Brazilian Pepper, Florida Holly (Schinus terebinthifolius) Raddi.
In its natural habitat, Brazilian pepper is a sparse species and never dominates the landscape as it does in southern Florida. It is emersed along ditchbanks and pinelands. Good estimates of the Brazilian pepper population size in Florida are not available, but Bennett and Habeck (1991) reported that this species now infests thousands of hectares in southern and central Florida, in the Florida Keys, and on other islands off the eastern and western coasts of the state.
Generally, Brazilian pepper infestations are in disturbed areas (Ewel et al. 1982). However, because Brazilian pepper is now so widespread, areas of low disturbance such as the pinelands in Dade County were invaded by this species (Schardt and Schmitz 1990). Brazilian pepper is capable of surviving a broad range of hydrologic conditions but prefers well-drained sites (Ewel 1978). Typically, dense monospecific stands of Brazilian pepper form within a few years after trees invade an area. This often creates a dense canopy and eliminates almost all of an herbaceous understory (Ewel 1978). Survival of Brazilian pepper seedlings is unusually high, even of mature forest trees, and is 66-100% (Ewel 1986). The tenacity of Brazilian pepper seedlings impairs competition by native vegetation. Moreover, Brazilian pepper seems to be allelopathic, suppressing the growth of other plants (Bennett et al. 1988).
Multiple burnings are needed to control Brazilian pepper. Applications of the herbicide triclopyr on foliage and bark have provided selective control of Brazilian pepper when mixed with native willows (Salicacea), myriles (Myricaceae), and maples (Aceraceae). Imazapyr also provides satisfactory control but is not as selective (Schardt and Schmitz 1990). When this species burns (as it frequently does when it is colonized in open pinelands), the above-ground parts are killed, but the tree promptly resprouts from the base (Thayer et al. 1990).
Like melaleuca, Brazilian pepper grows in a broad range of sites from mangroves (Rhizophora mangle) to pinelands (Pinus spp.) in southern Florida. It thrives on disturbed soils and in habitats that are created by drainage and farming (Ewel 1986). Naturalized species often develop mutualistic interactions with indigenous species. The Brazilian pepper, for example, provides food for native organisms that pollinate its flowers and disperse its seeds (Ewel 1986). Most dispersal is effected by the huge flocks of robins (Turdus migratorius) that periodically but not annually congregate in southern Florida during the winter. Introduced species such as the red-whiskered bulbul (Pycnonotus jocosus) also disperse the seeds (Owre 1973). During the late winter months when seeds of this species are normally dispersed, the native trees are dormant. This exploitation of a different time of reproduction may explain the success of this species in southern Florida. The conflicts of interest in this species between the apiarists and the landscapers, who use a closely related tree as an ornamental, and the biological control personnel, who want to introduce a control agent that preys on both species are reviewed by Bennett and Habeck (1991).
