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

A tree brought to the United States as part of an effort to find useful plants eventually became a major problem in South Florida.

In 1914, the USDA imported seeds of Australian melaleuca, a fast-growing tree with papery bark. Decades later, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers planted groves of the species to stabilize levees in the Everglades, as per a report.