Brazilian Pepper and Other Invasive Trees You Should Remove

Most tree ordinances protect trees. A handful of species get the opposite treatment — actively targeted for removal, exempt from permit requirements, and in some cases regulated to prevent their spread. If one of these is growing on your property, removing it is generally encouraged rather than restricted.

Confirm current status with your jurisdiction, since regulation changes, but here are the ones that come up constantly in Volusia County.

Brazilian Pepper

The dominant woody invasive in Central and South Florida and the one we remove most. Brazilian pepper is a Florida Noxious Weed and its cultivation, sale and transport are regulated.

Identifying it: compound leaves with an odd number of leaflets along a winged central stem, crushed foliage smelling faintly of pepper or turpentine, dense clusters of small white flowers, and bright red berries in winter that birds spread everywhere. It grows as a sprawling multi-stemmed shrub or small tree, often forming impenetrable thickets.

Why it matters: it forms monocultures that shade out everything else, it has taken over vast areas of Florida wetland and coastal habitat, and along the Indian River and the lagoon system it displaces mangroves and native coastal vegetation. It is also in the same family as poison ivy, and some people react to the sap.

Removing it: cutting alone does not work — it resprouts vigorously from the stump and from roots. Effective control generally means cutting and treating the stump promptly, following the herbicide label, or other treatment methods appropriate to the situation. Removing berries before they spread matters.

Wear long sleeves and gloves. Do not burn it, as the smoke can irritate.

Chinese Tallow

Sometimes called popcorn tree for the white seeds. Heart-shaped to diamond-shaped leaves, brilliant red and orange fall color that stands out in a Florida landscape, and abundant white seeds.

It grows fast, produces enormous seed crops, spreads aggressively into wetlands and disturbed ground, and alters soil chemistry where it establishes. It is regulated in Florida and should not be planted.

Like Brazilian pepper, it resprouts from cut stumps and requires treatment rather than simple cutting.

Camphor Tree

A large, handsome tree that many homeowners like and that spreads aggressively. Leaves smell strongly of camphor when crushed, which is the easy identification. It produces abundant black berries that birds distribute widely.

It has become a significant invasive in Central Florida, and while it is a decent-looking shade tree, it is one worth replacing with a native alternative.

Australian Pine

Not a pine at all — a casuarina. It looks like a pine with fine needle-like segments and is common along coasts. It is regulated in Florida.

Its problems are specific and serious in coastal settings: it forms dense stands that displace native dune vegetation, it drops a thick litter that suppresses everything under it, it interferes with sea turtle nesting on beaches, and it has notably shallow roots that make it prone to toppling in hurricanes. That last point matters directly to property owners on the Volusia coast.

Chinaberry

Compound leaves, clusters of lilac flowers, and yellow berries that are toxic to people and some animals. It grows fast, seeds prolifically and spreads into natural areas. Another one worth removing.

Air Potato

Not a tree, but it will kill yours. A fast-growing vine with heart-shaped leaves and aerial tubers that look like small potatoes hanging from the vine. It climbs into and over tree canopies, shading out the host completely.

Control involves removing and destroying the tubers — every one you leave becomes a new plant. It is regulated in Florida and there has been an established biological control program using an introduced beetle.

Why Removal Is Usually Permitted

Most local ordinances exempt regulated invasive species from tree protection requirements, precisely because removing them is the desired outcome. Some jurisdictions require their removal in connection with development.

Confirm with your jurisdiction rather than assuming, particularly if the tree is large or in a conservation area, but you will generally find far less process than removing a native tree of the same size.

Do Not Just Cut Them

The critical practical point across most of these species: cutting alone makes the problem worse. They resprout from stumps and roots, and one cut trunk becomes a dozen stems. Effective removal means treating the stump or using an appropriate method, and following up on resprouts.

Also handle the seed. Cutting a berry-laden Brazilian pepper and leaving the material on site spreads it.

What to Plant Instead

Volusia County has good native options that do the same job better: live oak for a long-lived shade tree, southern magnolia and sweetbay magnolia, red maple in wetter spots, cabbage palm which is the state tree and is genuinely well adapted here, and dahoon holly or yaupon holly for smaller berry-producing trees that feed native birds.

Your county extension office can point you toward what suits your specific site and salt exposure.

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ArboristRX removes invasive trees and vines across Edgewater, New Smyrna Beach, Port Orange, Oak Hill and Volusia County, including proper stump treatment so they do not come back. Call (386) 444-5959.