PlantFiles: Cupania, Carrotwood, Brush Deal, Tuckeroo
Cupaniopsis anacardioides

Dangerous.
The seed pods are so heavy they break the branches.
Messy.
The seeds are everywhere and will ruin your lawn.
Birds love the seeds. The cars are all covered with bird s___.

Yep, it's invasive in Florida. I have one that popped up and embedded itself in a fence.

This tree was widely planted in my area and quickly it became a pest. Birds spread the seeds all over. I must have removed countless seedlings from my yard. It grows very fast and in no time there can be a full size Carrotwood growing in one's yard. It is listed as a Category I of highly invasive trees by the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council.
It should not be planted in Florida.

Carrotwood or Brush Deal (Cupaniopsis anacardioides) is a highly invasive and weedy tree in central and southern Florida and the Keys (zones 9a through 11). It spreads rapidly by many, many seeds (dispersed by birds to natural areas and natural habitats) that are dispersed far from the mature, seed-producing tree to other areas where they may grove and quickly choke out surrounding vegetation in natural areas and habitats and disturbed areas. The mature tree produces highly invasive orangish seeds (small and green when not ripe) that are dispersed by birds and wildlife to locations and natural areas nearby as well as very far distances from the seed-producing tree, and where they are dispersed, if not controlled, they grow extremely fast into mature trees and push out surrounding (including native) vegetation. In many areas of central and southern Florida it is just as nearly invasive as Brazilian Pepper and Casuarina (Australian Pines) and can even compete with other highly invasive, exotic, Category One (FLEPPC) species, including those two species. This species is highly adaptable and is spreading in a wide variety of habitats, including disturbed areas, scrub, pinelands, natural area perimeters, mangrove swamps and salty habitats near the coasts, vacant lots, hammock edges, hammocks, coastal scrub, and many, many other natural habitats in central and southern Florida. It can even thrive in areas already disturbed by other exotic invaders. This tree has already become a large problem in many natural areas throughout central and southern Florida and the Keys and is very difficult to eradicate. It is now listed as a Category One Invasive by the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council (FLEPPC).

This tree and seedlings/seeds was previously introduced into Florida by nursery growers for landscaping fairly recently in around the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. It was also introduced into southern California for same and similar purposes. It quickly became popular in central and southern Florida as a landscape tree and as late as the 1970s and 1980s was valued as a landscape tree and ornamental - until land managers concluded that this species was invasive in central and southern Florida natural habitats. Now, they are not as popular and are already prohibited by Palm Beach County as well as by other counties in central and southern Florida. It is also listed as a noxious weed. Still, some people continue to propagate this in central and southern Florida, despite that it is highly invasive along the southeast and southwest coasts up into the central Florida coasts. In mangrove swamps on the southeast and southwest coasts of Florida, this species has spread extremely quickly and has become very invasive in such natural habitats. Lots of seedlings and young trees as well as adult trees are now often encountered. I once saw a tree with several young sprouts all around it... even good distances from it.

Here are most of the counties where this species has been or is found in Florida:
Brevard
Indian River
St. Lucie
Martin
Palm Beach
Broward
Miami-Dade
Monroe (the Keys)
Collier
Lee
Charlotte
Sarasota
Manatee
Hillsborough
Pinellas
Pasco

Many other counties (such as interior counties) in central and southern Florida also probably have this.

It is still popular in southern California as a landscape tree.

This tree is also invasive in the average landscape. Despite it's attractive looks, it is too invasive for central and southern Florida and SHOULD NOT BE PLANTED.

Listed as a Category One Invasive by the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council (FLEPPC).

This tree is native to Australia, Irian Jaya and parts of Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea. It can grow up to 40 feet tall in it's native range or more.

Carrotwood is listed as a Category I Exotic Pest Plant in the state of Florida. The DEP has identified it as Noxious.

DO NOT PLANT THIS IN CENTRAL OR SOUTH FLORIDA.

Used commonly in Southern California as a avenue and landscape tree. Looks a bit like a Macadamia nut tree. Makes a nice globular sillohuette- neat tree.