Braziallia Pepper Trees and Pythons.

Braziallia Pepper Trees and Pythons.

  • Submitted By: tati1993
  • Date Submitted: 12/07/2012 9:21 AM
  • Category: Science
  • Words: 1094
  • Page: 5
  • Views: 172

Brazilian pepper and Pythons.

The Brazilian pepper tree is from Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina. The Brazilian pepper tree was brought to Florida during the1800’s it was used as a decorative plant Its bold red berries and bright green leaves are used often as Christmas decorations. The distribution of the Brazilian pepper tree is largely distributed throughout Florida. Even though the pepper is limited to warmer areas because of the sensitivity to the cooler temperatures the Brazilian pepper can be found in the north Levy County, and St. Johns Counties, and also found in the west Santa Rosa county. Lots of plant communities like, pinelands, hammocks and mangrove forests are usually invaded and taken over by the Brazilian pepper tree.
The Brazilian pepper tree is a tiny tree or shrub that reaches up to or over 30 feet in height usually with a short trunk that hides in a bunch of branches. Some pepper trees can live over 30 years. The leaves have fine toothed leaflets; the leaves are of a reddish color and have a red mid rib. The flower clusters that bloom are 2-3 inches long the male and female flowers look the same the shiny peppers are borne in bunches that start of green when they are ripe they change to a bright red. The Seeds are dark brown and 0.3 mm in diameter. The Flowering process happens from September all the way through November fruits are usually mature by the month of December. Birds and mammals are the main resources for the dispersing of the seeds even though the seeds can also be transferred by flowing water. The Seeds are able to live for up to 2 months they lose viability as time goes by Germination is successful by scarification. Acids in an animal’s digestive tract give the right amount of scarification needed for germination. The large amount of Brazilian pepper trees in Florida can be blamed by its high germination rates and dispersal agents.
This tree is one of the most aggressive and populated of all the invasive non-indigenous...

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