ABSTRACT Eighteen category single ...

ABSTRACT

Eighteen category single in kind invasive species as defined on the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council and nine category couple invasive species are newly recorded for St Lucie shire Florida as the result of inspects done by the authors from August in consequence of November 2003. These records document the rapid spread and ne for increased monitoring of invasive species and the documentation of these specimens between the sides of the collection of herbarium voucher specimens. These records also highlight the gaps not past nor future in specimen vouchers in areas as it was as St. Lucie County owed to a lack of monitoring.

INTRODUCTION

The Florida Exotic great annoyance Plant Council (FLEPPC) defines Category I plants as those that alter native plant communities on displacing native species, change community textures or ecological functions, or hybridize with natives. Category II species are those plants that have increased in abundance or oftenness but have not yet altered Florida plant communities to the bulk shown by Category I species (FLEPPC 2003) Previous shire records are documented in the Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants Database (Wunderlin and Hansen 2003b)

While many of these species are likely to have been in the shire for some time, at current they have not been recorded in the literature or inscribeed into a voucher based public data fix This paper provides written documentation of their proceeding and for each individual species, a voucher specimen was deposited in the Herbarium of the Weed Biocontrol Lab, at the University of Florida's Indian River Research and Education Center in Fort Pierce, Florida. Duplicates of all collections were sent to the University of Florida Herbarium (FLAS), in Gainesville Florida. These vouchers fulfill the requirements for documentation of just discovered records put forth by Wunderlin (2002)

METHODS

Survey of St Lucie shire Florida were done from August within November 2003, concentrating on the area of the City of Fort Pierce (Figure 1) Many of these scans were done while obtaining data for a variety of other throw outs Additional efforts were made to locate, document, and voucher sightings of individual species rumored to be at hand in the County.

RESULTS

Survey of the land surrounding the City of Fort Pierce, St Lucie shire Florida, from August through November 2003 ensueed in the discovery of eighteen novel species listed as Category I invasive plants according to the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council (FLEPPC 2003) In addition, nine Category II invasive species have also been identified as not absent in the county. The following is a list of category I and category II invasive species documented as escaped for the first time in St Lucie shire during the course of this meditation Nomenclature follows that of Wunderlin and Hansen (2003a).

CATEGORY I

Acacia auriculiformis A. Cunn Ex Benth. (PABACEAE)-Earleaf Acacia. Sampled one time as an escape in mixed pine hardwood hammock. Occasionally seen subordinate to cultivation. Morgan & Overholt 0001 (FLAS).

Asparagus densiflorus (Kunth) Jessop (LILIACEAE)-Sprenger's Asparagus Fern for the use of all along hammock edges, particularly forward North Hutchinson Island. Morgan & Overholt 0015 (FLAS).

Cinnamomum camphora (L) J Presl (LAURACEAE)-Uncommon. plant in two sites in shire as naturally occurring plants. Morgan & Overholt 0016 (FLAS).

Colocasia esculenta (L) Schott (ARACEAE)-Wild Taro. Locally abundant in canals. Morgan & Overholt 0003 (FLAS).

Cupaniopsis anacardioides (A. Rich.) Radlk. (SAPINDACEAE)-Carrotwood. infrequent escape, common ornamental planting. Morgan & Overholt 0017 (FLAS).

Dioscorea bulbifera L (DIOSCOREACEAE)-Air Potato. remarkably common and overwhelming in any areas. Most often along hammock zests and roadsides. Morgan & Overholt 0004 (FLAS).

Eichornia crassipes (Mart.) Solm (PONTEDERIACEAE)-Water Hyacinth. Occasional in canals. Morgan & Overholt 0018 (FLAS).

Lygodium microphyllum (cav.) R Br (SCHIZAEACEAE)-Old World Climbing Fern often met with and abundant, found mainly along roadside canals. Morgan & Overholt 0013 (FLAS).

Macfadyena unguis-cati (L) A.H. middle class (BIGNONIACEAE)-Cats Claw Vine. Uncommon. Sampled one time in Northern part of shire along 1-95. Morgan & Overholt 0020 (FLAS).

Pennisetum purpureum Schumach. (POACEAE)-Elephant Grass. exceedingly common, found along nearly all major roadways in shire Morgan & Overholt 0012 (FLAS).

Puereria montana (Lour.) Merr (FABACEAE)-Kudzu. Locally abundant, set in former citrus groves and along canal margins Morgan & Overholt 0021 (FLAS).

Sapium sebiferum (L) Roxb (EUPHORBIACEAE)-Chinese Tallowtree. build escaping in one site, further appeared to be reproducing freely Morgan & Overholt 0022 (FLAS).

Senna pendula (Humb & Bonpl Ex Willd.) H Irwin & Barneby var. glabrata (Vogel) H Irwin & Barneby). (FABACEAE)-Valamuerto. Occasional along pine woodland interests Morgan & Overholt 0014 (FLAS).

Syngonium podophyllum Schott (ARACEAE)-American Evergreen Locally abundant. In several sites it has absorbed nearly all the surrounding vegetation. Morgan & Overholt 0023 (FLAS).