Florida Natural Areas Inventory

Kalanchoe species within the 1st Coast

CISMA

FNAI INVASIVE PLANT SECTION

Gregory Jubinsky Invasive Weed Field Research Scientist

Mother of Millions

• Succulent perennial to a height of 1 meter

• Native to Africa and Madagascar

• Serious weed in Australia, Hawaii, Central America

• Toxic to humans, cattle, dogs…

• Seedbank that lasts years…

A perennial monocarpic plant with the

capacity for completing its life cycle in 2

years. The life cycle has two distinct

phases (Herrera and Nassar, 2009;

Herrera et al., 2011)

Vegetative phase: During this phase,

seeds germinate and grow into seedlings

that later become juveniles and adults

capable of producing plantlets asexually.

Flowering phase: During this phase,

adult plants produce fruits, seeds, and

then die.

K. daigremontiana does not seem to

flower annually as it has only been

recorded flowering sporadically. In

Florida, this species has been

recorded flowering during winter.

A very short time after seed production

(approximately 1 month) some seeds

germinate to produce seedlings, and

the rest of the viable seeds form the

seed bank. The vegetative phase

usually lasts 2 years, but some

individuals occasionally delay the

flowering phase further

Kalanchoe (Kalanchoe spp.) – Low/no forage value for gopher tortoises. Nonnative species. Attractive flowers, greenery and fruit. Attracts wildlife and butterflies. This not-so-friendly succulent is a self-fertilizing plant that produces more than 16,000 seeds per fruit and forms dense blankets across dunes.

Poisonous to: Cats, Dogs, Cattle, humans

Level of toxicity: Generally moderate to

severe/death

Common signs to watch for:

•Drooling

•Nausea

•Vomiting

•Abnormal heart rate

•Cardiac arrhythmias

•Weakness

•Collapse

•Dilated pupils

•Tremors

•Seizures

•Death

St. John’s County 2016 Loggerheads= 481

Greens= 124 Leatherbacks= 2

ANASTASIA & SOUTHEASTERN BEACH MICE