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Florida’s Invasive Species CHINESE TALLOW (Sapium sebiferum / Triadica sebifera) Chinese tallow is one of 25,000 non-native plant species that have been brought into the Florida ecosystem and is part of a much smaller number of invasive plant species in the area. The first record of Chinese tallow introduction into the United States is found in a 1772 letter written by Benjamin Franklin to Dr. Noble Wimberly Jones of the then-colony of Georgia. Franklin wrote in the letter: “I send also a few seeds of the Chinese Tallow Tree, which will I believe grow and thrive with you. ‘Tis a most useful plant.” Indeed, the Chinese tallow has more than thrived during its centuries-long presence in the South. As early as 1803, the tree was spreading into coastal forests; since Franklin wrote the letter, Chinese tallow has been introduced repeatedly into our ecosystem as an ornamental and potential oil crop species; today, it is naturalized from North Carolina as far south as Miami-Dade County in Florida and as far west as Texas and Arkansas.
Chinese tallow trees present a constant source of seed for infestation of natural areas because the seeds are transported by birds such as pileated woodpeckers, cardinals, yellow-rumped warblers, and American robins, as well as by water. While the length of time needed to deplete the seedbank is unknown, indications are that seeds remain viable for many years. The Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council included Chinese tallow on its 2011 List of Invasive Species as a Category I Invasive Plant and the tree was added to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Noxious Weed List in 1998. As a member of this list, Chinese tallow may not be introduced, possessed, moved, or released without a permit.
Homeowners can help mitigate the problem of Chinese tallow trees in Florida’s natural areas by removing them from the property. Mature trees should be felled with a chainsaw by the property owner or a professional tree service. The final cut should be made as close to the ground as possible and very level in order to facilitate application of an herbicide to prevent sprouting. Stumps that are not treated with an herbicide will sprout to form multiple-trunked trees. Space in a landscape left after removal of Chinese tallow can be used to plant a new native or noninvasive non-native tree.
Credit: K.A. Langeland, UF/IFAS Extension Photo Credits: Josh Hillman