Tallahassee, FL Invasive Plant Rules: Prohibited Species (2026)

Tallahassee handles invasive vegetation from two directions in the Land Development Code. On the planting side, Sec. 5-85(m)(3) states plainly that plants prohibited by the state department of environmental protection cannot be used in any landscape plan submitted with an environmental management permit application, and growth management furnishes applicants a list of the banned species so plans can be checked against it before approval. On the removal side, Sec. 5-83(c)(7) treats a named set of noxious invasive trees, Chinese Tallow, Mimosa, Tung Oil, Chinese Umbrella Tree and China Berry, plus any species on the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council's Class I or Class II invasive list, as exempt from the tree removal permit: a property owner can cut these without applying for a permit or owing replanting debits once the city urban forester or growth management verifies the species.

That same Class I/II list resurfaces in the tree credit and debit tables, where FEPPC-listed invasive species are excluded from earning any preservation credit, so a homeowner or developer gets no benefit for keeping one standing. Together the two sections push new landscaping toward non-invasive, non-prohibited stock while making it easy to clear out invasive growth that predates the rule, rather than leaving landowners stuck maintaining species the state itself has flagged as harmful to natural areas.