Family: Arecaceae

High Risk Traits:

• Thrives in tropical climates
  
• Naturalized in Hawaiian Islands (Oahu, Maui), Florida, Southern California, Auckland New Zealand
  
• Regarded as a garden and landscaping weed
  
• An environmental weed
  
• Deer resistant (and probably unpalatable to other grazing animals)
  
• Skirt of dead fronds a fire hazard
  
• Shade-tolerant when young (allowing for establishment in shaded environments)
  
• Tolerates many soil types
  
• Forms dense stands
  
• Reproduces by seeds
  
• Hybridizes
  
• Self-compatible
  
• Seeds dispersed by birds, other frugivorous animals, water and intentionally by people
  
• Prolific seed production

Low Risk Traits:

• Ornamental
  
• Not reported to spread vegetatively
  
• Reaches maturity in >4 years (12 years report for first flowering in cultivation)
  
• Herbicides may provide effective control