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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Fort Lauderdale, Florida » Invasive Plant Research Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #216230

Title: Marketing time predicts naturalization of horticultural plants

Author
item Pemberton, Robert
item LIU, HONG - UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA

Submitted to: Ecology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/6/2008
Publication Date: 1/1/2009
Citation: Pemberton, R.W., Liu, H. 2009. Marketing time predicts naturalization of horticultural plants, Ecology: Vol. 90, No. 1, pp. 69-80. . Ecology.

Interpretive Summary: Invasive plants are among the greatest threats to agriculture and the environment, and these weeds cause huge losses and enormous control costs. Horticulture is one of the most important sources of naturalized plants, but little is known about naturalization frequencies and potential patterns of naturalization in horticultural plants. To understand the degree of naturalization of horticultural plants and possible patterns of naturalization in Florida, we analyzed the detailed sales catalogs (1886-1930) of the most important early Florida plant nursery (Royal Palm Nursery). Of the 1909 non native species sold by the nursery, 15% naturalized. There is a strong relationship between the naturalization rate and the number of years plants were marketed. Plants that naturalized were sold for an average of 15.5 years compared to 6.8 years for non-naturalized plants, and the naturalization rate for plants sold for 30 years or more is 70%. Plants with pantropical distributions (those distributed around the world in the tropics) and those native to both Africa and Asia were more likely to naturalize (42%), than were plants native other smaller regions, suggesting that plants with large native ranges were more likely to naturalize. Naturalization rates also differed according to plant life form, with the most naturalization occurring in aquatic herbs (36.8%) and vines (31.2%). Plants belonging to dogbane (Apocynaceae), morning glory (Convolvulaceae), fig (Moraceae), olive (Oleaceae), and lantana (Verbenaceae) the families had higher than average naturalization rates. We used information theoretic model selection to determine which of the studied characteristics was the strongest predictor of naturalization of these nursery plants, and found that the number of years a plant was sold was by far the best predictor. Continued importation and marketing of non-native horticultural plants will lead to additional plant naturalization and invasion. Research is urgently needed to identify and select non-invasive forms and types of horticultural plants.

Technical Abstract: Horticulture is an important source of naturalized plants, but little is known about naturalization frequencies and potential patterns of naturalization in horticultural plants. We analyzed a unique set of data derived from the detailed sales catalogs (1886-1930) of the most important early Florida plant nursery (Royal Palm Nursery) to detect naturalization patterns of these horticultural plants in the state. Of the 1909 non native species sold by the nursery, 15% naturalized. There is a strong positive linear relationship between the naturalization rate and the number of years plants were marketed. Plants that naturalized were sold for an average of 15.5 years compared to 6.8 years for non-naturalized plants, and the naturalization rate for plants sold for 30 years or more is 70%. Plants with pantropical distributions and those native to both Africa and Asia were more likely to naturalize (42%), than were plants native to other smaller regions, suggesting that plants with large native ranges were more likely to naturalize. Naturalization rates also differed according to plant life form, with the most naturalization occurring in aquatic herbs (36.8%) and vines (31.2%). Plants belonging to the families Apocynaceae, Convolvulaceae, Moraceae, Oleaceae, and Verbenaceae had higher than expected naturalization rates. Information theoretic model selection indicated that the number of years a plant was sold was the strongest predictor of naturalization. Because continued importation and marketing of non-native horticultural plants will lead to additional plant naturalization and invasion, research to identify and select non-invasive forms and types of horticultural plants is urgently needed.