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nafex - Re: [NAFEX] It's not the soil, it's Australian Pines

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  • From: "Donna &/or Kieran" <holycow@cookeville.com>
  • To: "North American Fruit Explorers" <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] It's not the soil, it's Australian Pines
  • Date: Wed, 9 Jan 2008 21:39:59 -0600

Stephen, Good thing you finally mentioned the trees, I think this website about sums up all you need to know about Austrialian pines except how much it will cost to get rid of them: http://www.sms.si.edu/irlspec/Casuarina_equisetifolia.htm

And here are some comments from another website: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/2184/
crowding out the native plants such as mangroves and littering the ground with it's seedlings, causing it to spread, as well as it's needles, which smother up vegetation by forming a thick "mat" above the soil and releasing special chemicals that hurt vegetation, and finally with it's roots, that raise the low swamp vegetation by creating small - to- large, highish, sandy ridges so that mangroves can't grow there, also allowing over non-natives such as Brazilian Peppertree to spread) and can compete with some other troublesome exotics and is now banned here in Florida and is on the EPPC Plant List One despite it's attractive looks.
And even worse, the plant can fall over very easily in hurricanes and damage property and homes and buildings as well as possibly hurt or kill people and wildlife, and also the trees can cause massive erosion along shorelines with it's thick but shallow, invasive roots. If you have these trees, get rid of them as soon as possible, or try to do so!

it is quite invasive also on the Island of Hawaii, though not slated for biological control at this time either.
There is a State Park (McKenzie) in the SE Coastal area of Puna on this island where the trees have taken over......no grass grows and the "pine needles" have formed a thick carpet that covers almost the whole area of the park. An eerie site and feeling as it also cushions most noises. Even though there might be other people around, the whole effect is quite lonely feeling and ghostly.




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