 33839

1-800-408-8882www.appliedaquaticmgmt.com

Triphasia trifolia

Bonnie FiglioliaHelena Aquatic Specialist

Eustis, FL(352) 636-2486

Polly EllinorHelena Aquatic Specialist

Tampa, FL(813) 376-3966

James BoggsHelena Aquatic Specialist

Dundee, FL(863) 557-0076

Homestead, FL(305) 245-0433

Delray Beach, FL(561) 499-0486Immokalee, FL

(239) 657-3141

Wauchula, FL(863) 773-3187

Palmetto, FL(941) 722-3253

Tampa, FL(813) 626-5121

Alachua, FL(386) 462-4157

Summerdale, AL(251) 989-6241

Mt. Dora, FL(352) 383-8139

Ft. Pierce, FL(772) 464-8660

Dundee, FL(863) 439-1551

Belle Glade, FL(561) 996-6200

Helena Chemical Company • PO Box 1758 • Dade City, FL 33526© 2002 Helena Chemical Company. Aqua-Kleen and Weedar are registered trademarks of Rhone-Poulenc Ag Co. Aquathol and Hydrothol are registered trademarks of ELF Atochem. Reward isa registered trademark of Syngenta Professional Products. Rodeo is a registered trademark of the Monsanto Company. AquaPro and Renovate are registered trademarks of Dow AgroSciences.*Captain, Nautique, Revive, Sonar, Precision Release and Sonar Quick Release are trademarks of SePRO Corporation.

People...Products...Knowledge...™

AquaticWeed Control ProductsFrom Helena Chemical Company

Helena Aquatic Specialists

Convenient Warehouse Locations

Exclusive Agent for the Sonar Product Line in Florida:Sonar*A.S.• Sonar SRP • Sonar PR • Sonar “Q” Quick Release* Pellets

Complete Line of Herbicides including:Nautique* • Aqua-Kleen® • Aquathol® K • Aquathol® SuperK • Hydrothol®191

Reward® • Rodeo® • Weedar® • Renovate®

Florida Distributor for SePRO Products:Sonar*A.S. (pints & quarts) • Captain*Algaecide • AquaPro® • Revive*

Complete Line of Adjuvants including:Kinetic®HV • Optima® • Quest® • Induce® • Dyne-Amic®

WILDLAND WEEDS 19

“The U.S., jolted into action by the mushrooming magnitude of invasive plants andthe damage they have wrought – and continue to cause – has launched a new, internet-based effort to choke off domestic retail sales of banned plants as one phase of a strategyto limit further introduction and spread of invasive plant species.”

Scientists at the Center for Integrated Pest Management(CIPM) at North Carolina State University, together with theU.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant HealthInspection Service (USDA/APHIS), have developed a “webcrawler” that searches the internet for web sites selling plantsofficially defined as noxious weeds or invasive species*. The sys-tem, Agricultural Internet Monitoring System (AIMS), will beused primarily to locate, then notify, offending vendors, accord-ing to R.E. Stinner, lead researcher on the AIMS program.

Vendors identified by AIMS as offering banned speciesonline will be notified and directed to stop selling the plants.AIMS will then keep track of retailers who continue to sellillegal plants; refusal to comply with notification can lead toprosecution and the possibility of substantial fines.

Depending on performance and results from the AIMSprogram, federal officials will consider developing a coopera-tive effort with equivalent organizations in other countries. Authorities in Australia,New Zealand, and South Africa have expressed an interest in some form of joint effort.

FOR SALE! AIR POTATO - Dioscorea bulbifera - We are offering small tubers of the Airpotato. A mature plant is quite a sight. It grows vigorously producing uprightvines that are often supported withsome type of trellis. The dark greenleaves are heart shaped and attractive- but its the aerial potatoes that stealthe show as they begin to develop atvarious intervals on the vines.Although they are thought of as anovelty, they actually are edible. Notto be confused with another varietywhich is rather bitter. They are veryeasy to grow. Provide warmth andbright light. Now available. No ship-ping to Florida or Texas.

1@$3.95 Add to cart

10@$30.50 Add to cart

Editor’s Note: Dioscorea bulbifera currently is not on the FederalNoxious Weed List. There is work tobe done!

The Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council (FLEPPC) has available funding for asmall number of research grants/scholarships for students conducting studiesrelated to invasive exotic plant management in Florida.

The deadline for proposal submission is February 27, 2004. Written proposalsshould be no more than three pages in length and should request funding forno more than $2,500. The proposal should include a summary of the researchproject and its relationship with Florida exotic plant management problems.Particular plant species involved in the study should be one or more of theCategory I or Category II exotic pest plant species listed by FLEPPC (see website: www.fleppc.org). In addition, the applicant should provide complete con-tact information and a detailed budget, with an explanation of how the fundingwill be used. Examples include (but are not limited to) travel funds for fieldwork, funds for research equipment or supplies (or temporary use of specializedequipment), stipend for applicant’s project work time not otherwise supported,travel funds for presentation of the research, etc. In developing the budget,funds requested are to be used for the direct costs of conducting research onthe proposed project and are not to be used for indirect costs incurred by thestudent’s university.

Proposals will be evaluated and ranked on the critical management need for scien-tific results in the area of study and on the clarity of the submitted request.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR INVASIVE PLANT RESEARCHDeadline: February 27, 2004

Proposals are due by 5:00 p.m. February 27, 2004.

…is another man’s treasure!One man’s weed…

•For more information, contact R.E. Stinner, CIPM, North Carolina State University, 919-515-1648, [email protected]

•To report internet sites offering prohibited plants for sale, contact [email protected]*For a copy of the Regulated Pest List in PDF format, go to: http://www.invasivespecies.org/RegulatedPestList.pdfor go to the USDA/APHIS web site at: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppq/regpestlist/ Pests other than weeds are listed (viruses, insects, bacteria, etc.)

Basic eligibility requirements:To be eligible for funding, applicants must be an undergraduate or graduate student enrolled at an accredited institution ofhigher learning anywhere within the United States. However, the research must be on a listed Florida invasive plant(http://www.fleppc.org/Plant_list/list.htm). An accompanying letter of recommendation froma faculty advisor is strongly encouraged.

Send proposals by e-mail, fax, or mail to:John C. Volin, ChairResearch Committee, FLEPPCFlorida Atlantic University2912 College Ave.Davie, FL [email protected] - (954) 236-1099 office - (954) 236-1115

20 WINTER 2003

Mark Your Calendar• Weed Science 2004 – Weed Science Society of America

(WSSA) Annual Meeting, February 9-12, 2004, Westin CrownCenter, Kansas City, MO. www.wssa.net Invasive Plant SpeciesWorkshop, February 12-13, 2004.

• 65th Annual Meeting of the Association of SoutheasternBiologists (ASB), April 14-17, Memphis, TN. www.asb.appstate.edu/

• 19th Annual FLEPPC and 6th Annual SE-EPPC JointSymposium, April 28-30, 2004, Clarion Conference Center,Pensacola Beach, FL. www.fleppc.org or www.se-eppc.org

• 2004 Aquatic Weed Short Course, May 4-7, 2004, UF/IFASFort Lauderdale Research and Education Center. FortLauderdale Marriott North. http://conference.ifas.ufl.edu/aw/

• Second Latin-American Short Course on Biological Control ofWeeds, June 7-10, 2004, Barcelo Hotel, Montelimar,Nicaragua. Organized by the University of Florida in coopera-tion with the Universidad Nacional Agraria of Nicaragua.Conference will be in Spanish. Dr. Julio Medal, CourseCoordinator, biocontrol.ifas.ufl.edu/materials/nicaragua.htm [email protected]

• Aquatic Plant Management Society 44th Annual Conference,July 11-14, 2004, Tampa Hyatt Regency, Tampa, FL.www.apms.org

Publications • Florida’s Best Native Landscape Plants, 200 Readily

Available Species for Homeowners and Professionals byGil Nelson, 2003. “Every one of its 448 pages has somethingto teach - botanical name, pronunciation, family, size, land-scape use, form, native range, characteristics, culture, best fea-tures and companion plants, as well as other information.” 710color photos and 180 detailed watercolors. University Press ofFlorida, (800) 226-3822, www.upf.com

• Guide to the Vascular Plants of Florida, 2nd edition byRichard P. Wunderlin and Bruce Hansen, 2003. “In this sec-ond edition of the only comprehensive identification manualand definitive guide to the highly diverse flora of Florida, over100 additional species have been added, nomenclature updat-ed, and families arranged alphabetically for easier reference.” Aseries of taxonomic keys to family, genus, and species that alsogives many common names, the general habitat preference,and, for plants not native to Florida, the place of origin.University Press of Florida, (800) 226-3822, www.upf.com

• Invasive Plants of Eastern United States: Identification andControl (CD-ROM) – USDA Forest Service, Forest HealthTechnology Enterprise Team. Covers the identification charac-teristics, distribution, and control options for 97 invasive tree,shrub, vine, grass, fern, forb, and aquatic plant species of

concern in the eastern United States. Request free copies fromRichard Reardon, FHTET, USDA Forest Service, (304) 285-1566, [email protected] or from www.invasive.org

• 1,000 Weeds of North America: An Identification Guide –An interactive weed ID program on CD that contains colorphotos of each weed; common and scientific names, with synonyms; an illustrated glossary; and searchable distributiondata. Covers 860 broadleaf weeds and 140 grass-like weeds.Weed Science Society of America (WSSA), 1-800-627-0629Ext. 297 or www.wssa.net/

• Integrated Pest Management: Current and FutureStrategies – Council for Agricultural Science and Technology(CAST) Task Force Report No. 140. www.cast-science.org

• Tropical Flowering Plants – A Guide to Identification andCultivation, by Kirsten Albrecht Llamas. “Incorporating the lat-est advances in plant taxonomy from the definitive text of Dr.Walter Judd, the book is a rare work of scrupulous research –and magnificent photography – that will be as useful to the gardener as it is to the botanist.” More than 1,500 color photographs by the author. Timber Press, 1-800-327-5680,www.timberpress.com/whitecap

• WATERWISE – South Florida Landscapes - Landscaping toPromote Water Conservation Using the Principles ofXeriscape. Explains the principles of Xeriscape and contains acomprehensive plant list for choosing plants suitable for yourlandscape. Color photos of many species. Includes the FLEPPCCategory I list for plants not recommended for landscaping.Free from the South Florida Water Management District, 1-800-432-2045, www.sfwmd.gov

• Native Trees, Shrubs, and Vines: A Guide to Using,Growing, and Propagating North American Woody Plantsby William Cullina (2002). A comprehensive reference toalmost 1,000 native woody plants. Available from booksellers.

Web Sites• For a list of approximately 1,100 Alien Plant Invaders of

Natural Areas compiled from plants lists of the National ParkService and other federal, state and local natural resourceagencies, Exotic Pest Plant Councils, The Nature Conservancy,and universities, go to: www.nps.gov/plants/alien/list/all.htmFrom the Plant Conservation Alliance’s Alien Plant WorkingGroup Weeds Gone Wild project.

• The USDA PLANTS Database now contains almost 16,000photos and drawings of plants. The PLANTS Database pro-vides standardized information about the vascular plants,mosses, liverworts, hornworts, and lichens of the U.S. and itsterritories. It includes names, plant symbols, checklists, distri-butional data, species abstracts, characteristics, images, plantlinks, references, crop information, and automated tools. Go to: http://plants.usda.gov

Internodes

continued on page 22

WILDLAND WEEDS 21

• Weed and Algae Control• Environmental Services

• Fish Stocking• Wetland Planting

• Fountains & Aeration

2041 S.W. 70th Avenue, Building D-11Davie, Florida 33317-7326(954) 382-9766 • FAX (954) [email protected]

We promote greaterpublic awareness of

Florida’s preciouswater resources…

The smartest company on the earth.

Implementing Solutionsthat Balance the Needs

of Society and the Earth

Offices throughout Florida:

DavenportNorth PortTallahassee

Tampa Bay Area

Toll Free: 888-536-2855Fax: 941-426-8778

www.earthbalance.com

EarthBalance prides itself on growing healthy, drought-tolerant native plants that are hearty and beautiful at its own nursery in DeSoto County, Florida.Contact our North Port Office for more information on nursery direct sales and restoration services.

EarthBalance is your source for complete restoration services includingexotic pest plant eradication and native plant supply.

Drought-tolerant native plants are used to enhancethe natural beauty of the land.

22 WINTER 2003

Complete line of Vegetation Management Herbicides and Adjuvants for Aquatics� Invasives�Forestry� and Roadway/Utility Rights of Way

SOLUTIONS – SERVICE – SATISFACTION

REGIONAL OFFICE SALES SPECIALISTS �� Central Park Dr� Paul Mason (��) ��Sanford� FL �� Joe Collins (��) ��Phone (��) �� Fax (��) �� Dan McMillan (�� ) ��

JOIN THE FLORIDA EXOTIC PEST PLANT COUNCIL!Annual Membership Dues include: Quarterly magazine, Wildland Weeds • Quarterly newsletter •

Support for education and research • Legislative updates regarding exotic pest plant control issues

MEMBERSHIP

Credit card (VISA, Mastercard,AmEx, Discover)

Credit Card No: __________________________ Exp. Date: ________

Name (as it appears on credit card): ____________________________

Check (Payable to Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council)

Please check one: ❍ Renewal ❍ New Member

Name: ______________________________________________________________

Address: ____________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

Phone: ______________________________ Email: ____________________

Total Amount $ ________

Please list your affiliation, if applicable: ____________________

MAIL TO: Kristina Serbesoff-King3301 Gun Club Rd.West Palm Beach, FL 33406561/682-2864 • [email protected]

PAYMENT

NOTE: Residents ofother states can visit theSE-EPPC website for the

nearest state chapter:www.se-eppc.org

FLEPPC welcomes

contributions to

the Education and

Research Grant

funds. $______(tax deductible)*

*FLEPPC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization

• Plant Management in Florida Waters,a web site for the interested public, isnow available at plants.ifas.ufl.edu/guide/The site covers invasive plants and relat-ed issues for lakes, rivers, springs,marshes, swamps and canals, and is theproduct of a collaboration between theUniversity of Florida, IFAS, Center forAquatic and Invasive Plants and theFlorida Department of EnvironmentalProtection, Bureau of Invasive PlantManagement.

• For an update on exotic pest/invasiveplant councils throughout the U.S., goto http://www.ma-eppc.org/ and clickon 2003 Update on PartnerOrganizations. Organization summarieswere presented at the National ExoticPest Plant Council (NA-EPPC) meetingin September. Included are summariesfor California, Florida, Kentucky,Michigan, Mid-Atlantic, Mississippi,New England, New York, NorthCarolina, Pacific Northwest, Southeast,Tennessee, and Wisconsin.

IndividualStudent $10 • General $20Contributing $50 • Donor $51-500Public Libraries • $15

InstitutionalGeneral/Library $100 • Contributing $500Donor $501-$10,000 • Patron $10,000+

Wildland Weeds subscription only - $15/year(does not include other membership benefits)

JOIN ONLINE at www.fleppc.org

Internodes continued

WILDLAND WEEDS 23

notes from the disturbed edge - chapter 10he had been sitting at the table nextto the men’s room door for whatseemed like forever, holding her

now-empty Styrofoam coffee cup andwondering what on earth could be goingon in there. They were on one of thoseblessed-coolness-of-air-conditioninglunch breaks, on a sweltering summerday. Despite the heat outside she was inher standard get-up of long pants, boots,and long sleeve shirt, and already twowomen had given her that look she’d seenbefore, not knowing whether to drop acoin in her cup or just look away. Grimyfield clothes always made a girl feel like awoman – a woman who had slept in thebushes. It would be a while before eitherof them saw a commode again, but whatwas going on in there?

She heard the door creak and turnedher head just in time to see his face emergewith a weird look. “Psssst. Get in here. Yougotta see this to believe it,” he hissed, ges-turing her inside. She didn’t have to utter aword – her eyes said it all – no way,absolutely not. He knew how to read thatlook. “No,” he continued, but then inter-rupted himself, “– man, you really dothink I’m twisted, don’t you?” She silentlyreplied with a strong affirmative glance.“You really do have to come see this,it’s…art, (her expression shifted from dis-gust to puzzlement) inspiration, literature!”He held up a roll of toilet paper with writ-ing all over it. OK, so now she was inter-ested. “It’s…Poetry!” He held up the wadof toilet paper like Moses on the moun-taintop. She was hooked.

Warily, but with increasing curiosity,she rose from her seat and sidled over to thedoor. “What the heck is going on?” Hestarted rambling: “It’s the ultimate bathroomgraffiti – an Ode, a message from one ourown kind, but it’s long. If I could just draga photocopy machine in here and hold it upagainst the wall I would, but I don’t evenhave any real paper – go get a field book!Go! Go!” he urged her, as he ducked backinto the bathroom to continue his insanework. Shaking her head, not believing shewas doing this, she complied and returned,knocking tentatively at the door. The dooropened abruptly and he scanned theperimeter. “Come on in,” he indicated witha jerk of his neck. “We both have to scrib-ble this down before it’s erased forever bysome overzealous cleanup crew.” He waslike a man possessed. “I can’t go in there –it’s the MEN’s room,” she protested. “Whatif someone sees me?” He rolled his eyes andthen let them take a walk from her combatboots up to her summer-swelter hairdotucked into her baseball cap, then lookedher straight in the eye. “Come on in, Fred.”She followed him.

Later that night, long after they’demerged from the men’s room and finishedtheir day’s work, they sat at his computerunder the glow of a single bare light bulband transcribed from their scraps of paper,vowing to spread this Desiderata of theexotic invasion by word of wall whereverthey would wander.

– J.A.An excerpt from “The Adventures of Hack

Garlon and his buxom sidekick Squirt.”

S Where the Backyards Meet the Backwoods

Where the white lines of the highwayfade to twin tracks in the grass

there’s an ecotone where the weeds have grownas the semis fly on past

There’s a well-worn assumptionthat it’s somebody else’s turf

but the fact remains that it’s our domainAnd we gotta work togetherif we wanna save the earth

Among the lush greeneryof our suburban sprawl

there’s an alien invasion waiting to happenjust beyond the garden wall

There’s a common misconceptionthat all that’s green is good

But the fact is there’re probably out of place plantsgrowing in your neighborhood

Where the backyards and the backwoods meetat this week’s outer edge

there’s an infestation taking placeon the other side of the hedge

Introduction through horticulturehas proved a foreign flora sourceand the way we’re headed now

ain’t a sustainable course

We’re putting a crimp in diversityby putting aesthetics first

and our garden’s seeds just make more weedsso it just keeps getting worse

We’ve brought them here from around the worldAustralia to Japan

But they’ve escaped from our cultivationand foiled Mother Nature’s plan

Imported from the forestsof another hemisphere

without the pests that keep them in checkthey’re out of control over here

We’ve spent so much of the people’s cashto buy the lands that remain

But there’s a heck of a lot to be lostafter so much has been gained

There are problems on plenty of frontsand money is never the least

because it takes substantial fundingto do battle with this beast

We’ve got to manage the lands we acquireto keep the invaders at bay

and each time we plant another oneit’s just more that we’ll have to pay

It’s hard to convince anyone that we’re not doing what we should

but the fact remains we’ve got problems spreadingfrom our back yards to our backwoods

Without regulation or educationwe’ve planted anything we care

and now the fruits of our ignoranceare germinating everywhere

They’re pushing out the nativesgrowing where they oughta be

And as a crow flies, he’s an effective vectorif you nurture the wrong tree

Once they get establishedit’s hard to beat them back

So plant the plants and weed the weedsresist the alien attack

This is a genuine problemthat only a few folks recognize

So we gotta spread the word, if we wanna make it heardGotta open up their eyes

There’s a well-worn assumptionthat it’s somebody else’s turf

but the fact remains that it’s our domainAnd we gotta work togetherif we wanna save the earth.

DuPont ..............................................p. 10

Helena Chemical Company................p. 18

SePRO Corporation..............................p. 2

Syngenta Professional Products ........p. 24

BASF ..................................................p. 14

Dow AgroSciences................................p. 6

Earth Balance ....................................p. 21

UAP Timberland ................................p. 22

Applied Biochemists ............................p. 8

Allstate Resource Management ..........p. 21

All Terrain of Florida ........................p. 21

Applied Aquatic Management............p. 17

Aquatic Vegetation Control................p. 15

Great Outdoors Publishing Company ..p. 21

Pandion Systems ................................p. 12

to the following sponsors for supporting this issue ofWILDLAND WEEDS:

THANK YOU

R E S E A R C H ❘ P R O D U C T S ❘ P E O P L E ❘ S T E W A R D S H I P

Old men rarely reminisce about

a day on the weeds.

Important: Always read and follow label instructions before buying or using this product. ©2003 Syngenta. Syngenta Professional Products, Greensboro, NC 27419. Reward® and the Syngenta logo are trademarks of a Syngenta Group Company.

www.syngentaprofess iona lproducts .com

Few memories can be made with aquatic weeds around. Control them quickly with fast-acting

Reward®. Its effects are often visible within an hour, and complete control can occur in just a few

days. And every weed is vulnerable. Because Reward controls more aquatic weeds than any herbicide

available. And that’s good news to all wildlife. Because by stopping all species that choke the

ecosystem, Reward is preserving those species that do not. For more information on how to

maintain those places no one can forget, ask your Syngenta rep about Reward by calling 1-800-395-8873.

wildland weeds winter 2003 - se-eppc · pdf filewater hyacinth, and alligator weed ......

Documents