Wicked Weeds

Which weed is the worst one? If you missed last week’s Farm/City Week celebration, our office set up an exhibit and a challenge to both producers and consumers, asking them if they could recognize some of the worst wicked weeds found in Okeechobee county. Visitors were also asked to nominate the worst weed in the county.

Today’s column will discuss what we found from this little quiz, and talk a little bit about these pests that effect both agricultural producers and urban residents.

The "hand’s off" winner was Tropical Soda Apple. Every person taking our quiz was able to identify this spiny invader, and more than half nominated TSA as the worst weed in the county. If you are not familiar with this "plant from hell", stop by our office for a copy of the column we ran in this paper last June, or you can view it on line at our county Extension website.

Based on the other nominations and on which weeds were mis-identified, here are a few other wicked weeds that locals should know about [Click on the name of the weed to see photos and more information about these weeds]:

Lantana is a shrubby groundcover with clusters of yellow orange, red, or pink flowers. They give rise to clumps of round black berries. There are some native species of Lantana, as well as some nursery-cultivated forms. The wicked ones will invade pastures, groves, and forests, and if eaten, can poison both cows and children.

Chinese Tallow or Popcorn Tree is a fast growing tree with a seed pod that reminds some of a kernel of popped corn. In the fall, its leaves will turn to brilliant shades of red or orange. It is more common in north Florida and other southern states than here, but can be found in local landscapes.

Old World Climbing Fern has beautifully colored delicate leaves that grow faster than kudzu into the canopy of trees along roadsides and natural areas. After a frost, the dead brown foliage can be a wick for wildfires. I’ve seen a patch along Highway 441, north of town and another along Highway 710 on the way to Indiantown.

Cogon Grass forms a rapidly spreading patch of light colored coarse grass. It blooms with a thin white plume, and quickly crowds out any desirable plants in pastures and along roadsides. The mid-vein is not in the middle of the leaf, and the edge is covered with spiny hairs like sawgrass.

Dollarweed is an aquatic plant that invades lawns if they are over watered, and is common in ditches and pod edges. Also called pennywort, this weed has leaves with a stem growing from below the middle of its round leaf. Many homeowners spend lots of money on herbicides trying to eliminate this weed; a better way is to turn off the sprinkler.

Brazilian Pepper Tree is a multi-trunked shrub or tree that produces lots of small red berries in the fall and winter. Birds eat this fruit, and spread it wherever they go, especially under power lines or fence rows. This rash-producing evergreen relative of poison ivy has also been called Florida Holly; its not a holly and is not from Florida.

The Melaleuca or Paper Tree is a tall, upright tree covered with white papery bark. It’s white bottle-brush like flowers produce massive numbers of seed, which pop up when ever it lands on moist soil. It was introduced to the Everglades to dry up what was once thought to be a useless swamp.

Australian Pine is not a pine tree, but it’s long needle-like foliage and small cone-like fruit gives it a piney look. Originally planted for windbreaks along fields and ditch banks, they can be found in many areas where the soil is disturbed.

Air Potato has beautiful heart-shaped leaves that grow so quickly up trees that it is often confused with kudzu. The leaves die-back in the fall and winter, but this vine produces many potato-like structures that allow it to come back next year. The "air-potato" is NOT edible!

There are many more plants that could easily join this list of uninvited guests. Exhibit visitors also nominated Dog Fennel, Rubber trees, and Ragweed as worst weeds. What do you think?

Persons who had a perfect score were entered in a drawing for a copy of Dr Ken Langeland’s Book, Identification & Biology of Non-native Plants in Florida’s Natural Areas. Our lucky winner is Danielle Larson. Thanks to all that participated, and a big thank you is offered to Pat Miller, Pat Hogue, Debbie Clements, Jackie Joyce, Becky Eaves, and one of our new Master Gardeners, Julie Turner, for helping to assemble and man the exhibit.

If you need additional information on how to manage these exotic weeds, visit our website or call or stop by our office at 458 Hwy 98 North. Our phone number is 863-763-6469, and you can email me at indianco@ufl.edu .

The Florida Cooperative Extension Service - Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer authorized to provide research, educational information, and other services to individuals and institutions that function without regard to race, color, sex, age, handicap, or national origin. Florida Cooperative Extension Service / IFAS /University of Florida.