Parks Division Battles State-Wide Invasive Plant

Press release from the City of Plant City Parks & Recreation Department:

November 30, 2020

The City of Plant City Parks & Recreation Department manages over 737 acres of active and passive park land. As part of its operations plan, it follows industry-established Best Management Practices to be good stewards of our natural spaces. One of those practices is the removal and control of invasive species.

The Parks Division Tree Trimming Crew is currently clearing the property line between Samuel W. Cooper Park and the CSX Railroad parcels which has become overgrown and contains a high concentration of Schinus terebinthifolius, commonly known as Brazilian peppertree. Per the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Services (UF IFAS), this shrub/tree is one of the most aggressive and wide-spread of the invasive non-indigenous exotic pest plants in Florida. Native to Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay, Brazilian peppertree produces a dense canopy that shades out all other plants and produces a poor habitat for native species. For persons sensitive to poison oak, poison ivy, or poison sumac, it can cause dermatitis and also respiratory problems during the fall flowering period. Research shows that, besides Florida and Texas, it’s a serious weed problem in South Africa, Spain, Portugal, Australia, New Zealand, and on Pacific, Caribbean, and Indian Ocean islands.

The clearing of this species from City property not only helps control a state-wide problem, but it also helps our residents by removing a possible health irritant and providing a safer park asset for users of the 0.6 mile paved walking trail at Samuel W. Cooper Park.

This press release was produced by the City of Plant City Parks & Recreation Department. The views expressed here are the author's own.