With this year’s sea turtle nesting season nearing its conclusion in Florida, many of the protected species’ newest hatchlings have completed their first big journey from their sandy nests to the water.
With this year’s sea turtle nesting season nearing its conclusion in Florida, many of the protected species’ newest hatchlings have completed their first big journey from their sandy nests to the water.
But a crawling plant introduced to some Florida beaches may threaten their nesting grounds, and University of Florida experts are attempting to mitigate the risk before the plant overtakes the coasts.
The visually attractive beach vitex, scientifically known as Vitex rotundifolia, sprawls well across the turtles’ favorite nesting site, sand dunes, and sprouts clusters of delicate purple flowers. In the United States, the plant grows natively only in Hawaii, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Its invasiveness was quickly apparent when introduced to the contiguous United States, said Deah Lieurance, a UF/IFAS Extension scientist who coordinates the UF/IFAS Assessment of Non-Native Plants in Florida’s Natural Areas.
The woody vine outcompetes nearby plants and threatens coastal habitats, tendencies that prompted Lieurance to petition the Florida Department of Agricultural and Consumer Services (FDACS) to add it to the state’s noxious weed list. The plant was officially added in the latest update, which makes it now illegal to purchase the plant in Florida or move it into or within state boundaries.
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Image via University of Florida.
