Weed of the Month: Sessile joyweed or dwarf copperleaf

Family: Amaranthaceae, the Amaranth Family

Distinguishing Characteristics: This is a perennial herb with stems that are sometimes erect, but usually creep along the soil and produce roots at the nodes. The stems can be lined with vertical rows of whitish hairs. The leaves are simple, opposite, hairless, with no teeth along the margin, narrowly oval to oblong, blunt or pointed at the tip, two to four inches long and less than an inch wide. The flowers are white, with a paper-like texture, and are borne in dense, rounded, clover-like heads in the leaf axils. The sessile flower heads are about a half-inch long and wide. The dry fruits, called utricles, remain attached to the flower tepals until the mature fruit is exerted beyond their tips. More…

March Weed of the Month: Shoebutton ardisia

Ardisia elliptica, or shoebutton ardisia, is a shrub or small tree that was introduced as an ornamental plant. This evergreen tree or shrub with star-shaped flowers invades natural areas, forming clumps or thickets that crowd out other species.  This species is probably native to India, but certainly tropical Asia, and is now found in tropical and sub-tropical regions around the world. Documented occurrences of shoebutton ardisia are known from Pinellas, Collier, Miami-Dade, Broward, Martin, St. Lucie and Brevard counties. This weed is regulated by the state of Florida on the state’s noxious weed list, and is also included on the FLEPPC Category 1 list of invasive plants. Read more…

Weed of the Month: Old World or Small Leaf Climbing Fern

The Old World Climbing Fern

Similar to last month’s Weed of the Month, Japanese climbing fern, this invasive species covers native vegetation, including trees, and can serve as a ladder for fire to climb into the forest canopy. The Old World climbing fern is an agricultural pest in Asia, and is classified as a noxious weed in Florida and Alabama. It is present throughout the Florida peninsula and can usually be found in wet areas, and windborne spores from this fern remain viable for up to four years after they are released. This fern has an unusual twining habit and fronds grow to about 100 feet.

Learn more by visiting the Weed of the Month page in the Botany Section of the DPI website.

December Weed of the Month: The Japanese Climbing Fern

Most common in the Panhandle and in Florida’s peninsula, the Japanese climbing fern, Lygodium japonicum, It is most often found in cut over flatwoods, pine plantations, roadsides and other disturbed sites, but it is becoming a pest in natural areas where it smothers native vegetation with its rank growth. Like so many other weeds, the Japanese climbing fern was originally introduced as an ornamental. It escaped cultivation and is now classified as a noxious weed by the states of Florida and Alabama. For more information about the Japanese climbing fern, please visit DPI’s Botany webpage.

Please direct questions or comments to dpi-blog@doacs.state.fl.us.

Photograph courtesy of James Tear, Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants