WETLAND NURSERIES AND WATER GARDEN TRADE SPREAD A FEDERAL NOXIOUS AQUATIC WEED, Salvinia motesta S. H. Kay and S. T. Hoyle' ABSTRACT Giant salvinia (Salvinia motesta D. S. Mitchell), a federal noxious weed, was found in TX in a schoolyardpond in Houstonin May 1998 and in a farm pond in July. In September,it was collectedin LA fromtheBayouTecheandfoundin the backwatersof Toledo Bend Reservoir. In October, a technician with NC State University discovered it in a water garden exhibit at the NC State Fair. By December, it had heen detected in the lower reaches of the Sabine and Trinity Rivers in TX and had been found in several small ponds, nurseries,gardencenters,andpersonalwatergardensinNC. Giantsalvinia was identified in a pond in Auburn, AL, in January 1999, and in a canaIin Naples, FL, in February. In April, it was seen in a pond and adjacent ditch in MS and in Enchanted Lake, HI. InJune,the USDA-ARS releasedimportedweevils, Cyrtobagous salviniae, for giant salvinia control at three locations in eastern TX. By July and August, new infestations had been reported in TX, AZ, and CA, and the Auburn, AL, pond infestation was no longer contained. CA reported giant salvinia for sale in 37 towns in 12 counties in July and that a few plantswere found in a pondedarea of the SanDiego River. Gardencentersin all of these states as well as OR, WA, VA, PA, and OK have been selling this weed as an ornamental. Severalwetlandnurserieshave advertisedthis plantin theircatalogsand via theirwebsites, andtherehavebeeninstanceswhereindividualsadvertisedthe plantson line eitherforsaleortrade. The escape andnaturalizationof giant salvinia in the Southand Southwest,its widespread sale by nurseries and garden centers, and its easyavailability throughcatalogs andon-linesourcespresenta seriousdilemmaforwater resourcesmanagementin the southern United States. The presence of natuIa1ized populations in northern TX indicates that giant salvinia hasthe potential to spread to areas which had heen presumed much too cold forits survivalduringthe winter. Examinationof the weed's CUITeIltdistributionand theplanthardinesszones andits successfuloverwinteringin watergardensin NC suggests that it also could become established in some areas of coastaINew England and the Pacific coast. Regulationof salesof federalnoxiousweeds,includinggiantsalviniaandothers, primarily hasheen left up to the departments of agriculture in each state, once the plants havebecomeestablishedwithin thebordersof the UnitedStates. Inconsistencyof stateand federal regulatory statutes and enforcement, combined with the unfamiliarity of regulatory 'Assoc. Prof. and Agric. Res. Tech., respectively, Dept. of Crop <strong>Science</strong>, NC State University, Raleigh, NC 27695. 81
personnel with many of the illegal plants has provided an enviromnent highly conducive to the spread of noxious aquatic and wetland weeds. Efforts by a few states and by several federal agencies to combat the spread of giant salvinia and other Federal noxious aquatic weeds must beembraced and enforced uniformly by all states and federal agencies to be effective. 83