Weed ID and Emerging Weed Pests in Florida

Chris Marble
University of Florida MREC
 Why is weed control so critical?

• ~$450 million in losses to Florida agriculture

• >75% of all pesticide sales are from herbicides
• Ornamental growers face unique dilemma:
– Need to control weeds to reduce competition,
AND pots must be weed-free to be marketable
– Customers demand weed-free landscapes
 Why does weed ID matter?
• Most important part of weed control:
– Critical to always ID your pests before
beginning your attack (step 1 in IPM)
– Determines what control measures are
needed (and which ones will work)
• Some herbicides are weaker/better on certain
weeds – no herbicide controls all weeds
• Systemics – perennials
• Contacts – will work on annuals
– Could help identify cultural problems at
your site
• Growing too wet = Liverwort, alligator weed,
eclipta
• Dry areas – spurges
• Nematodes – Florida pusley
– Promote professional image
 Weed ID Basics

• Plant ID usually based on flowers/fruits

– Can’t wait this long to ID weeds in the nursery
• Try to use growth habit, color, smell, feel,
season, placement (shade/sun, dry/wet, etc.)
to ID
• Goal is to ID and control before seed develops
 Where to start…

Grasses
Monocots
(Grass like)

Weed Pests Sedges

Dicots
(Broadleaf)

Primitive Weeds
(No seeds)
 Monocots: The grassy weeds

• One cotyledon or seed leaf inside seed coat

• One single leaf emerges during germination
• Hollow, rounded or flattened stems,
closed/hard nodes
• Parallel veins
 Monocots: Sedges
• Grass “like” but not true grasses
• “Sedges got edges”– solid triangular shaped stems,
leaves extend in 3 directions
• Annual & perennial; perennial are TOUGH to control
 Monocot ID
Look for:
• Stem shape
Presence and shape of:
• Ligule – membranous scale on inner
leaf sheath at junction with blade
• Auricle – “claw” appendages at base
of blade
• Collar – band of meristematic tissue
at junction of blade and sheath
• Sheath – tubular part of leaf that
wraps around stem
• Midrib – central vein
• Root structures (bulbs, stonlons, etc.)
• Hair?

Stem/Leaf Leaf Arrangement Stem/Leaf Leaf Arrangement

Grass Sedge
http://www.extension.org/pages/32635/weed-identification-tools-and-techniques#.U86fa_ldV1A; etc.usf.edu
 Dicots: Broadleaf weeds

• Two cotyledons inside the seed coat

• Two leaves emerge when germinating
• Highly variable in appearance
• Typically “showy” flowers, net-like veins
 Dicot ID

Other ways to ID:

• Root structures
• Flowers
• Fruit

Images courtesy of UF Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants http://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/education

 Primitive, Non-vascular weeds
• Algae (cyanobacteria), moss, and liverworts
• Mossy, slime like plants
• Reproduce sexually by spores, gemmae, or
asexually
• Primitive plants – ID by appearance, color,
reproductive structures (cup or umbrella like
structures)

Rob Routledge, Sault College, Bugwood.org

 Where to start…
• Know the life cycle…

Annuals Biennials Perennials

(The once a year guests) (Few are far in between) (The permanent residents)

Howard F. Shwartz, Colorado St. U., Bugwood.org

• This will help you determine what control options will work
 Life Cycles:
• Annuals
– Complete life cycle in 1 year
– Grasses, sedges, broadleaves
– Life cycle can begin at different times of year
• Biennials
– 2 year life cycle; germinate in fall, develop roots and leaves in first year
– Produce seed and die in second year
– Often form a basal rosette of leaves in first year, then “shoot” up and
flower in the second (cudweed, thistles)
• Perennials
– Live more than 2 years
– Can reproduce from tubers, rhizomes, stolons, or seed
– Go dormant, lose vegetative growth, regenerate from food reserves in
root systems
– Hard to control with contact/PRE herbicides
 Other ID Methods….

• Height and lateral spread

• Branching, arrangement of branches on main
stem
• Leaf size
• Leaf/stem color and shape
• Smell and taste (if you dare)

Steve Dewey, Utah St. U., bugwood.org

Easy Ways to ID Common Nursery/Landscape
Weeds
 Chamaesyce ssp. (Spurges)
• Very common, drought tolerant
• Life cycle: summer annual
• Leaves: opposite, toothed, hairs by
base
• Stems: erect, glabrous, red
• Flower: white, appear clustered
C. hirta (sandmat spurge)
• Roots: taproot
• EZ ID: milky sap, reddish stems,
spotted leaves, seed clusters
• Control:
• Handweed before seeding;
Many herbicides
• DNA’s, less control with
C. hypericifolia (graceful sandmat) C. maculata (Spotted spurge) oxadiazon (Ronstar) or
oxyfluorfen (Goal)
• Tower can control early POST

C. hyssopifolia (Hyssop spurge) C. graminea (Grassleaf spurge)

Eclipta prostrata (Eclipta)

• Life cycle: summer annual

• Leaves: elliptic to lanceolate,
lack petiole, serrated at margins
• Stems: reddish brown/purple,
root at nodes
• Flowers: white disk & ray
flowers
• Roots: fibrous, shallow taproot,
HARD TO HANDWEED!
• EZ ID: button-like green to black
seed head
• Control: Many herbicides
provide fair control – Indaziflam
looks good
Phyllanthus spp. (Longstalk phyllanthus; Gripweed)
• Life cycle: summer annual, tropical perennial
• Leaves: oblong, smooth, in two rows on branchlets
• Stems: single erect stem up to 2’
• Flowers: greenish white, round fruit on underside of
lateral branches in axils of leaves
• Roots: extensive fibrous roots
• EZ ID: longstalk leaves more round, fruit have longer
petioles, gripeweed fruit are sessile, resemble legume
• Control: most PRE’s offer poor to fair control,
handweed when small, scout

P. urinaria
P. tennellus
 Cardamine spp.
(Pennsylvania bittercress, Hairy bittercress)
• Life cycle: winter annual
• Leaves: basal rosette of leaves
• Stems: thin, green
• Flowers: small white flowers and cigar
shaped fruit – explosive!
• Roots: fibrous
• EZ ID: cigar-shaped fruit pop when mature
• Control: Most PREs – must stay on top due to
prolific seed production; corymbosa spreads
by stolons (potentially new weed problem)

Leslie J. Mehrhoff, Univ. Conn.,

Bugwood.org
 Oxalis spp. (Oxalis, woodsorrel)

O. corniculata

O. stricta
James H. Miller & Ted Bodner, SWSS, Bugwood.org

O. debilis

• Life cycle: spring/summer annual, into fall and winter

• Leaves: 3 heart-shaped leaflets, light green to reddish purple
• Stems: erect, weak, branched at base
• Flowers: yellow (creeping and yellow ws), 5 petals, green capsules
for fruit, become thin when maturing; EXPLOSIVE
• Roots: taproot, rhizomes Bruce Ackley, Ohio St. U., Bugwood.org

• EZ ID: “tiny okra” fruit, heart leaves in 3’s

• Control: Most Pre’s; handweeding; Indaziflam SC takes it out early
POST (up to 2 -4 leaf stage)
Bidens alba (Beggarticks)
• Life cycle: annual or short lived perennial
• Leaves: opposite with depressed midvein, progress to
compound leaves with 3-9 saw toothed oval leaflets
• Stems: purplish stems
• Flowers: stalked clusters, white, has black seeds with
hooks that attached to clothing
• Roots: taproot, can root at nodes
• EZ ID: “needle” like seeds, white 5 petal flowers with
yellow center
• Control: Most broadleaf herbicides (2,4-D, dicamba,
triclopyr, broadspectrum PREs); Aminopyralid
(Milestone) provides great control
Pectis prostrata (spreading chinchweed)
• Life cycle: Annual
• Leaves: linear to lanceolate, 4-12 pairs of setae (bristles, hair-like
structures)
• Stems: prostrate to ascending, mat forming
• Flowers: July to November, yellow, 5 petals
• Roots: fibrous
• EZ ID: hair-like spins (setae), mat-forming, yellow flowers
• Control: Broad spectrum PREs
 Portulaca spp. (purslane)

Portulaca pilosa (pink purslane, kiss-me-quick)

Portulaca oleraceae (common purslane)

• Life cycle: annual

• Leaves: alternate, spatulate to lanceolate, obovate; smooth margins
• Stems: succulent, smooth, fleshy, purplish to red, forms dense mats
• Flowers: yellow (oleraceae) to hot pink (amilis, pilosa),5 petals
• Roots: taproot but rooting at nodes
• EZ ID: succulent stems and leaves
• Control: Most herbicides, control early due to prolific seed
Portulaca amilis (Paraguayan purslane)
production
Youngia japonica (Asiatic hawksbeard)
• Life cycle: annual herb, can persist year round
• Leaves: form rosette, hairy, round, wavy margins
• Stems:
• Flowers: long stalks, ray florets, yellow to orange-yellow, outer
petals have tiny teeth
• Roots: short taproot
• EZ ID: basal rosette of leaves, yellow to orange flowers with 5 tiny
teeth at end of outermost petals
• Control: Most PREs, can survive winter in the Southeast
Amaranthus blitum (Purple/livid amaranth)
• Life cycle: summer annual “pigweed”
• Leaves: oval, wider at middle, often with notched
leaf tips
• Stems: prostrate to ascending, smooth, up to 3’
• Flowers: white to greenish/brown; terminal spikes
• Roots: taproot system
• EZ ID: spikes, growth habit (prostrate), notched leaf
tips
• Control: Most pre’s should work; control adjacent
areas (mow, spot spray) next to pads or where soil
was disturbed
Cerastinum fontanum (Mouseear Chickweed)
• Life cycle: cool season perennial
• Leaves: dark green, opposite, bluntly
pointed
• Stems: slender, weak, sticky pubescence
• Flowers: white with 5 petals
• Roots: fibrous, shallow
• EZ ID: perennial, sepals and leaves
pubescent, darker green foliage, flower
petals only slightly notched
• Control: Most PREs provide control

Theodore Webster, USDA-ARS, Bugwood.org

OSU Weed Lab Archive, Bugwood.org

 Stellaria media (Common chickweed)

• Life cycle: winter annual

• Leaves: opposite, oval or elliptic, hairy toward base of petiole, upper leaves sessile,
lower (older leaves) have long petioles
• Stems: prostrate, rooting at nodes, freely branching, soft hairs, often appear reddish
• Flowers: solitary or in small clusters, white petals
• Roots: shallow, fibrous, a bit frail
• EZ ID: hairs pubescent in vertical lines but not distinct, lighter green foliage, notches
so deep it appears there are 10 petals
• Control: most PREs, oxadiazon (Ronstar) offers poor control
Conyza canadensis (Horseweed, marestail)
• Life cycle: winter annual (spring)
• Leaves: rosette of hairy leaves, oblanceolate,
sessile, entire or toothed margins
• Stems: solid, erect, bristly hairs
• Flowers: numerous, small white and yellow
(disc) flowers in panicle
• Roots: fibrous
• EZ ID: tall dark green erect plant, sessile leaves
• Control: Control with PREs. Glyphosate
resistance reported
 Cuscuta spp. (Dodder)
• Life cycle: annual – can persist year round in
tropics
• Leaves: very small “scale-like” 1/16” long
• Stems: very thin, usually yellow/orange or
pale green
• Flowers: small white to pink or cream and
bell-shaped
• Roots – “haustoria” invade plant vascular
tissues; needs a host plant within several
days of germinating
• EZ ID: leafless looking vines
• Control:
• Use non-host plants (grasses)
• Remove by hand
• If attached, prune host plant where
attachment was made
Ronald F. Billings, TFS, bugwood.org • Use PREs (trifluralin, Snapshot); POST
(Scythe, others) but will harm
ornamentals
Kim Camilli, TFS, bugwood.org
Cyclospermum leptophyllum (Marsh parsley)

• Life cycle: summer annual

• Leaves: finely dissected, opposite arrangement
• Stems: numerous branched stems originating at base
• Flowers: small clusters of tiny white/pinkish flowers in
umbels, March - June
• Roots: taproot and secondary fibrous root system
• EZ ID: finely dissected leaves, upright growth habit,
• Control: Use broad-spectrum PRE herbicides
 Emilia spp.(tasselflowers)
• Life cycle: summer annual
• Leaves: wider at base (oblanceolate), toothed
margins (resemble sowthistles), winged
petioles, leaves on flower stalks clasp stem
with no petiole
• Stems: hairy when young, upright (2-3’)
• Flowers: red, pink, light purple; seed heads
are small, dandelion-like white globes
• Roots: taproot
• EZ ID: dandelion seed head, clasping leaves,
pink-red flowers
• Control: Most PREs should work, keep non-
crop areas mowed
E. fosbergii (Florida Tasselflower)

E. sanchifolia (Lilac Tasselflower)

Erechtites hieraciifolia (American burnweed)
• Life cycle: summer annual/perennial
• Leaves: elliptic with finely toothed
margins, mid-veins often red; mature
toothed leaves clasp stem
• Stems: erect, thick green stems, round,
can grow up to 8’ tall
• Flowers: lack petioles, white/cream to
yellow in color; seeds white puffy balls
• EZ ID: large growth habit, toothed
leaves clasping stem
• Control: use multiple MOA – single-
active herbicides seem to be less
effective
Eupatorium capillifolium (Dogfennel)
• Life cycle: annual/short lived perennial
• Leaves: once or twice pinnately dissected, glabrous
• Stems: stout, woody base, hairy, rough (appears dying),
unbranched lower down stem, reddish purple or brown
• Flowers: highly branched panicle with many heads;
achene fruit
• Roots: taproot with coarse rhizomes
• EZ ID: tall, finely dissected leaves, lower stems brown
• Control: IMPOSSIBLE TO HAND-WEED; Hard to weed-
eat; control when young; use broad-spectrum PRE
herbicides, POST in non-crop areas
Fatoua villosa (Mulberry weed)

• Life cycle: summer annual

• Leaves: alternate, triangular, undulated or toothed margins
• Stems: upright green stems up to 4’ tall
• Flowers: feathery green/purple clusters (no petals) in leaf axils
• Roots: taproot
• EZ ID: looks like mulberry seedling growing in pots with flowers in
leaf axils; pubescent all over
• Control: Most PREs – be diligent in non-crop areas; hand weed
escapes due to prolific seed production
Gnaphalium, Pseudognaphalium, Gamochaeta
spp. (Cudweeds)

• Life cycle: annuals/short-lived perennials

• Leaves: basal rosettes or whorled, simple, lobed or unlobed,
oblanceolate to obovate to spatulate, taper toward base, no
teeth or lobes
• Stems: erect, whitish, can be thick
• Flowers: crowded, spikelike, arranged on stem or at base of leaf
stalks
• Roots: taproot
• EZ ID: white whooly hairs all over leaves and stems
• Control: Typically grow in low fertility areas but thrive in
containers; Most PREs will work
Geranium carolinianum (Carolina geranium)

• Life cycle: winter annual/biennial

• Leaves: rosette of leaves, deeply 5 to
7 lobed, dissected, bluntly toothed,
hairy
• Stems: hairy pubescent stems, often
pinkish to red in color
• Flowers: several flowers in compact
clusters at stem tips,
white/pink/purple flowers; crane’s
beak like fruit
• Roots: fibrous with shallow taproot
• EZ ID: dunce-cap (cranes’ bill) fruit,
deeply dissected leaves
• Control: Many PREs
Parietaria floridana (Florida pellitory)

• Life cycle: cool season annual/sometimes perennial

• Leaves: alternated, ovate, rounded with short point,
pale green in color
• Stems: fragile, translucent stems (called “clear weed”
often)
• Flowers: form in the leaf axil, whitish to green
• Roots: fibrous roots
• EZ ID: Think triangular shaped leaves, clear
translucent stems, flowers in leaf axils
• Control: Loves shade and moist soil – most broad-
spectrum PREs should work
 Richardia spp. (Florida, Brazilian pusley)

R. brasiliensis R. scabra

• Life cycle: annual

• Leaves: opposite, ovate to elliptic lanceolate, smooth to rough on both surfaces, rough on main veins; leaf
apex rounded to pointed
• Stems: hairy, usually do not root at the nodes
• Flowers: star shaped, terminal head like cluster of up to 20 flowers, usually accompanied by two smaller
leaves; white to pink
• Roots: deep fibrous root system, can harbor nematodes; brasiliensis has thicker roots
• EZ ID: Florida pusley does not have thick, woody roots or stiff hairs on fruits, both have opposite leaves,
white start shaped fruit, and small leaves by flowers
• Control: can bloom anytime there is no frost – best controlled using broad-spectrum PRE herbicides
Stachys floridana (Florida betony, Rattlesnake weed)
• Life cycle: summer/fall perennial
• Leaves: opposite, triangular, toothed
margins, long (1.5”) petioles
• Stems: greenish to reddish square
stems
• Flowers: clusters of lavender/purple
flowers in upper leaf axils
• Roots: thick, rhizomatous root system,
segmented tubers (rattlesnake’s tail)
• EZ ID: segmented tubers, square
stems, triangular toothed margins
• Control: prevention is best, most PREs
ineffective, dichlobenil (Cassaron) can
be effective; prodiamine (Barricade)
will stunt plant; repated apps of Rup or
broadleaf herbicides will work
Ambrosia artemisiifolia (Ragweed)

• Life cycle: summer annual

• Leaves: simple, pinnately to bi-pinnately lobed,
hairy on top, strong odor
• Stems: erect, freely ascending, hairy when young
• Flowers: green racemes at ends of branches,
droop down often; woody achene fruit
• Roots: shallow taproot
• EZ ID: finely dissected leaves, underside of
cotyledons purple, green racemes, woody achene
fruit looks like crown
• Control: More of a problem around beds, shade
houses etc.; broad spectrum PREs and POSTs
Cyperus croceus (Baldwin’s flatsedge)

• Life cycle: summer perennial

• Leaves: densely tufted leaves, flat smooth
blades
• Stems: triangular
• Flowers: globe like clusters
• Roots: fibrous, extensive root system
• EZ ID: globe like structures on stalks at top of
stem
• Control: Exclusion is best; some POST options
effective, handweed quickly
 Cyperus compressus (Annual Sedge)
• Life cycle: summer annual
• Leaves: three ranked, dark green,
linear lanceolate
• Stems: triangular
• Flowers: erect, spreading from base,
scale like
• Roots: fibrous, reddish in color
• EZ ID: annual, no bulbs stolons, seed
head is flat
Photos courtesy of Charles T. Bryson, USDA-ARS, bugwood.org
• Control: PREs effective because it is an
annual (spreads only by seeds)

Charles T. Bryson, USDA-ARS, bugwood.org

 Cyperus esculentus (Yellow Nutsedge)
• Life cycle: warm season perennial
• Leaves: three ranked, mostly basal leaves, prominent
mid-vein, long attenuated tip
• Stems: triangular, born individually from tuber
• Flowers: yellowish brown/straw colored spikelets,
dense
• Roots: fibrous, extensive from tubers, rhizomes, and
bulbs
• EZ ID: densely arranged yellow seed heads, prominent
“nuts”
• Control: Glyphosate, halosulfuron, others POST; Do
not till!
Howard F. Shwartz, CSU, bugwood.org

Steve Dewey, Utah State U., bugwood.org Mark Czarnota, UGA, bugwood.org
 Cyperus rotundus (Purple Nutsedge)
• Life cycle: warm season perennial
• Leaves: three ranked, mostly basal leaves, dark
green, prominent mid-vein, abruptly tapering at
tip
• Stems: triangular, individually born from tuber or
bulb
• Flowers: linear, dark red or purple or reddish
brown, loosely disposed (not crowded)
• Roots: fibrous, slender white rhizomes covered
with scales, connected together
• EZ ID: reddish purple seed heads, extensive
rhizomes, tubers “on a string” Charles T. Bryson, USDA-ARS, bugwood.org
• Control: Halosulfuron, glyphosate; less tolerant to
cultivation/tilling

Joseph M. DiTomaso, UC Davis, bugwood.org

Joseph LaForest, UGA, bugwood.org

 Digitaria sanguinalis (Large, hairy crabgrass)

• Life cycle: summer annual

• Leaves: 1 to 10 inches long, usually hairy on both surfaces, hairy closed sheath
• Stems: prostrate, spreading, branched at older nodes, rooting at nodes
• Flowers: 4 to 6 spike heads that are 2 to 10 inches long
• Roots: fibrous
• EZ ID: very similar to smooth crabgrass but has hairs
• Control: POST grass herbicides [Fluazifop (Fusilade), clethodim (Envoy), Sethoxydim
(Vantage)], DNAs PRE, many others
 Digitaria ischaemum (Smooth crabgrass)
• Life cycle: summer annual
• Leaves: 2 to 8 inches long, glabrous (no hairs) on both sides
• Stems: prostrate, up to 2” branching at lower nodes, not
rooting
• Flowers: seed head composed of 2-6 fingerlike branches
• Roots: fibrous
• EZ ID: no hairs, can have some at mouth of sheath
• Control: POST grass herbicides [Fluazifop (Fusilade), clethodim
(Envoy), Sethoxydim (Vantage)], DNAs PRE, many others

Joseph M. DiTomaso, UC Davis, bugwood.org

Lynn Sosnoskie, UGA, bugwood.org

 Murdannia nudiflora (Doveweed)
• Life cycle: summer annual, in spiderwort
family (not a grass, it laughs at you if you
use grass herbicides)
• Leaves: narrow, 2 to 5” long, pointed,
parallel veins, alternate and clasping at stem
• Stems: succulent, roots at nodes
• Flowers: blue to purple colored flowers,
open clusters, short stalks
• Roots: fibrous
John D. Byrd, Mississippi State, bugwood.org • EZ ID: thick green leaves, rooting at nodes,
thick clumps, what’s left in the lawn after
applying herbicide
• Control: difficult to control. Repeated
applications of MSMA + 2,4-D post,
sulfentrazone – Broadstar (flumioxazin),
Pennant Magnum (s-metolachlor) and
Tower (dimethenamid-P) controlled this
weed PRE (Walker et al., 2010)

John D. Byrd, Mississippi State, bugwood.org

 Eleusine indica (Goosegrass)

Joseph M. DiTomaso, UC Davis, bugwood.org Rebekah D. Wallace, Univ. of GA, bugwood.org Charles T. Bryson, USDA-ARS,
bugwood.org

• Life cycle: summer annual

• Leaves: 2 to 14” long, glabrous or few hairs
• Stems: flat, erect to spreading, up to almost 3’ tall
• Flowers: 2 – 13 fingerlike spikes
• Roots: fibrous
• EZ ID: stems flattened, whitish green, almost parallel
to ground on new plants
Joseph M. DiTomaso, UC Davis, bugwood.org • Control: PREs, selective grass herbicides
 Paspalum dilatatum (Dallisgrass)

Rebekah D. Wallace, Univ. of GA, bugwood.org

James H. Miller and Ted Bodner, SWSS,

bugwood.org
• Life cycle: warm season perennial
• Leaves: up to 15” long, glabrous except base
• Stems: flat, erect to spreading, up to almost 3’ tall
• Flowers: 3 to 7 erect branches not paired on stem
• Roots: fibrous with short rhizomes
• EZ ID: hairs at base of leaf, 3 to 7 racemes not paired
with long hairs in the axils
Barry Rice, sarracenia.com, bugwood.org • Control: PREs, selective grass herbicides
Marchantia polymorpha (Liverwort)
• Life cycle: Can survive anytime temperatures
are mild (not extremes) and moist
• Leaves/Stems: produces thalli, moss-leaf-like
mats on soil surface and ground cloth/nursery
pads
• Flowers: gemmae cup-like structures – can
spread sexually by spores or asexually
• Roots: rhizoids that attach plant to soil
• EZ ID: umbrella or cup-like heads, dense
green mats, alien-lookin’-deal
• Control: can be suppressed by some PREs
(flumioxazin, dimethenamid-P) and some
organics (oregano oil and others); best to
change cultural practices, increase air-flow,
drainage, allow greenhouse space to dry
 Nostoc spp. (Blue-green algaes)
• Description: primitive, root-less plant-
like organisms; dark green gelatinous
masses on plastic, ground cloth, gravel
pads; scientifically a bacteria; can
cause ground cloth to be very slick
• EZ ID: gelatinous greenish brown
masses
• Control: improve drainage, reduce
irrigation or irrigate earlier in the day,
some peroxide based disinfectants can
be successful (label?)

"Nostoc commune" by YAMAMAYA - Photo taken by YAMAMAYA. Wikipedia.com

“New” Emerging Weed Problems in FL
 Alternanthera philoxeroides (Alligator weed)
• Life cycle: perennial
• Leaves: opposite, entire, elliptic with distinct mid-
vein
• Stems: simple or branched, smooth, hollow
• Flowers: solitary white head on long peduncles;
spreads vegetatively but seeds have been
confirmed as viable (Holm et al., 1997)
• Roots: fibrous roots at stem nodes
• EZ ID: aquatic (mostly) with hollow stems,
opposite leaves, solitary white flower heads
• Control: remove from ponds, streams, non-crop
sites; POSTs are effective, no good PREs

Charles T. Bryson, USDA-ARS., bugwood.org John D. Byrd, Mississippi James H. Miller, USDAFS bugwood.org
State U., bugwood.org
 Commelina benghalensis (Bengal Dayflower, Tropical Spiderwort)

• Life cycle: perennial, can act as an annual

• Leaves: broadly ovate to lanceolate, entire margins, parallel veins, pubescent
• Stems: erect or prostrate along ground and can root at nodes, pubescent
• Flowers: often in clusters, funnel shaped, violet to light blue in color (other day flowers often have darker
flower colors); can produce subterranean flowers/seeds
• Roots: fibrous
• EZ ID: white underground stems and flowers, parallel veins, wide leaves, violet flowers
• Control: Prevent, eradicate, eliminate. Inspect new shipments and sources of materials for presence of BDF.
Noxious weed. Glyphosate tolerant. Flumioxazin (SureGuard/Broadstar) provides good PRE control
 Mikania micranthra (mile-a-minute)
• Life cycle: Perennial vine; vigorous growth
• Leaves: pale green/yellow, opposite, heart-shaped, 2 to 5 in. long,
taper to an acute point, serrated
• Stems: glabrous, highly branched, can root at nodes
• Flowers: panicled corymbs, 4 flowers per cluster, white, single stalk
can produce up to 40,000 seeds
• Roots: fibrous, can be thick
• EZ ID: heart-shaped leaves, thick stems, white flower clusters – still
similar to native species (M. scandens)
• Control: Can grow >3’ a week. Call FDACS if spotted. Noxious
weed; mowing/cutting does no good; glyphosate (2-3%) + triclopyr
(1-2%) will control; dig up, remove, incinerate
Andrew Derksen, FDACS/DPI, bugwood.org

Andrew Derksen, FDACS/DPI, bugwood.org

Andrew Derksen, FDACS/DPI, bugwood.org
Parthenium hysterophorus (Ragweed
parthenium, Whitetop)
• Life cycle: annual
• Leaves: alternate, first
form basal rosette, finely
lobed (pinnatifid to
bipinnatifid), pubescent
• Stems: erect, paniculatly
branched and pubescent
• Flowers: white disk
flowers on stem tips
• Roots: taproot
• EZ ID: light green/white
pubescent on leaves,
white flowers (“white
top” name)
• Control: glyphosate
tolerant; PREs are
effective
Crotalaria lanceolata (Lanceleaf rattlebox)
and other Crotalaria spp. (Rattlebox)

• Life cycle: annual legume

• Leaves: alternate, 3 foliate or simple, linear to lanceolate to elliptic,
upper surface usually glabrous, lower pubescent
• Stems: slightly pubescent, green
• Flowers: racemes at top of plant, usually yellow to purplish brown;
pod darkens with age
• Roots: taproot
• EZ ID: cylindrical pods with inflated appearance, rattle sound when
shaken (at maturity)
• Control: Broad spectrum PREs could work; Lontrel possibly
 Regulated Ornamentals
• What is a regulated ornamental (or plant)?
– Plant that has causes severe economic/ecological damage and is
now a serious pest
– State and Federal (USDA) lists noxious weed lists

“It is unlawful to introduce, multiply, possess, move, or release

any noxious weed or invasive plant regulated by FDACS or USDA”

– Can be any living part of the plant

– Nurseries can be subject to inspections, fined, placed under
quarantine, have shipments seized, etc.

Complete listing of all FL noxious weeds and additional information:

www.flrules.org & www.plants.usda.gov
Schinus terebinthifolius (Brazillian peppertree)

Photo courtesy of UF/IFAS Center for

Aquatic & Invasive Plants

• Introduced into FL because of attractive

red berries and other unique
characteristics
• Prolific seed producer, spread by birds,
water
• Very aggressive, wide-spread in FL, out-
competes natives in forest understory
• In Anacardiaceae family (poison oak, ivy,
sumac), can cause dermatitis
Photo courtesy of UF/IFAS Center for Aquatic & Invasive Plants
 Ardisia creneta (Coral ardisia)
• Often sold as “Christmas
Berry”
• Bright red berries carried off
by birds
• Become naturalized in many
parts of FL, dominates
forest floor and shades out
natives
Chris Evans, IL Willife action plan, bugwood.org
• Suspected to be poisonous
to livestock/pets

Photo courtesy of UF/IFAS Center for Aquatic

& Invasive Plants

Photo courtesy of UF/IFAS Center

for Aquatic & Invasive Plants
 Ardisia elliptica (Shoebutton)
• Evergreen glabrous shrub or
small tree with smooth
stems
• Started to invade
hammocks, old fields,
disturbed wetlands, marsh
lands, cypress and
mangrove areas

All photos courtesy of UF/IFAS Center for Aquatic & Invasive Plants
 Cupaniopsis anacardioides (Carrot wood)

• Attractive grey bark,

evergreen foliage,
orangeish/yellow fruit
• Produces a lot of seed, spread
by birds, high germination
percentage
• Now invading beach dunes,
islands, marshes, tropical
hammocks,
mangrove/cypress swamps

All photos courtesy of UF/IFAS Center for Aquatic & Invasive Plants
Ligustrum sinense (Chinese privet)

All photos courtesy of UF/IFAS Center for Aquatic & Invasive Plants

• Tolerates many different growing conditions (made it

a desirable landscape plant)
• Produces hundreds of seeds, spread by wildlife
• Spreads by seeds, or from root or stump sprouts
• Forms dense thickets in natural areas and in
landscapes if allowed
• Plant non-invasive cultivars (i.e. variegatum)
 Sapium sebiferum
(Chinese tallow/Popcorn tree)

All photos courtesy of UF/IFAS Center for Aquatic & Invasive Plants Cheryl McCormick, Univ. Florida, bugwood.org

• Can tolerate a variety of growing conditions, growing up to 50’ tall

• Deep tap-roots make young seedlings very drought-tolerant
• Produces a lot of seed, young seedlings sprout up quickly in natural areas and
landscapes
• Invades many different areas, sun or shade; leaves and fruit are toxic to cattle
 Mimosa pigra (cat-claw mimosa)
• Mimosa with thorns on stems,
branches, leaves retract when touched
• Can withstand total submergence by
forming adventitious roots from stems
• Mature plants can produce over 40,000
seeds per year in pods
• Can tolerate a wide variety of growing
conditions (wet to dry)

Photo courtesy of UF/IFAS Center for Aquatic & Invasive Plants

 Potentially Invasive Ornamentals
• Ornamentals that are not regulated, but could become
regulated due to invasive potential
– Associated with higher maintenance costs in the landscape
– Could possibly spread throughout your nursery
• Category I or II invasive pests by Florida Exotic Plant Pest
Council (FLEPPC)
– Category I – invasive exotics that are altering native plant
communities by displacing natives, changing community structures,
ecological functions, or hybridizing with natives
– Category II – exotics that have increased in abundance but not yet
altered FL plant communities the way Category I plants have
– Complete listings available at www.fleppc.org
 Albizia lebbeck, julibrissin (woman’s tongue,
mimosa)

A. lebbeck
Photos courtesy of UF/IFAS Center for Aquatic & Invasive Plants

• Attractive but can become invasive due

to fast growth and wind dispersed seed
• Brittle wood prone to wind damage
• Large diameter roots can damage
patios/sidewalks A. julibrissin
Photos courtesy of UF/IFAS Center for Aquatic & Invasive Plants
 Wisteria sinensis (Chinese wisteria)
• Introduced in 1800’s because of
ornamental value
• Showy blooms in spring, but aggressive
growing vine
• Stems can reach 15” in diameter,
damaging fences and other structures
• Can grow from seeds or rooted stolons
(hard to hand weed new seedlings)

Photo courtesy of UF/IFAS Center for Aquatic & Invasive Plants

 Ruellia simplex (Mexican petunia)

Photos courtesy of UF/IFAS Center for Aquatic & Invasive Plants

• Still widely used as an ornamental for showy flowers, but can become hard to control
• Seed spread by storm-water, spreads vegetatively by rhizomes
• Can recover following glyphosate applications
• Hard to remove from landscape areas, not recommended for use in FL, use a sterile
or non-invasive variety i.e. ‘Purple Showers’
 Nandina domestica (Heavenly bamboo)

• Escaped from cultivation, now found

in natural areas
• ‘Firepower’, ‘Gulfstream’, ‘Harbor
Belle’, ‘Harbor Dwarf’ not invasive

Photos courtesy of UF/IFAS Center for Aquatic & Invasive Plants

 Lantana camara (Lantana)

Photo courtesy of UF/IFAS Center for Aquatic & Invasive Plants

• Serious weed problem in some agronomic

Photo courtesy of UF/IFAS Center for Aquatic & situations and citrus
Invasive Plants • Use sterile/non-invasive varieties (many to
choose from)
 Melia azedarach (chinaberry)

• Showy flowers and fruit make it desirable

ornamental
• Birds can spread seed but it is toxic and
can paralyze birds; poisonous to other
mammals/humans
• Can displace native vegetation because
no natural predators exist in US
• Prone to breaking in landscape
Photo courtesy of UF/IFAS Center for Aquatic & Invasive Plants
 Hedera helix (English ivy)

Leslie J. Mehrhoff, Uconn, bugwood.org

• Has become a nuisance weed in many

states, regulated in Oregon
• Tiny roots can damage walls, grow
through windows and doors in
Rebekah D. Wallace, UGA, bugwood.org abandoned homes
• Many herbicides ineffective; Metsulfuron
(Manor) can provide control but difficult
to get spray coverage needed
Liriope spicata (Creeping Liriope, Lilyturf)
• Very tough, grows well in deep shade or fun sun,
drought tolerant
• Commonly used as a groundcover or border planting
• Similar plant (L. muscari) is not as invasive, but L.
spicata can spread by underground rhizomes
• Hard to remove from landscapes; can tolerate
glyphosate up to 5% or more in some situations
• Glyphosate + metsulfuron (Envoy) can provide good
control in the landscape
 More information and resources…
• Florida EDIS weed management website:
https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/topic_guide_weed_management_guide
• Florida Extension Weed Science: weedext.ifas.ufl.edu
• Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants: plants.ifas.ufl.edu
• Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
Division of Plant Industry:
http://www.freshfromflorida.com/Divisions-Offices/Plant-Industry
• Alternatives to invasive ornamentals: edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ep467
• Florida Invasive species partnership: www.floridainvasives.org
• Florida exotic plant pest council: www.fleppc.org
• Weeds of container nurseries in U.S.; NCSU:
www.cals.ncsu.edu/plantbiology/ncsc/containerweeds/
Contact Information

Chris Marble
407-410-6960
marblesc@ufl.edu