Austroeupatorium inulifolium (herb, shrub)

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Interim profile, incomplete information Taxonomic name: Austroeupatorium inulifolium (Kunth) R. M. King & H. Rob Synonyms: Austroeupatorium inulaefolium (H.B.K.) R. M. King & H. Rob., Eupatorium inulifolium Kunth Common names: austroeupatorium Organism type: herb, shrub Austroeupatorium inulifolium is an aggressive species that rapidly colonizes areas cleared for planting new crops, agricultural fields, fallow fields, waste lands and roadsides. Description Austroeupatorium inulifolium is described as a "Perennial spreading scrambling shrub 1 to 5 m tall. Stems terete, covered with dense short hairs. Leaves opposite, spear-shaped, 7 to18 cm long, 2.5 to 8 cm wide, pubescent, pale green beneath, abruptly narrowing to a wedge-shaped petiole 0.5 to 3 cm long. Floral heads 2 to 3 mm diam., 5 to 6 mm long, arranged in large terminal corymbs; each head comprising 3 or 4 series of involucral bracts enclosing 10 to15 creamy white florets with corollas 4 to 5 mm long; flowers fragrant. Achenes oblong, angular, to 1.5 mm long, with a whitish pappus 4 mm long" (Waterhouse & Mitchell 1998, in PIER 2008). Occurs in: agricultural areas, natural forests, planted forests, range/grasslands, riparian zones, ruderal/disturbed, scrub/shrublands, water courses, wetlands Habitat description Savannas, swamps, forest borders, disturbed areas, 100 to 2100 m (Berry et al 1997, in PIER 2008). Disturbed forest, plantations and perennial crops, roadsides. Prefers moist conditions. Near sea level to 2000 m altitude (Waterhouse & Mitchell 1998, in PIER 2008). The recent naturalization of the Neotropical Austroeupatorium inulifolium (Kunth) R. M. King & H. Rob. has been observed at 1300 to 1400 meter altitudes in the Central Mountain Range of Taiwan (Hsu Peng & Wang 2006). In Taiwan it can reach two meters tall on open slopes, along road sides or in landslide areas and it is associated with other weedy plants (Hsu Peng & Wang 2006). General impacts Austroeupatorium inulifolium is listed as an "agricultural and environmental weed" in the Global Compendium of Weeds (2008). It is a serious weed in the Philippines where it forms very dense thickets in rubber, tea and rosella plantations, upland rice plantations and in clearings in secondary forest (Waterhouse & Mitchell 1998, in PIER 2008). Geographical range Native range: The genus Austroeupatorium R. M. King and H. Rob. comprises 13 species distributed in the Andean South America northward to Panama and Trinidad, with the center of diversity in eastern South America westward to Bolivia (King and Robinson 1987, in Hsu Peng & Wang 2006). A. inulifolium is a Neotropical plant widely distributed in its native South America from Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Uruguay to Argentina. Known introduced range: A. inulifolium is adventive/naturalized in Indonesia, Sumatra, Ceylon / Sri Lanka and Taiwan (King and Robinson 1987, McFadyen 2003, in Hsu Peng & Wang 2006). A. inulifolium is not known to occur in the EPPO region (EPPO 2006). Local dispersal methods Natural dispersal (local): Wind dispersed: Wind-dispersed seed (Waterhouse & Mitchell 1998, in PIER 2008). Reproduction Flowering period is between September and January in Taiwan (Hsu Peng & Wang 2006). Compiled by: IUCN SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group (ISSG) with support from the EU-funded South Atlantic Invasive Species project, coordinated by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) To contribute information, please contact Shyama Pagad. Last Modified: Monday, 16 August 2010