The Chameleon plant (Houttuynia cordata Thunb.—Saururaceae) was introduced across all continents from Asia for ornamental and medicinal purposes at least two centuries ago. H. cordata is deemed a strong invader thanks to its great ability for rapid vegetative propagation by means of rhizomes and stolons (and their fragments) coupled with a high resistance to herbicides. Moreover, it has been suggested that H. cordata has the potential to displace native plants in wet forests and, in general, in wetland ecosystems. In New Zealand and North America, this species has been included in the black list of invasive alien species and it is included in a special control program for monitoring and eradication.

In this study, we record the first established naturalized population of Houttuynia cordata in Italy. It was found in July 2019 in a riverine Salix woodland. After revisiting the location, a significant expansion of the initial population was observed in June 2020, suggesting its naturalization with great invasive potential.

Criteria and procedures defined by the regional intervention priorities on alien species were applied to further monitor and eradicate the species, as an example of good practice for the management of alien species.

变色龙植物（Houttuynia cordata Thunb.-Saururaceae）至少在两个世纪前就从亚洲引进用于观赏和药用目的的所有大陆。鱼腥草被认为是一种强入侵者由于其巨大的用于通过耦合到除草剂高电阻根茎和匍匐茎（及其片段）的手段快速营养繁殖能力。此外，已经有人建议，H。cordata有潜力取代湿林中以及通常在湿地生态系统中的原生植物。在新西兰和北美，该物种已被列入外来入侵物种的黑名单，并已纳入监测和根除的特别控制计划中。

在这项研究中，我们记录了意大利鱼腥草的第一个已建立的归化种群。它于2019年7月在河流萨利克斯（Salix）林地被发现。再次访问该地点后，到2020年6月观察到初始种群的大量增加，这表明其自然化具有巨大的入侵潜力。

区域干预重点领域确定的标准和程序被用于进一步监测和根除该物种，作为管理外来物种的良好做法的一个例子。