ornamental

Florida brought in Brazilian pepper as an ornamental shrub; it later infested over 700,000 acres and became one of the states worst invasive plants

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Known for its bright red berries, Brazilian pepper was introduced to Florida as an ornamental plant. (Wikimedia Commons)

A shrub with bright red berries sounds like something nice to plant in a garden. But in Florida, one such bush became a big problem. Brazilian peppertree was introduced into the state as an ornamental plant, according to the USDA Agricultural Research Service. USDA estimates that more than 700,000 acres in Florida are infested with … Read more

Tree-of-heaven arrived in Pennsylvania as an ornamental in 1784; now it grows from Maine to southern California and spreads through disturbed forests

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Tree-of-heaven arrived in Pennsylvania in 1784 as an ornamental plant and has since spread across much of the country. (Wikimedia Commons)

The tree-of-heaven has a lovely name and a rough reputation. According to a U.S. Forest Service species review, it first arrived in Pennsylvania in 1784 as an ornamental plant. Today it grows in places from Maine to southern California, and has infested hundreds of acres of oak-hickory forest in Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. So … Read more