The Trailblazer

Have you ever been hiking at a Hillsborough County Nature Preserve and wondered to yourself why the edges of the trail have been tilled up? If so, you aren’t alone- it’s one of the most common questions we get asked, and the answer might surprise you. Trail damage at Bell Creek Nature Preserve  The cause of this widespread rooting is the feral hog, Sus scrofa . Technically the same species as the domestic pig, these animals cause over a billion dollars of land damage every year in the United States. They root for acorns and underground tubers with their snouts, turning up clods of dirt and killing grass and other plants. A single group, or sounder, of hogs can root up multiple acres in a day, ruining trails, rights-of-way, farm fields, and even golf courses.  A sounder of feral hogs travels down the trail in a Hillsborough County nature preserve Feral hogs aren’t only a nuisance to humans- they’ve caused plenty of harm to Florida’s native wildlife species too. Hogs are not nat...

  As you stroll down boardwalks and along shorelines in Hillsborough County, you’ll see some truly beautiful aquatic plants.  Some send up colorful, delicate flower stalks; some create dense floating mats; some can even grow in wet spots along trails or in puddles. One plant, known throughout the southeastern United States, does all of these things. Meet a land manager’s nemesis and the bane of boaters and fishermen across the world: The common water hyacinth.   Originally native to the Amazon river basin, this bright and distinctive flowering plant can now be found on every content except Antarctica. It can grow over a dozen feet a day (yes, feet!) and spreads itself both by cloning and by producing seeds which remain viable for decades. Taking over entire lakes and rivers in only a few months, water hyacinth crowds out other aquatic vegetation, reduces fish populations to near zero, and makes traveling by boat a nightmare. It causes flooding by damming streams and c...

  Silky, bright, and oh so invasive! Silk tree flowers and foliage Beyond My Ken, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons Take a nice stroll around any Hillsborough County neighborhood in the late spring and you’ll  see lots of silky, fragrant, pink flower puffs peeking over fences.  Silk tree, also known as mimosa tree , has been a popular ornamental plant in Florida for decades. Native from parts of Iran east to China and Korea, this lovely, compound-leafed tree (scientific name  Albizia julibrissin ) is now found in many southern US states.  In its native range, silk tree loves sunny, sandy uplands habitat, growing in dry and rocky soil. In Florida, its natural ability to survive in a wide range of soil conditions has made in highly invasive. After silk trees escaped cultivation decades ago, they began to grow prolifically in disturbed areas like roadsides and old pastures. Silk tree has become so common in natural areas that it’s now listed as a Category I inv...

If you live anywhere near the coast, your neighborhood gardens probably contain plenty of Kalanchoe x houghtonii .  This bright-blooming succulent can grow in pure sand, with practically no nutrients and no extra irrigation needed. It spreads quickly through garden plots and requires no maintenance, and its varicolored leaves and bright red flower panicles make it a popular plant both indoors and out. Throughout the year, the leaves sprout tiny bulbils, which grow into fully formed small plants. These tiny plants then drop and take root, spreading rapidly from the parent. It’s not unusual to see a patch of adult plants surrounded by hundreds of babies- and that’s where this plant gets its common name, mother of millions. Kalanchoe x houghtonii leaves growing bulbils Edso, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons As is often the case, the same characteristics that make this plant well-loved by gardeners also make it horribly invasive in Florida’s coastal areas. Its ability to grow in sa...

  Fluffy, green, and totally harmless-looking, asparagus fern ( Asparagus aethiopicus ) is often used as a groundcover or a container plant in gardens all over Florida.   This spreading plant’s bright foliage and colorful red berries make a statement wherever it’s planted, and its shade tolerance makes it a popular garden choice. This lovely, lacy plant is also grown indoors and is known as virtually indestructible. You can over-or under-water it for weeks and it still won’t die!  Asparagus fern in a garden Yinan Chen, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons Unfortunately, the same characteristics that make asparagus fern so well-loved by gardeners also make it extremely invasive in Florida’s natural areas. In fact, asparagus fern has been listed as a category I invasive species by the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council, or FLEPPC. Category I invasive plant species are those that damage Florida’s ecosystems by displacing native plants, altering water flow and soil composition...

 Sunny, bright, hearty Wedelia is beloved by gardeners and homeowners- but is causing serious damage to Florida's natural areas. If you’re like me, you’ve probably been going on more walks, bike rides, or outings near your home since March. That makes this the perfect time to learn more about invasive plants that you can find in your own neighborhood! This month’s spotlight species, Sphagneticola trilobata (also known as wedelia or creeping oxeye) is extremely common in coastal and wet areas, but can be found in other spots too, especially in places where people water their lawns frequently. It’s a major groundcover plant in many neighborhoods- look for small, mostly three-lobed leaves and lots of tiny yellow flowers with bright-yellow centers. Wedelia growing through tall grass Wedelia's distinctive, three-lobed leaves Wedelia probably came to Florida to be used as a hearty ornamental groundcover. Its fast growth and lovely, bright yellow flowers made it popular all over the ...

Beach erosion, property damage, and habitat destruction, oh my!  The Australian pine is still loved by many Floridians, but it's destroying native areas and causing widespread property damage. Australian pine silhouetted against the sky It may look like just another pine tree at first glance, but don’t be fooled! Common names can be deceiving, and the Australian pine ( Casuarina equisetifolia ) isn’t a pine tree at all. Its small, evergreen leaves lay flat against long trailing stems, and from a distance these multi-leafed stems look like pine needles. Its reproductive structures even resemble pine cones, but this tree is much more closely related to many broad-leaf trees than it is to the true conifers. Sadly, the deception doesn’t stop there. Early Floridians were also deceived into thinking the Australian pine was both useful and harmless, but this species is now one of the most damaging invasive plants in the country. Needle-like branchlets of Australian pine When Australian pi...

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 ...

A lush Florida garden (Daderot / CC0) Some of our favorite garden flowers are actually damaging Florida's natural areas. Here's what to plant instead! Florida is a wonderful place to be a gardener- we get plenty of rain, it almost never freezes here, and our tropical plants are the envy of the continental United States. A drive around Hillsborough County feels like a luxury garden tour; trellises overflow with flowering vines, walkways are edged with colorful blooms, and even the hedges are showy and attractive.  Sadly, while they may be appealing, many of our favorite tropical garden plants have escaped into natural areas and become invasive, damaging plant communities and threatening rare species and habitats. The plants listed below are extremely popular in Florida gardens because they're beautiful, hardy, and easy to grow. Unfortunately, they grow so well because they're all non-native invasive plants with no natural enemies. In fact, these beauties are all on the F...

It's no secret how this plant spreads- just look at your boots, sleeves, and hair after a hike through the woods! If you hike, hunt, boat, fish, or bird-watch in Florida, you've probably spent some time removing Caesar weed seeds from your clothes, boots, hair, or (hopefully not) your pets’ fur. These seeds will make you contemplate throwing away your hiking boots or possibly shaving your head. If you leave even one seed stuck to a piece of clothing and throw it in the wash, it'll inevitably end up in the sock you put on the next day. Annoying, scratchy, and as sticky as Velcro, these seeds spread to new areas by hitching a ride on humans and animals. Given how easily it disperses, it's no wonder that this is one of the most aggressively invasive plants in Florida. Caesar weed is a pan-tropical species, found in almost every country near the equator. Its spread began hundreds of years ago- in fact, it's been spreading for so long that nobody is quite sure where its ...