Word: schinus
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...even greater menace is the Brazilian pepper, or Schinus terebinthifolius. While visiting Brazil in 1926, Physician and Plant Lover George Stone was attracted by its thick clusters of red berries and brought back seeds for his garden in Punta Gorda, on Florida's southwest Gulf coast. The tree proliferated with the aid of casual gardeners, landscapers and birds (which feasted on the berries and spread seeds across the peninsula...
Unsuspecting Schinus boosters have since learned that the Brazilian pepper is a hardy trespasser, resistant to burning and with a proclivity for overrunning cleared land. It now covers thousands of acres along the Everglades' Atlantic and Gulf coastlines and has begun to establish itself among coast-loving mangroves. This worries Robert Doren, a research-management specialist at the park. "Many game fish and shellfish come in to feed or breed among the roots of the mangroves," he explains. "Without the mangroves, you might see the end of most of the estuarine fishery in south Florida...
...marshlands in dry seasons. Smoke and sparks from burning melaleucas caused numerous accidents on U.S. Highway 27 north of Miami during last month's fires. However, fire does not kill this pest tree; the insulating bark protects it even as the leaves burn. And like the Casuarina and Schinus, the Melaleuca is quick to invade areas scorched clear of native vegetation. Mature Melaleuca stands so solidly that it keeps out wildlife. Says Morton: "When I say solid, a rabbit can't get through." Melaleuca has already colonized 60 sq. mi. of swampland in southern Florida...
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