Florida Native Plant Society Blog

In Florida if given a chance, Bidens alba will completely take over a disturbed area, but this doesn't mean that it's invasive.  A polka-dotted wasp moth sipping nectar from a bidens floret. For more information see An Exception to the Rules Native plants are NOT invasive.  They belong here and work well within the natural ecosystems. A pioneer plant like beggars' ticks ( Bidens alba ) is certainly aggressive and efficient at completely covering a disturbed site, but after a couple of years, it will give way to other plants in Mother Nature's succession parade, which  depends upon where it's found. The plants that take over could include broom sedge ( Andropogon spp.), goldenrod ( Solidago spp.), dog fennel ( Eupatorium capillifolium ), which then my be replaced by pines and oaks after a few years. Definition: - An invasive exotic plant is a naturalized exotic plant that is expanding its range into natural areas and disrupting naturally occur...

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury: before you today stands the Mexican petunia, Ruellia simplex , of the family Acanthaceae , a blue, long-flowering plant used copiously in landscapes throughout Florida. What we will attempt to show you today, is that this plant, which invaded our fair state from foreign countries, is not a part of a sustainable ecosystem here, and in fact, has gone rogue with deleterious effects in a wide variety of habitats. I n other words, it may look good, but it's a bad choice. In fact FLEPPC (Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council) has listed it as a category one invasive plant. This bad actor goes by many names: Ruellia tweediana, Ruellia brittoniana, Ruellia coerulea and Ruellia malacosperma are all names for the same culprit. In case you've forgotten, a Category I invasive plant is found doing some or all of the following: altering native plant communities by displacing native species changing community structures or ecological functions hybridizin...