Melaleuca Drought enables spread of Everglades-choking exotic plants

Fire Lane USA  South Florida’s record-setting drought delivered a setback to the fight against exotic plants spreading across the Everglades.Melaleuca and other fast-growing transplants from other parts of the world are a threat to the Everglades because they overwhelm and crowd out native plants, which hurts wildlife habitat.Much of the Everglades dried out during what turned out to be the driest October-to-June stretch on record in South Florida.Particularly hard hit was the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, considered the northern remnants of the Everglades. The refuge, which stretches across western Palm Beach County, at one point was 95 percent dry.and this is very good for that.