Plant Management in Florida Waters
.jpg){kind=logo}
Aquatic soda apple
Quick Facts
- Scientific name: Solanum tampicense
- Origin: Mexico, West Indies
- Introduction: 1970s, natural colonization (?)
- Aquatic community: Emergent
- Habitat: Shorelines, wet soils
- Distribution: Central Florida
- Management effort: Eradication
- 2020 Acres Treated: 0
Environmental and Economic Concerns
- Sprawling, prickly shrubs up to 15 feet tall
- Usually found in shallow river channels or flood plains
- Forms dense, tangled monocultures
- Invades disturbed areas and grows over established native vegetation
- Difficult to selectively remove from intertwined native vegetation
- Seeds disseminated by birds increasing potential for wide and rapid dispersal
Management Options
- Biological: None available
- Chemical: Glyphosate, 2,4-D, triclopyr
- Mechanical: Impractical – plants in shallow water, wooded marshes
- Physical: Hand pulling individual plants