Serving Our Environment
LSPAA Invasive Round Up
A volunteer team of LSP Alumni and family members removed over 125 pounds of invasive Air Potatoes from Boyd Hill Nature Preserve!
About the Invasive Air Potato
"The plot could have come from Hollywood — an insidious alien invader threatens to overrun the land, but intrepid scientists discover a secret weapon in the far-off, exotic land of Nepal and bring the pestilence to heel. But this is not fiction; it’s true.
The air potato plant (Dioscorea bulbifera) is an exotic vine from Asia that was introduced to Florida about 115 years ago to make medicine. After escaping from the lab, it multiplied and smothered native plant communities in all of Florida’s 67 counties. It spread beyond to large swaths of land in the southeastern United States. The weed got its name from the potato-like “aerial bulbils” it produces. While the bulbils do not produce seeds, they do sprout new vines." Continue reading at USDA.gov