They are also easily identifiable by their possession of apical buds that lay dormant until damage to the rachis occurs, allowing them a high degree of endurance.

[5] Lygodium is a wide ranging genus with native populations existing in Asia, Australasia, Africa, and North and South America.

The lack of extant Lygodium species in Europe is commonly attributed to the Pleistocene glaciation wiping them out.

Populations of Lygodium have increased more than 12-fold over the past decade, as noted by Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.

[8] Japanese climbing fern (Lygodium japonicum) was added to the Florida Noxious Weed List in 1999.

Old World climbing fern (Lygodium microphyllum) infests cypress swamps and other hydric sites, forming a monoculture.

This massive infestation displaces all native flora and fauna, completely changing the ecosystem of the area.