BeontheLookout!

South Florida Water Management District3301 Gun Club RoadWest Palm Beach, Florida 33406561-686-8800 • FL WATS 1-800-432-2045www.sfwmd.gov

MAILING ADDRESS: P.O. Box 24680West Palm Beach, FL 33416-4680

MELALEUCAFor more photographs see: http://fleppc.org, http://plants.ifas.ufl.eduor Identification & Biology of Non-Native Plants in Florida’s NaturalAreas (1998, University of Florida, 800/226-1764). For moreinformation about melaleuca, visit Florida EPPC’s web site athttp://fleppc.org.

*Read and follow all herbicide label directions. It is illegal to use a herbicide in amanner inconsistent with the label’s instructions. Mention of a trade name doesnot constitute a guarantee or warranty of the product.There is no express orimplied warranty as to the fitness of any product discussed. Any product tradenames that are listed are for the benefit of the reader and the list may not containall products available due to changes in the market.

kr-rprnt 7/19/04

PLANTSBEHAVING BADLY

Melaleuca

S O U T H F L O R I D A W A T E R M A N A G E M E N T D I S T R I C T

PLANTSBEHAVING BADLYBEHAVING BADLY

InFlorida,invasiveexoticplantsaccountforasmuchas31percentofthetotalnumberofplantspecies.Invasiveexoticplantsareabletoreproduceontheirownandhavemovedbeyondtheinfluenceofinsectsanddiseasesintheirnativeland.Theseplantsgrowandreproducefreely,out-competinganddisplacingnativeplantsandanimalsanddisruptingnaturalprocessessuchasfireandwaterflow.InvasiveexoticplantshavetakenanaggressiveholdinFloridaandcontinuetospreadatalarmingrates.Florida’slocal,stateandfederallandmanagersarefightingaconstantbattletomanageinvasiveexoticplantsonFlorida’spublicly-ownedlands.

Melaleuca,Melaleucaquinquenervia,isnativetoAustralia,NewGuineaandtheSolomonIslands.ItwasintroducedtoFloridainthelate1800sasanornamentalplantandlaterwasspreadacrossthehistoricEvergladesinanattempttodryup“uselessswamps.”Today,thetreehasinvadedawidevarietyofnaturalhabitatsfromwetlandmarshesandprairiestocypressdomesandpineflatwoodsacrosssouthernandcentralFlorida.Melaleucaseedsarespreadbywindandwaterandasingle,maturetreecanreleaseasmanyas20millionseeds

peryear!Melaleucarapidlyinvadesmoist,openhabitats,bothdisturbedandundisturbed,andformsdense,impenetrablestandsoftrees.These

standsaresodensethatonlythesmallestofanimalscanusetheseareas.Nativewildlifeisthreatenedbecausemelaleucacrowdsoutbeneficialnativeplants,whichprovidefoodandshelter.

SCIENTIFIC NAME: MELALEUCA QUINQUENERVIA; COMMON NAME: PAPERBARK TREE, CAJEPUT TREE,PUNK TREE, WHITE BOTTLEBRUSH; DESCRIPTION: LARGE, EVERGREEN TREE, TO 100 FEET TALL; IMPACT: FORMS

DENSE, IMPENETRABLE STANDS OF TREES; OUT-COMPETES NATIVE PLANTS; DESTROYS WILDLIFE HABITAT.

Suggested Herbicides*

Seedlings (tree less than 3 feet tall) should be manuallyremoved because they can be pulled easily without leavingroot fragments. Saplings and small trees should be cut andimmediately treated with herbicide. Cut mature trees using achainsaw to create a flat surface and then treat the stumpimmediately with commercially available herbicide.

Dry areas: Herbicides like Brush-B-Gone (triclopyr amine 8%),Brush Killer (triclopyr amine 8.8%), “Ready-to-use” Roundup(glyphosate .96%), Roundup Pro (glyphosate 41%) andRoundup Super Concentrate (glyphosate 41%) are effectiveand can be purchased at retail garden supply stores.Theseherbicides should only be used in dry areas.They may notbe applied directly to water. Repeat applications maybe necessary.

Wet areas:The herbicide Rodeo (glyphosate 53.8%) can beapplied directly to the plant when it is growing in or overwater. Repeat applications may be necessary.

Follow up is essential:Visit treated areas periodically and lookfor regrowth. Regrowth should be cut and immediatelysprayed with herbicide.

Non-target damage:These herbicides are not selective. Becareful not to contact desirable plants with these herbicides.

Disposal:The most important plant parts of melaleuca withregards to disposal are the seed capsules. After the tree hasbeen cut, seed capsules will dry out and release seeds. Forlarge trees, pile up all cut vegetation and allow it to “compost”for several weeks in order to kill seeds. Carefully monitor thissite for seedlings that may germinate. For smaller trees,stems with seed capsules can be bagged and disposed ofor composted.

Report all new occurrences in natural areas and provideherbarium voucher specimens as described on the FLEPPCweb site (address below).

SCIENTIFIC NAME: MELALEUCA QUINQUENERVIA; COMMON NAME: PAPERBARK TREE, CAJEPUT TREE,PUNK TREE, WHITE BOTTLEBRUSH; DESCRIPTION: LARGE, EVERGREEN TREE, TO 100 FEET TALL; IMPACT: FORMS

DENSE, IMPENETRABLE STANDS OF TREES; OUT-COMPETES NATIVE PLANTS; DESTROYS WILDLIFE HABITAT.

Be on the Lookout!

SouthFloridaWaterManagementDistrict3301GunClubRoadWestPalmBeach,Florida33406561-686-8800•FL WATS 1-800-432-2045www.sfwmd.gov

MAILINGADDRESS:P.O.Box24680WestPalmBeach,FL33416-4680

MELALEUCAFormorephotographssee:http://fleppc.org,http://plants.ifas.ufl.eduorIdentification&BiologyofNon-NativePlantsinFlorida’sNaturalAreas(1998,UniversityofFlorida,800/226-1764).Formoreinformationaboutmelaleuca,visitFloridaEPPC’swebsiteathttp://fleppc.org.

*Readandfollowallherbicidelabeldirections.Itisillegaltouseaherbicideinamannerinconsistentwiththelabel’sinstructions.Mentionofatradenamedoesnotconstituteaguaranteeorwarrantyoftheproduct.Thereisnoexpressorimpliedwarrantyastothefitnessofanyproductdiscussed.Anyproducttradenamesthatarelistedareforthebenefitofthereaderandthelistmaynotcontainallproductsavailableduetochangesinthemarket.

kr-rprnt7/19/04

PLANTS BEHAVINGBADLY Melaleuca

SOUTH FLORIDA WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT

PLANTS BEHAVINGBADLY BEHAVINGBADLY

In Florida, invasive exotic plants account for as much as31 percent of the total number of plant species. Invasive exoticplants are able to reproduce on their own and have movedbeyond the influence of insects and diseases in their nativeland.These plants grow and reproduce freely, out-competingand displacing native plants and animals and disrupting naturalprocesses such as fire and water flow. Invasive exotic plantshave taken an aggressive hold in Florida and continue tospread at alarming rates. Florida’s local, state and federal landmanagers are fighting a constant battle to manage invasiveexotic plants on Florida’s publicly-owned lands.

Melaleuca, Melaleuca quinquenervia, is native to Australia, New Guinea andthe Solomon Islands. It was introduced to Florida in the late 1800s as anornamental plant and later was spread across the historic Everglades in anattempt to dry up “useless swamps.” Today, the tree has invaded a wide variety ofnatural habitats from wetland marshes and prairies to cypress domes and pineflatwoods across southern and central Florida. Melaleuca seeds are spread bywind and water and a single, mature tree can release as many as 20 million seeds

per year! Melaleuca rapidly invades moist, open habitats, both disturbedand undisturbed, and forms dense, impenetrable stands of trees. These

stands are so dense that only the smallest of animals can use these areas. Nativewildlife is threatened because melaleuca crowds out beneficial native plants,which provide food and shelter.

SCIENTIFICNAME:MELALEUCAQUINQUENERVIA;COMMONNAME:PAPERBARKTREE,CAJEPUTTREE,PUNKTREE,WHITEBOTTLEBRUSH;DESCRIPTION:LARGE,EVERGREENTREE,TO100FEETTALL;IMPACT:FORMS

DENSE,IMPENETRABLESTANDSOFTREES;OUT-COMPETESNATIVEPLANTS;DESTROYSWILDLIFEHABITAT.

SuggestedHerbicides*

Seedlings(treelessthan3feettall)shouldbemanuallyremovedbecausetheycanbepulledeasilywithoutleavingrootfragments.Saplingsandsmalltreesshouldbecutandimmediatelytreatedwithherbicide.Cutmaturetreesusingachainsawtocreateaflatsurfaceandthentreatthestumpimmediatelywithcommerciallyavailableherbicide.

Dryareas:HerbicideslikeBrush-B-Gone(triclopyramine8%),BrushKiller(triclopyramine8.8%),“Ready-to-use”Roundup(glyphosate.96%),RoundupPro(glyphosate41%)andRoundupSuperConcentrate(glyphosate41%)areeffectiveandcanbepurchasedatretailgardensupplystores.Theseherbicidesshouldonlybeusedindryareas.Theymaynotbeapplieddirectlytowater.Repeatapplicationsmaybenecessary.

Wetareas:TheherbicideRodeo(glyphosate53.8%)canbeapplieddirectlytotheplantwhenitisgrowinginoroverwater.Repeatapplicationsmaybenecessary.

Followupisessential:Visittreatedareasperiodicallyandlookforregrowth.Regrowthshouldbecutandimmediatelysprayedwithherbicide.

Non-targetdamage:Theseherbicidesarenotselective.Becarefulnottocontactdesirableplantswiththeseherbicides.

Disposal:Themostimportantplantpartsofmelaleucawithregardstodisposalaretheseedcapsules.Afterthetreehasbeencut,seedcapsuleswilldryoutandreleaseseeds.Forlargetrees,pileupallcutvegetationandallowitto“compost”forseveralweeksinordertokillseeds.Carefullymonitorthissiteforseedlingsthatmaygerminate.Forsmallertrees,stemswithseedcapsulescanbebaggedanddisposedoforcomposted.

ReportallnewoccurrencesinnaturalareasandprovideherbariumvoucherspecimensasdescribedontheFLEPPCwebsite(addressbelow).

SCIENTIFICNAME:MELALEUCAQUINQUENERVIA;COMMONNAME:PAPERBARKTREE,CAJEPUTTREE,PUNKTREE,WHITEBOTTLEBRUSH;DESCRIPTION:LARGE,EVERGREENTREE,TO100FEETTALL;IMPACT:FORMS

DENSE,IMPENETRABLESTANDSOFTREES;OUT-COMPETESNATIVEPLANTS;DESTROYSWILDLIFEHABITAT.

Overview of ProblemMelaleuca has been a serious weed in Florida since

the early 1900s. By the mid-1900s, only 50 years afterit was introduced, melaleuca had already taken overhundreds of thousands of acres of the Everglades,threatening its very existence.This rapid expansion isnot surprising because in melaleuca’s native rangethe tree thrives in wetland areas and climates similarto those found in Florida. Melaleuca is recognized asa Noxious Weed both federally and by the State ofFlorida. It is therefore illegal to possess, transportand/or cultivate this plant.

Melaleuca invades many habitats in southernFlorida. It prefers disturbed seasonally wet sites,but also flourishes in standing water, well-draineduplands and seemingly non-disturbed areas.Melaleuca is cold sensitive but can be found as farnorth as Gainesville. It thrives in pine flatwoods,sawgrass marshes and cypress swamps of southernFlorida. Dense melaleuca forests replace formerlytreeless sawgrass marshes, disrupting historicalwater flows. Melaleuca is also a serious fire hazardbecause the oils contained within its leaves create hotcrown fires that are rapidly spread.

The good news is that the extensive stands ofmelaleuca that were once found on publicly-ownednatural areas such as Big Cypress, Lake Okeechobeemarsh and the Everglades have now been drasticallyreduced through regional control efforts by governmentagencies waging battle on this tree. As a result of inter-agency efforts, almost 100,000 acres of publicly-ownednatural areas were cleared of melaleuca between1990 and 1999!The bad news is that there has beenan almost equal expansion of melaleuca on privately-held lands where no control activities have occurred,resulting in no net loss of acreage of melaleuca. Infact, extensive dense forests now occur predominantlyonly in privately-held lands in Broward, Miami-Dade,Palm Beach, Lee, Martin and Collier counties.

Surveys conducted by the South Florida WaterManagement District every two years between 1993and 2003 confirm that the generaldistribution of melaleuca in Floridahas decreased on public lands whileincreasing on private lands. In 1993,52 percent of all melaleuca insouthern Florida was found onpublic land, while 48 percent wason private land. Four years later, in1997, 35 percent of all livemelaleuca was found onpublic land and 65 percent onprivate land.The determined effortof public land managers wasdirectly responsible for thereduction of melaleuca on public land.Now it is time to encourage public-private partnerships so that melaleucacan be reduced on private lands.

How to IdentifyMelaleuca is a large tree up to 100 feet tall with

whitish, spongy, peeling bark. It has dark greennarrow leaves that smell like camphor when they arecrushed. It has numerous white bottlebrush flowersand clusters of woody seed capsules along the stems.

Where to LookInfestations of melaleuca occur mostly in central

and southern Florida. It has been documented in19 counties in Florida, the northernmost countiesbeing Brevard, Orange and Hernando.The tree mostcommonly invades moist habitats, but will grow inflooded conditions and dry areas, both in pristine anddisturbed areas.Young trees are commonly foundclose to a large mother tree.

How to Stop the SpreadMelaleuca control options include preventative,

herbicidal, biological, mechanical and physicalmethods.The overall goal of melaleuca control is touse an integrated pest management approach, sincecombining different management control options willprovide better melaleuca control than any one methodcould achieve alone.This helps reduce existinginfestations and limits establishment of newpopulations. It is important to treat small standsof melaleuca before they become substantialinfestations. Early detection and treatment are criticalto successful and economical management.Treatmentof individual plants is the most conservative andeffective approach in natural areas, but finding,reaching and treating them can be extremely time-consuming.Thus, less time-consuming and costlymethods of herbicide application, such as aeriallyspraying herbicides, are often used.

Simply cutting the tree will not kill the stump or theroots, so regrowth will occur. Flooding does not killmature melaleuca trees but may kill some seedlingsand prevent establishment of seeds on flooded soils.Melaleuca seedlings and saplings can be killed byfire; however, mature trees are not harmed and fireactually helps release and spread seeds. Use of heavyequipment is limited because it is difficult to accessremote areas of dense melaleuca and because theequipment disturbs soils and native plants.

Biological control (biocontrol) holds the key toeffective long-term management of this species.Overseas searches are ongoing for biocontrol agentsin melaleuca’s native range.To date, two biocontrolinsects have been released in Florida. In 1997, themelaleuca weevil was released and by the end of 2002had established in 12 counties in southern Florida andhas proven to be very effective.The melaleuca psyllid,released in 2002, is proving to be a good complementto the weevil because it eats older, tougher leaves,which the weevil does not favor. All biological controlagents are tested for years before they are released –sometimes as long as a decade! Even then, it maytake many more years before the biocontrols build upeffective populations to assist in control.

For information specific to control methods formelaleuca and other invasive plant species in naturalareas see the Institute of Food and AgriculturalScience’s (IFAS) Publication SP242, “Control of Non-native Plants in Natural Areas of Florida.” Herbicidesshould only be applied by those knowledgeable in theuse. Contact the IFAS Pesticide Information Office,(352) 392-4721, for additional information on pesticideapplicator training and see IFAS Publication SP295,“Natural AreaWeed Management – ATrainingManual for Restricted Use Pesticide Applicators” fortechnical information about the use of herbicides innatural areas.To purchase IFAS publications, call(352) 392-1794 or visit: http://ifasbooks.ufl.edu.TheMelaleuca Management Plan can be found athttp://www.fleppc.org/Manage_Plans/mplan.pdf.

TAME MelaleucaThe Area-Wide Management Evaluation of

Melaleuca (TAME Melaleuca) was established in 2002as a collaborative multi-agency project under the U.S.Department of Agriculture.TAME Melaleuca willdemonstrate ecologically and economicallysustainable melaleuca control for bothpublic and private land managers byapplying a combination of controltactics on demonstration sitesacross south Florida.TAMEMelaleuca will also create outreachprograms for land managers,government agencies and the general public.For more information visit http://tame.ifas.ufl.edu.

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Lake

Okeechobee

Beach Naupaka

Australian Pine

Oyster Plant

MelaleucaBEHAVING BADLY

MelaleucaDistribution

Carrotwood

Biological control damage on melaleuca flower

Spraying melaleuca stump with herbicide

Melaleuca thrives even in standing water