Who Needs Hydrilla

Just in case you don't know what hydrilla really is here's a link. It's basically seaweed you can buy in the pet store gone wild. This stuff is not good for our lake. While there are beautiful aquatic plants we might choose to cultivate to attract wildlife or for blooms, etc, hydrilla has no redeming value for us (other than feeding manatees I suppose). Click here for more info:.

The following [definition] is from the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council, "Exotic plants are introduced accidentally through shipping materials or deliberately for ornamental or commercial purposes. Invasive exotics or exotic pest plants don't have the natural enemies here that controlled their growth in their home range. This can free them to spread easily into our native plant communities. Not all exotic plants become pest plants in Florida's natural areas, but those that do can cause a reduction in biodiversity, loss of habitat and food sources for native insects, birds, and other wildlife, and changes to natural ecological systems." To read about Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council click here..

Hydrilla is listed as a noxious weed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and has spread to north, central and southern Florida. It's listed as a category 1 invader. Category I means, "Invasive exotics that are altering native plant communities by displacing native species, changing community structures or ecological functions, or hybridizing with natives. This definition does not rely on the economic severity or geographic range of the problem, but on the documented ecological damage caused."

If you want more links about invasive species in Florida, including plants, wildlife and insects you can peek at this University of Florida link here.