Slithering Toward Trouble: A Call for Regulatory Action for Florida’s Snake Plants
By Katherine Cantor

            Florida faces an ongoing battle against invasive species. Although there are some state, county, and city-level regulations designed to curb their spread, the current law is insufficient. One aggressive invader, snake plant, continues to slip through the regulatory cracks. Despite their rapid growth and resilience, snake plants remain largely unregulated. To effectively protect Florida’s native ecosystems, action is needed: cities, counties, and the state must strengthen regulations to address invasive species like snake plants before they become even more unmanageable.

What are Snake Plants?
            Snake plants, primarily the species Sansevieria trifasciata and Sansevieria hyacinthoides, are invasive plants in Florida. Snake plants fit Florida’s definition of invasive plants as “a naturalized plant that disrupts naturally occurring native plant communities.”[1] Invasive species are harmful to native species and the ecosystem.[2] Sansevieria trifasciata is recognized as an invasive species in Florida by many entities, but not by the laws.[3]

Snake plant was first introduced to Florida for its fiber.[4] Quickly, however, the use of snake plant turned ornamental, because “Sansevieria is a very attractive and durable foliage plant.”[5] Today, it would be difficult to visit South Florida without seeing some, either in pots, as landscaping, or very often, completing taking over other foliage. Snake plant grows via underground rhizomes—horizontal roots—that make removal very difficult: “[t]he rhizomes are fragile and break easily when pulled by the leaves.  Resprouting is likely if any part of the plant remains . . . .”[6] Unfortunately, snake plant is also very well suited to the climate of South Florida.[7] Thus, it grows easily, spreads easily, outcompetes, smothers, and literally chokes native plants, and is extremely difficult to control or remove.[8]

Florida’s Invasive Species Laws
            Snake plants are harmful to Florida’s environment, but Florida’s current regulations are inadequate. Florida law prohibits anyone from “sell[ing], transport[ing], collect[ing], cultivate[ing], or possess[ing] any plant, including any part or seed, of the species Melaleuca quinquenervia, Schinus terebinthifolius, Casuarina equisetifolia, Casuarina glauca, or Mimosa pigra without a permit . . . .”[9] This is a strong statute, and the listed plants certainly are highly invasive: Melaleuca was used to drain the Everglades and is incredibly hard to remove;[10] Schinis, Brazilian pepper, grows like wildfire and has infested “over 700,000 acres” in Florida;[11] Casuarina equisetifolia, Brazilian pine, makes the soil around it unlivable for other plants;[12] Casuarina glauca—similarly to snake plant—spreads quickly, outcompetes natives, and is incredibly difficult to remove;[13] and lastly Mimosa pigra reproduces and spreads quickly in wetlands, completely choking waterways.[14] All of these plants deserve to be regulated, but this short list begs the question: why not more, and especially given the similarities, why not snake plant?

Florida’s broader statutes on harmful plants also fail to adequately address the threat posed by snake plants. Florida statute prohibits the cultivation of non-native plants “in plantings greater in size than 2 contiguous acres.”[15] Because snake plants are non-native, they would likely be covered under this statute, but unfortunately this allows for two acres of snake plant to be planted, which is effectively just as detrimental as no regulation.

Additionally, Florida prohibits knowingly selling or distributing noxious weeds,[16] but, Florida’s noxious weed list includes no species of snake plant.[17] Another statute aims at protecting waterways by prohibiting planting or maintaining any species listed as Category I or II in the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council’s Invasive Plant List “within 300 feet of springs or spring runs.”[18] This list and statute, includes one species of snake plant, Sansevieria hyacinthoides, as it is listed as a category II invasive.[19] While it is ecologically beneficial to prohibit the planting of one species of snake plant within 300 feet of a spring, unfortunately that allows planting of the same species, and others, elsewhere. Currently, the University of Florida, which the Florida legislature may, by statute, rely on for recommendations[20] lists hyacinthoides as invasive, but lists trifasciata—an incredibly similar snake plant—as a high invasion risk.[21] Yet, trifasciata has wild populations in nine counties in Florida, and hyacinthoides in twenty:[22] they are both widespread and harmful, and both have the ability to outcompete native plants that makes them so dangerous. Minimally regulating one species, and not at all regulating the other, is not a viable solution.

County-level Regulations
            Because invasives vary by county, so do the regulations. While the North Miami Development Services Department lists snake plant as an invasive species, the official list of prohibited plant species in Miami Dade County does not list any species of snake plant.[23] The species on that list “may not be sold, propagated or planted anywhere in Miami-Dade County” and must be removed before development.[24] However, both trifasciata and hyacinthoides are listed as a controlled plant in the Miami-Dade County Landscape Manual, and thus cannot be planted “within 500 feet of native plant communities.”[25] Thus, snake plants are partially regulated in Miami. It is unclear what would constitute as a “native plant community,” but if planting snake plants were prohibited within 500 feet of native plants in general, that would be a near-complete ban on snake plants. Unfortunately, Miami Dade County qualifies the definition of a controlled species as one that “if located and cultivated properly may be useful or functional as elements of landscape design.”[26] As previously stated, snake plant is frequently used in landscaping and uses the opportunity to spread quickly. Given the definition, it is unlikely Miami Dade County would interpret the regulation of controlled species to be a ban on snake plants.

Like Miami Dade County, the keys in Monroe County have their own regulation on invasive species. The county requires the development of its own list of invasive plants.[27] Monroe County defines invasive plants as “any plant species on the most recent Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council’s list of category I or II invasive exotic plant species and/or the Florida Keys Invasive Exotics Task Force lists of invasive exotic plant species, as determined and interpreted by the County Biologist.”[28] The Keys Task Force list includes Sansevieria hyacinthoides, the only species of snake plant that is invasive in the keys.[29] Thus, ordinances at lower levels can build on and tailor state-level regulations to the specific localities invasives.

A Call For Regulation
            While different areas and different levels of governance regulate invasive species differently, a more comprehensive regulatory scheme is needed for all invasive species. County or city-level ordinances, like Miami-Dade’s and Monroe’s, must be imposed, and must cover all invasive species in the area. In the nine counties where trifasciata has wild populations and in the twenty where hyacinthoides does, regulations should prohibit the “sell[ing], transport[ing], collect[ing], cultivate[ing], or possess[ing] any” species of snake plant in the county.[30] Snake plants have a thriving market as a house plant, but when the risk of invasion is so high, counties would be better off prohibiting them entirely rather than spending precious resourses on their removal down the line. At the very least, county-level ordinances should prohibit the purposeful planting of any species of snake plant outside.

The City of Punta Gorda is a great example of what these codes could look like, as they state: “Any tree or plant on the current Florida Invasive Species Council Invasive Plant List as amended, are prohibited and shall be removed from any site prior to new development. In addition, all species of eucalyptus and ficus trees are prohibited to be sold or planted.”[31]  Any county or city affected by the invasion of snake plant could implement a similar provision, relying on the Florida Invasive Species Council Invasive Plant List, like Monroe County does, but additionally prohibiting the selling or planting of all species of snake plant.

To protect Florida’s beautiful and delicate ecosystems, implementing regulations that target all invasive species, including snake plant, is necessary, before the damage deepens beyond repair.

[1] Fla. Stat. § 581.011(15).

[2] See, e.g.,  Slowing the Spread of Invasive Species, The Nature Conservancy, https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/united-states/florida/stories-in-florida/combating-invasive-species-in-florida/ (last updated Sept. 30, 2022) (“The threat posed by invasive species is second only to habitat destruction through development.”).

[3] Nat’l Park Serv. & Fla. Fish & Wildlife Conservation Comm’n, Florida Invaders 7, https://www.rexano.org/Pythons/2008-Florida-Invaders.pdf (listing snake plant as an invasive species in Florida); Karen Pariser, Master Gardener Volunteers on… sansevieria: invasive, nuisance, or reliable addition to the garden?, Univ. of Fla. IFAS (July 30, 2021), https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/sarasotaco/2021/07/30/master-gardener-volunteers-on-sansevieria/ (“According to the latest UF/IFAS north-central-south Florida zone assessment, this group of plants presently is considered a high invasion risk, and is predicted to be invasive and not recommended by IFAS.”).

[4] Pariser, supra note 3; Richard Henley, Sansevieria in Florida-Past and Present, 95 Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc. 295, 295 (1982).

[5] Henley, supra note 4, at 296.

[6] Mother-In-Law’s Tongue, City of Sanibel Vegetation Committee, https://mysanibel.com/DocumentCenter/View/534/Article-15-Mother-In-Laws-Tongue (“Any part of the plant—including leaves, seeds, or underground tubers—can regenerate new growth.”); Clarissa Chairez, Florida’s Hidden Invaders: Invasive Houseplants, Univ. of Fla. IFAS (Aug. 11, 2025), https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/orangeco/2025/08/11/floridas-hidden-invaders-2/.

[7] Invasive Species Awareness Week: Mother-in-law’s tongue, City of Sanibel (Mar. 18, 2025), https://www.captivasanibel.com/news/2025/03/invasive-species-awareness-week-mother-in-laws-tongue/ (describing that snake plants happily tolerate wet, dry, and disturbed terrain).

[8] Invasive Species, N. Miami Fla. Dev. Servs. Dep’t, https://www.northmiamifl.gov/1523/Invasive-Species (last visited Oct. 3, 2025).

[9] Fla. Stat. § 369.251(1) (2008).

[10] Melaleuca quinquenervia, Univ. of Fla. Ctr. for Aquatic & Invasive Plants, https://plant-directory.ifas.ufl.edu/plant-directory/melaleuca-quinquenervia/ (last visited Oct. 3, 2025).

[11] Schinus terebinthifolia, Univ. of Fla. Ctr. for Aquatic & Invasive Plants, https://plant-directory.ifas.ufl.edu/plant-directory/schinus-terebinthifolia/ (last visited Oct. 3, 2025).

[12] Casuarina equisetifolia, Glob. Invasive Species Database (Jan. 23, 2010), https://www.iucngisd.org/gisd/species.php?sc=365.

[13] Casuarina glauca, Univ. of S. Fla. Plant Atlas Fla. Invasive Plants, https://plantatlas.usf.edu/flip/plant.aspx?id=66 (last visited Oct. 3, 2025).

[14] Mimosa pigra, Univ. of Fla. Ctr. for Aquatic & Invasive Plants, https://plant-directory.ifas.ufl.edu/plant-directory/mimosa-pigra/ (last visited Oct. 3, 2025).

[15] Fla. Stat. § 581.083(4).

[16] Fla. Stat. § 581.091(1).

[17] Fla. Admin. Code 5B-57.007 (2020).

[18] Fla. Admin. Code Ann. r. 18-21.004(6)(b) (2025).

[19] FISC List of Invasive Plant Species, Fla. Invasive Species Council, https://www.floridainvasives.org/plant-list/2023-invasive-plant-species/ (last updated June 2025).

[20] Fla. Stat. § 581.083(4).

[21] Assessment of Non-Native Plants in Florida’s Natural Areas: Sansevieria trifasciata, Univ. of Fla. Ctr. for Aquatic & Invasive Plants, https://assessment.ifas.ufl.edu/assessments/sansevieria-trifasciata/ (last updated Aug. 8, 2022); Assessment of Non-Native Plants in Florida’s Natural Areas: Dracaena hyacinthoides, Univ. of Fla. Ctr. for Aquatic & Invasive Plants, https://assessment.ifas.ufl.edu/assessments/dracaena-hyacinthoides/ (last updated June 26, 2025) (note that the genus was changed from Dracaena and is now Sansevieria).

[22] Richard Wunderlin et. al., Dracaena trifasciata, Univ. of S. Fla. Atlas of Fla. Plants (2025), https://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/plant/species/4330; Richard Wunderlin et. al. Dracaena hyacinthoides, Univ. of S. Fla. Atlas of Fla. Plants (2025), https://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/plant/species/148.

[23] Miami-Dade Cnty., Fla., Code ch. 24, art. IV., div. 2, § 24-49.9(1) (2018).

[24] Id.

[25] Id.; Miami-Dade Cnty., Miami-Dade County Controlled Plant Species, www.miamidade.gov/environment/library/guidelines/controlled-species.pdf (last visited Oct. 3, 2025).

[26] Miami-Dade Cnty., Fla., Code ch. 18a, § 18A-3 (2025).

[27] Monroe Cnty., Fla., Ordinance No. 013-2022, Policy 209.1.1 (2022).

[28] Monroe Ctny., Fla., Code § 101-1 (2025).

[29] Fla. Keys Invasive Exotics Task Force, List of Invasive Plants of the Florida Keys, 1 (2019) https://bugwoodcloud.org/CDN/floridainvasives/Keys/FKIETF_List_2019_list_final.pdf; Wunderlin et. al., supra note 22.

[30] Modelled off of Fla. Stat. § 369.251(1).

[31] Invasive Species, City of Punta Gorda (2025), https://www.ci.punta-gorda.fl.us/residents/landscape/invasive-species (last visited Oct. 3, 2025).