In 1914, USDA researchers imported Australian melaleuca seeds into the United States. 100 years later, the fast-growing tree had conquered 500,000 acres of South Florida after being planted to help dry the Everglades

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Australian melaleuca seeds were imported to the United States in 1914 for agricultural purposes. Later, the Army Corps of Engineers planted melaleuca groves to stabilize Everglades levees. A pilot also scattered seeds from the air to help dry the wetlands. This fast-growing tree eventually spread across half a million acres of South Florida.