Brazilian Pepper

This invasive specie is extremely selfish. It produces a dense canopy that blocks the sun from the rest of the plants around it. This creates a bad habitat for the native speacies to try and live in. And it does not discriminate. It invades aquatic as well as terrestrial habitat. Also touching any part of this tree will cause skin irritation because they are realted to posion ivy and poison oak. AND they hurt the shorelines! Their shallow roots allow erosion and they crowd out mangroves so they disturb the natural fish-breeding habitat.

Last seen

- Tree shrub or small tree- Reaches over 30 ft in height.- Leaves contain toothes leaftlets that are a redish color. - Carries fruits that begin green but turn red when ripe.- Contain dark brown seeds.

- Has taken over about 700,000 acres in Florida with its infestation.- Although, it tends to stay only in the warmer areas because it does not like the cold. - Can be found from Levy and St. Johns Counties, all the way to Santa Rosa County.

Place Of Birth

- Native to Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil.- It was brought to Florida in the mid-1800s because of its pretty looks.

Citations

- " Brazilian Pepper." : Text, Images, Music, Video . N. p., n. d. Web. 15 Nov. 2013-" How You Can Help >> Eyes on the Bay." Brazilian Peppers: Beautiful but bad. N. p., n. d. Web. 15 Nov. 2013

Brazilian Pepper

Crimes Committed

Key features

REWARD

- Restore the shorlines!- Stop the erosion near the shorelines.- Create a better habitat for the native species.