Invasive Species Spotlight: Brazilian Pepper

Meet the Brazilian pepper tree, one of Florida's most widespread and harmful invasive plants.

It’s another beautiful winter day in Florida. The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, the thermometer is hovering at a balmy 70 degrees…and the Brazilian pepper trees are producing thousands upon thousands of berries, each one ready to sprout into another fast-growing, invasive shrub!

You may not be able to identify Brazilian pepper from afar yet, but if you live in Florida, you've seen hundreds or maybe even thousands of these plants throughout your life. If you’ve ever driven down I-75 or I-4, you’ve seen countless Brazilian pepper trees standing in beautiful, bushy rows along the side of the highway. They make for a handsome sight, especially when they’re blooming or bearing fruit. But despite the beauty of its blooms and berries, Brazilian pepper is one of Florida’s most harmful invasive plant species. It's so invasive that lawmakers have made it illegal to buy or sell the plant anywhere in the state, but it spreads so easily that many homeowners find it in their yards without ever planting it. 

Brazilian Pepper growing in a nature preserve

Sometimes exceeding 40 feet in height and with branches spreading wide over the ground, this large shrub is often used as a hedge or a landscaping centerpiece. With bright green leaves, tiny white flowers, and red berries, it makes a dramatic addition to a garden. In fact, it was brought to Florida as a landscaping plant in the 1800's and spread so quickly that it became invasive almost immediately. Today, Brazilian pepper covers over 700,000 acres in Florida, out-competing native plants and dramatically altering natural communities.

A dense thicket of Brazilian pepper

Brazilian pepper is extremely fast-growing and forms thick, dense canopies, under which native plants have trouble growing. On top of that, it’s allelopathic, which means that it secretes toxic substances that inhibit the growth of other plants. These characteristics allow it to form dense monocultures, or areas where it’s the only plant in sight. Without native plant biodiversity, native animals are also affected as their food sources are removed and their habitat is altered. 

Close-up of a Brazilian pepper leaf

Florida’s natural communities depend on fire to thrive, and many government agencies and private landowners use prescribed fire to keep their land healthy. Brazilian pepper, however, is relatively non-flammable and shades out native ground cover plants that normally burn easily. Areas with large patches of Brazilian pepper don’t burn the way they’re supposed to, causing fires to die out too quickly, which can severely alter the surrounding plant and animal communities. Lack of fire causes serious issues for some threatened Florida species, including the gopher tortoise, which needs open, grassy, frequently burned areas to survive.

Young Brazilian pepper seedling

Brazilian pepper berries do have one big fan- most birds love to eat them, which is why the plant spreads so quickly and so well. If you see these shrubs in your neighborhood, even if they’re few and far between, chances are they’re spreading quickly into the natural areas around you. Please help us by encouraging your neighbors and friends to replace their Brazilian pepper shrubs with native alternatives and to pull the seedlings before they grow into mature, berry-producing adults!

Visit the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Science (IFAS) page on Brazilian pepper to learn more about this plant and their Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants homepage  to learn more about other invasive plants in Florida.

Ripe Brazilian pepper berries ready to be spread by birds!