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Brazilian Pepper
Florida holly, Christmasberry - and the most widespread invasive plant in Florida, on the state Noxious Weed List. It forms impenetrable evergreen thickets, birds spread its red winter berries everywhere, and its sap and smoke irritate skin and airways.
Brazilian pepper is in the poison ivy, cashew and mango family and behaves like it: sap and crushed foliage raise an itchy rash in sensitive people, so cut it in gloves, sleeves and eye protection. NEVER burn it - the smoke severely irritates eyes and airways. Flowering stands set off sneezing and headaches. The red berries are not food; in quantity they cause vomiting and diarrhea, so keep children and pets away. Pink peppercorns come from this genus - do not harvest your own.
Overview
The one thing to knowIt was sold for decades as “Florida holly” and “Christmasberry” for exactly the feature that made it dangerous: heavy clusters of glossy red berries at Christmas, which birds eat and carry for miles.
Brazilian pepper (Schinus terebinthifolia) is the arching, evergreen, red-berried shrub that has taken over more of Florida than any other introduced plant - several hundred thousand acres of pine flatwoods, hammock edge, mangrove fringe, canal bank, roadside, and abandoned farmland, much of it in dense stands with almost nothing else growing underneath. It was sold for decades as “Florida holly” and “Christmasberry” for exactly the feature that made it dangerous: heavy clusters of glossy red berries at Christmas, which birds eat and carry for miles.
It is now a listed noxious weed in Florida - introducing, possessing, moving, or selling it requires a permit - and Texas prohibits its sale and distribution as well; it is also invasive in Hawaii, California, Arizona, and Puerto Rico. This is not a plant anyone offers for planting, and this catalog never will. What people actually need is the other half: how to recognize it, how to get rid of it, and how not to hurt themselves doing it. That last part is real. Brazilian pepper is in the same family as poison ivy, cashew, and mango; its sap raises a rash on sensitive people, its smoke is genuinely dangerous to breathe, and a big flowering thicket makes people downwind sneeze.
Quick facts
For identification. Not a growing guide.
- Life cycle
- Perennial, lives about 35 years
- Where it grows
- Full sun · Part sun · Part shade, tolerates wet soil soil
- Height
- 20 ft8 to 35
- Spread
- 20 ft8 to 40
- Cold
- Killed by frostdamaged below 25°F
- Heat
- Struggles above 100°F
- Self-sows
- Yes. Never let it set seed.
Through the year
How to recognize it in each season.
Seedling flush on bare ground
Jun to Sep, every year- Watch cleared and disturbed ground after the summer rainsSeedlings come up in waves once the summer rains start, wherever soil is open and sunny: cleared lots, fill and spoil piles, canal and ditch banks, fence lines, citrus and tomato ground gone out of production, road shoulders, and the edges of mangrove and hammock. They come up under bird perches too, so check under wires, fence posts, and shade trees.
- Pull seedlings while the roots still come outA seedling under a foot tall pulls cleanly from wet soil, roots and all, and that is by far the cheapest control this species offers. Wear gloves - the sap can raise a rash. Once a plant is a couple of years old the root will snap and resprout, and you are into cutting and stump treatment instead. Walk the same ground every few weeks through the wet season rather than once a year.
Key signs- Waves of seedlings on cleared, filled, or graded ground after summer rain
- Seedling lines under fences, wires, and perch trees
- Young plants along canal banks and ditch edges
Thicket growth & the turpentine smell (identify & control)
Mar to Aug, every year- Recognize it: compound leaves on a winged stalk that smell of turpentineBrazilian pepper is an evergreen shrub or leaning small tree, usually many-stemmed and arching into an impenetrable tangle. The leaves are alternate and COMPOUND, with about 5 to 13 (usually 7 to 9) oblong, finely toothed leaflets set along a reddish central stalk that is often narrowly winged. Crush a leaf and it smells strongly of turpentine or pepper. True hollies, which it gets called, have simple undivided leaves.
- Cut and treat - never cut alone, and never burn itA plain cut produces a ring of vigorous sprouts from the stump and roots. Cut low and treat the fresh stump surface within minutes, or basal-bark stems under about four to six inches, using a product whose LABEL lists the site you are treating and following that label exactly. Wear gloves, sleeves, and eye protection against the sap. Do not burn cut material - the smoke is a serious respiratory irritant.
Key signs- Alternate compound leaves, 5-13 toothed leaflets, reddish often-winged leaf stalk
- Strong turpentine or peppery smell from crushed leaves
- Arching, many-stemmed thickets closing over open ground
Small white flower sprays (fall)
Sep to Nov, every year- Sprays of tiny white flowers - and which plants are femaleIn fall the plant carries branched sprays of very small white flowers. Brazilian pepper is dioecious - male and female flowers are on separate plants - so only some of the plants around you will carry berries. Those female plants are the seed source worth taking out first. Flowering stands are also when people report sneezing, watery eyes, and headaches downwind of a big thicket.
- Mark the female plants now for removalIt is far easier to sort males from females while flowers or fruit are showing than in spring. Flag the female plants and plan their removal before the berries ripen and the birds move them. If a large stand is beyond hand work, this is the point to talk to your county extension office, your water management district, or a licensed applicator.
Key signs- Branched sprays of tiny white flowers in fall
- Only some plants flowering as females - the future berry producers
- Sneezing, eye irritation, or headaches near a big flowering thicket
Red berries at Christmas & bird spread
Dec to Feb, every year- Dense clusters of glossy red berries in midwinterFemale plants ripen dense clusters of small, glossy, bright red berries through December and January - the reason it was once sold as Florida holly and Christmasberry. This is the easiest time of year to spot it from a road or a canal bank. It is also when the damage is done: robins, mockingbirds, catbirds, and raccoons eat the berries and scatter the seed for miles.
- Do not cut or harvest berries - and never move fruiting materialDo not gather the berries. They are not a home spice crop, they can trigger reactions in anyone sensitive to cashew, mango, or poison ivy, and in Florida moving the plant at all is restricted under the noxious weed rule. If you must cut a fruiting plant, bag the fruiting tops and dispose of them under local rules rather than piling, chipping, or hauling them somewhere else.
Key signs- Dense clusters of glossy red berries from December into February
- Flocks of birds working a fruiting thicket
- New seedlings appearing far from any known plant the following summer
Hazards
Bird-Spread Berries & Hard ResproutingSeverity High DisordernowSorting male from female plants is far easier while flowers or fruit are showing, so fall and winter are the right time to survey and flag.
Lines of seedlings under wires, fences, and perch trees; new plants far from any known parent; rings of fast sprouts around old cut stumps; limbs rooting where they touch soil.
Kill the roots: cut low and treat the fresh stump within minutes, basal-bark stems under about four to six inches, or treat regrowth foliage - always with a product whose label lists your site, following that label. Near water, use an aquatic-labelled product and expect to need a permit or a licensed applicator.
Remove berry-bearing female plants first to shut off the seed; bag fruiting cut material and dispose of it under local rules rather than piling, chipping, or hauling it; never move the plant, which Florida restricts anyway.
Why it reaches everywhere and resists removal: female plants ripen thousands of red berries in midwinter that birds and raccoons carry for miles, seeding fence lines, perch trees, canal banks, and cleared ground; and any plant that is cut or damaged answers with a ring of vigorous sprouts from the stump, roots, and layered limbs, so cutting alone leaves a denser thicket than before.
Evergreen Monoculture (ecological harm)Severity High DisordernowSeveral hundred thousand acres of Florida are in this condition, which is why the state has spent decades and large sums on control and, since 2019, on host-specific biocontrol insects.
Impenetrable arching evergreen thickets with bare ground beneath; native shrubs and groundcover thinning out at the thicket edge; whole fence lines, ditch banks, or old fields turning into one species.
Cut-stump or basal-bark treatment on-label to kill roots, working from the fruiting females outward, then several years of follow-up on sprouts and seedlings; replant natives to hold the ground.
Never plant it - and in Florida it is a listed noxious weed. Pull seedlings while they are small, and remove fruiting plants in the neighborhood, not just on your own lot.
The core hazard is ecological: Brazilian pepper builds dense evergreen thickets whose arching, layering limbs close over the ground and shade it to bare litter, converting pine flatwoods, hammock edge, abandoned farmland, canal banks, and mangrove fringe into effectively single-species scrub. Native shrubs disappear, and the insects, birds, and lizards that depend on them go with them.
Sap Rash, Smoke & Pollen IrritationSeverity Medium HazardnowPeople with cashew, pistachio, mango, or poison ivy sensitivity are the most likely to react, and should let someone else do the cutting.
Itching or a rash on forearms and hands hours after cutting; eye and throat irritation while working in a thicket or near a fire; hay-fever-like symptoms near a big stand flowering in fall.
Wash skin promptly with soap and water and treat as contact dermatitis; flush eyes with clean water. Get medical attention for a severe rash, facial or eye involvement, or any breathing difficulty after smoke exposure.
Wear gloves, long sleeves, and eye protection to cut it, and wash up afterward. NEVER burn cut material or standing plants. Work upwind, and avoid heavy pruning of flowering stands if you react to them.
A direct hazard to the person doing the removal. Brazilian pepper is in the poison ivy, cashew, and mango family, and its sap and crushed foliage raise an itching, blistering contact rash in sensitive people. Burning it is worse: the smoke severely irritates eyes and airways and can cause real breathing trouble. Large flowering stands are also reported to cause sneezing, watery eyes, and headaches downwind.
Berry Toxicity (children, pets & the pink-peppercorn question)Severity Medium HazardThis is the most common reason a Florida homeowner searches this plant in December - the berries look exactly like a holly's, and the shrub was sold under that name.
Clusters of glossy red berries at child height on a yard or fence-line shrub in midwinter; dogs mouthing fallen fruit; birds gorging and behaving erratically under a fruiting plant.
If a child or pet eats more than a taste, call Poison Control or your veterinarian; treatment is supportive, for vomiting and dehydration. Seek care immediately for anyone with a known cashew, pistachio, or mango allergy.
Remove fruiting plants where children and pets play, and do not harvest the berries for any use. Teach children the general rule: no berry goes in the mouth without an adult naming the plant.
The bright red berries look like food and are not. Eaten in quantity they cause vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach pain, and because the plant is in the cashew and mango family, people sensitive to cashew, pistachio, mango skin, or poison ivy can react to the fruit. Pink peppercorns sold as a spice come from this genus through a commercial supply chain - that is not a reason to harvest your own, and Florida restricts moving the plant at all.
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