Disturbed
land may become infested with alien invasive
species: organisms with specific traits that allow them
to out-compete native species.
Invasive
weed species, found in the Park, include Chromolaena odorata
(left) and Mimosa pigra (both of which originated in tropical
America).
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Left: the attractive Candle
Bush: Senna (= Cassia) alata is native to Mexico and
is an invasive species; it is known to have medicinal properties.
It is becoming an increasingly common sight in the Park.
In
addition, a number of grasses predominate in certain areas due to
human disturbance (agriculture, defoliants, logging, etc.):
- mission
grass Pennisetum polystachion (invasive from Africa)
- elephant
grass P. purpureum (invasive from Africa)
- kans
grass Saccharum spontaneum is an invasive from India
- cogon
grass Imperata cylindrica is native, but an indicator of
disturbed land
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