DON’T FORGET! Air Potato Exchange Day is THIS Sunday, January 15th, 2012

The City’s 2nd Annual Air Potato round-up is already off to a great start! On Wednesday, January 4th, a group of energetic youth attending the Sanibel Recreation Holiday Camp collected more than 115 pounds of air potatoes from the SCCF Center Tract in less than an hour! But we still need your help…

It’s not too late to collect air potato bulbils to bring to the City’s booth at the Sanibel Farmer’s Market this Sunday, January 15, 2012. Participants who bring in at least 25 air potato bulbils will receive a beautiful 3-gallon native plant (while supplies last, limit one per household), courtesy of the SCCF Native Plant Nursery. Plus, additional prizes will be awarded for the biggest, smallest, and weirdest air potatoes and the most collected.

Air potato (Dioscorea bulbifera), a member of the yam family, is native to Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Some speculate that it was brought into the Americas with slave ships from Africa. It is a vigorously twining herbaceous vine that sprouts from underground or aerial tubers. It is easy to recognize by its large, green, heart-shaped leaves. The tuber (also called a bulbil) may be dark coffee colored and warty or light tan and smooth. Air potato can grow extremely quickly (roughly 8 inches per day) and can rapidly climb to the tops of tree canopies forming a thick mat that shades native vegetation. While it can be found from the east to the west end of Sanibel, the commercial and residential areas between Dixie Beach Road and Tarpon Bay Road are currently experiencing the worst infestations.

You can make a difference and help fight this exotic invader. Join us this Sunday at the Farmer’s Market and be part of the solution. For more information, visit the City’s website at http://www.mysanibel.com/Departments/Natural-Resources/Vegetation-Information/Exotic-Vegetation/Air-Potato or contact the Natural Resources Department at (239) 472-3700.

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