Plant Management in Florida Waters - An Integrated Approach

Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants - University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences & Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Invasive Plant Management Section

Aquatic soda apple

Home / 1. Why Manage Plants? / Florida's Most Invasive Aquatic Plants / Aquatic soda apple

Quick Facts MORE INFO
Scientific name	Solanum tampicense
Origin	Mexico, West Indies
Introduction	1970s, natural colonization (?)
Aquatic community	Emergent
Habitat	Shorelines, wet soils
Distribution	Central Florida
Management effort	Eradication
2017 public waters / plant acres	2 / 10
2017 Waters / acres controlled	1 / 14

Solanum tampicense

Solanum tampicense

Management Options
Biological	None available
Chemical	Glyphosate, 2,4-D, triclopyr
Mechanical	Impractical – plants in shallow water, wooded marshes
Physical	Hand pulling individual plants

Environmental and Economic Concerns

Sprawling, prickly shrubs up to 15 feet tall
Usually found in shallow river channels or flood plains
Forms dense, tangled monocultures
Invades disturbed areas and grows over established native vegetation
Difficult to selectively remove from intertwined native vegetation
Seeds disseminated by birds increasing potential for wide and rapid dispersal

Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, Status of the Aquatic Plant Maintenance Program in Florida Public Waters, Annual Report – Fiscal Year 2016-2017.