Air potato (Dioscorea bulbifera) is native to Asia and Africa. This plant was introduced to Florida in 1905. It is known as the most invasive plant species to Florida since 1993. Air potato is a vine that can grow up to 70 feet long or more; it takes over trees and open land. This plant grows extremely fast, it is known to grow up to 8 inches a day, and take over native plants in the process. It forms from “potatoes” or aerial tubers that grow from the stem of the plant and root into the ground. The removal of this plant is fairly simple. It is important to remove the entire plant from the area, including the vine and the roots. However, it is sometimes difficult to remove the “potato” from the ground as they can be large. This then requires a small shovel to remove the seed and roots from the ground. After removal, one should place the plant in a bucket and take it to a proper disposal site. Without this, the plant will continue to grow and take over even more native plants and habitat for wildlife.
https://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/plant-directory/dioscorea-bulbifera/ Comments are closed.
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AuthorsHello! We are three students trying to inform the public on the invasive species of South Florida. |