IPA Argyreia Risk Assessment

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P e s t p l a n t r i s k a s s e s s m e n tElephant ear vine

Argyreia nervosa

Steve Csurhes

Biosecurity Queensland

Department o Primary Industries

and Fisheries, Queensland

GPO Box 46, Brisbane Qld 4001

December 2009


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PR094735

On 26 March 2009, the Department o Primary Industries and Fisheries was amalgamated

with other government departments to orm the Department o Employment, Economic

Development and Innovation.

The State o Queensland, Department o Employment, Economic Development and

Innovation, 2009.

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directed to [email protected] or telephone +61 7 3225 1398.

Cover images (top to bottom): Wikimedia Commons (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/

File:Orchid_Singapore.jpg); Forest and Kim Starr, Wikimedia Commons

(http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Starr_050107-2974_Argyreia_nervosa.jpg)


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Pe s t p l an t r is k as s e s s me nt : Elephant ear vineArgyreia nervosa

ContentsTaxonomy 2

Description 2

Biology/ecology 3

Dispersal and seed longevity 3

Distribution in Queensland 4

Origin and worldwide distribution 5

Preerred habitat and climate 7

Status as a weed in other Australian states 7

History as a weed overseas 7

Pest potential in Queensland 7

Control 7

Reerences 8


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TaxonomySpecies: Argyreia nervosa (Burm. .) Bojer

Synonyms: Argyreia speciosa (L. .) SweetConvolvulus speciosus L..

C. nervosus Burm. .

Cultivars: Not known

Common names: Elephant ear vine, elephant creeper, woolly morning glory,

Hawaiian baby woodrose, silver morning glory

Family: Convolvulaceae

Related species: TheArgyreia genus comprises some 30 species rom India, Malaysia and

Arica (single species rom Arica) (Hooker 1885)

DescriptionA perennial woody vine growing up to 9 m. Leaves are heart-shaped (ovate-cordate, acute),

glabrous (hairless) above and persistently white-tomentose (silver, hairy) underneath.

Leaves are quite distinctive and can be more than 30 cm across. Flower colour varies rom

pale pink/white to dark pink/violet, generally with a much darker centre. Flowers are 5 cm in

diameter.

The pod is a dry capsule, c. 2 cm diameter, surrounded by a calyx that is divided into ve

sections. The structure has been likened to a carved rose (hence the Hawaiian common name

o woodrose). Each pod contains 46 seeds.


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Biology/ecologyThis study was unable to nd any published inormation on the plants biology. The majority

o reerences discuss the plants cultivation and use as a drug.

Dispersal and seed longevityA. nervosa has been transported across the world or use as a garden ornamental and as a

source o LCD-like drugs (rom its seeds). Various books on home gardening state that it can

be propagated rom scaried seeds or rom cuttings (e.g. Ellison 1995). PIER (1999) states

that the species berries are dispersed by rugiverous birds. This study was unable to nd any

inormation on seed longevity.


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Distribution in QueenslandSpecimens have been recorded at numerous locations across coastal north and central

Queensland, including Mt Elliot (near Townsville), the Townsville Town Common, parts

o Cape York, Cooktown, Ingham, Bowen and Calliope areas. It is particularly abundantaround the Peter Faust Dam near Bowen (B Whyte, pers. comm.). Currently, its distribution

can be described as being scattered across a very large area o coastal, north and central

Queensland (Figure 1).

Figure 1.Locations where specimens oArgyreia nervosa have been lodged with the Queensland

herbarium (data courtesy Queensland Herbarium, EPA).


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Origin and worldwide distributionHooker (1885) states thatA. nervosa is native to India, rom Assam to Belgaum and Mysore.

It is common on the Bengal plain. Specimens have been recorded rom Java, China and

Mauritius, although it is unclear whether these latter locations have included cultivatedspecimens. Similarly, Stewart and Brandis (1874) note that this species exists in south

and north-west India, as well as Bengal. The authors comment thatA. nervosa is a large,

woody climber running up the highest trees. As such, it is unclear whetherA. nervosa exists

naturally outside India. Hoogland (1952) notes thatA. nervosa is cultivated on the Malay

Penisnsula (not native). VanOostroom (1943) notes thatA. nervosa is originally in British

India, rom Assam and Bengal to Belgaum and Mysore, cultivated in other tropical contries;

occasionally escaped rom culture.

A. nervosa has been erroneously listed as native to Australia in Hnatiuk (1990) and DEH

(1993). The Queensland Herbarium has conrmed that it considers thatA. nervosa is a

naturalised species in Australia (Batianof, pers. comm.). While most reerences state thatA. nervosa is native to India, Hawaiian and Polynesian people are reported to have used this

species as a drug over hundreds o years (Anon. 2004) and it could be speculated that other

Indigenous communities in Australia and elsewhere in the Pacic have used and transported

seeds rom this plant or some time. Other species such asAbrus precatorius L. (gidee gidee),

which was used by aboriginalsand no doubt many other Indigenous populations in the

Australasian regionas an abortion drug, also have curious multi-national distributions. DNA

analysis o Australian and overseas populations oA. nervosa is required to clariy the origin

o this species in Queensland.

A. nervosa is commonly grown as a source o drugs and as a garden ornamental. It eatures

in many popular gardening books (e.g. Ellison 1995) and most internet sites dealing with thespecies ocus on its use as a drug.A. nervosa has been recorded rom numerous countries,

including India, Asia, Arica, Central America, United States, Hawaii and New Zealand. The

Missouri Botanical Gardens w3 TROPICOS database lists specimens collected rom Central

America and Arica (Figures 2 and 3). These are likely to be either naturalised or cultivated

specimens.


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Figure 2. Distribution oA. nervosa in Arica (Missouri Botanical Gardens w3 TROPICOS database).

Figure 3. Distribution oA. nervosa in Central America (Missouri Botanical Gardens w3 TROPICOS

database).


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Preferred habitat and climateA. nervosa preers tropical and sub-tropical climates. Reerences that discuss the cultivation

oA. nervosa state that the plant preers ertile, moist soil in a protected sunny position

(e.g. Ellison 1995). Anecdotal inormation rom Queensland National Parks and Wildlie stafsuggests that the plant can germinate quite readily in seemingly undisturbed sites, including

under rainorest canopies and among dense grass cover in eucalypt woodland (P Williams,

pers comm. 2004).

Status as a weed in otherAustralian statesA. nervosa does not appear to be a weed in other Australian states.

History as a weed overseasA. nervosa is recorded as a weed in Hawaii (Wagner et al. 1998). It has also naturalised in

French Polynesia (Raiatea Island and Tahiti) (Welsh 1998), Tonga (Eua Island) (Yuncker 1959),

Florida (USDA undated), Panama, Belize, Nicaragua, Ghana (MBG undated) and Puerto Rico

(USDA undated). This study was unable to nd any inormation on its impact.

Pest potential in QueenslandA. nervosa has been observed to smother trees, much like rubber vine, in some parts o North

Queensland (P Williams, QNPWS, pers. comm. 2004). It has a number o attributes that coner

invasive potential in Queensland (see attachment). Perhaps most importantly, it has a history

as a weed overseas in tropical and sub-tropical climates.

Climatically, the plant is well suited to tropical and sub-tropical regions o Queensland.

Habitats at risk o invasion include rainorest and open eucalypt woodland.

ControlThere is no inormation available on chemical control. Small specimens can be removed by hand.


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ReferencesAnon. (2004). Argyreia nervosa: Hawaiian baby woodrose, www.shaman-australis.com

Ellison, D (1995). Cultivated plants o the world, Flora Publications International,Brisbane, p. 44.

Holm, LG, Pancho, JV, Herberger, JP and Plucknett, DL (1979).A geographical atlas o world

weeds, Krieger Publishing Company, Florida.

Hoogland, RD (1952). The Convolvulaceae o Malaysia VIIIthe genusArgyreia in the Malay

Penisnsula, Blumea 7(1): 171182.

Hooker, JD (1885). The fora o British India, vol. IV, Secretary o State or India Council,

London, p. 185.

MBG (undated). Missouri Botanical Gardens w3 TROPICOS database,

http://mobot/org/cgi-bin/search_vast?name=Argyreia+nervosa

PIER (1999).Argyreia nervosa, Pacic Island Ecosystems at Risk database,

www.hear.org/pier/species/argyreia_nervosa.htm

Stewart, JL and Brandis, D (1874). The orest fora o north-west and central India, Secretary o

State or India in Council, London, p. 343.

USDA (undated).Argyreia nervosaPlants Prole, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service,

http://plants.usda.gov/cgi_bin/plant_search.cgi

Van Oostroom, SJ (1943). The Convolvulaceae o Malaysia IVthe genera Mina, Lepistemon,

Stictocardia andArgyreia, Blumea 5(2): 36465.

Wagner, WL, Herbst, DR and Sohmer, SH (1999). Manual o the fowering plants o Hawaii,

Revised edition, University o Hawaii Press, Honolulu, p. 549.

Welsh, SL (1998). Flora Societensis: a summary revision o the fowering plants o the Society

Islands, E.P.S. Inc., Orem, Utah, p. 137.

Yuncker, TG (1959). Plants o Tonga, B.P. Bishop Museum Bulletin, p. 220228.
http://www.shaman-australis.com/http://mobot/org/cgi-bin/search_vast?name=Argyreia+nervosahttp://volumes/CORPDATA/CorpCap/StratCommMkt/Publishing/Jobs%20Current/3612-3694_IP%26A%20Risk%20Assessments/3663_argyreia%20Risk%20Assessment/Editorial/Final/www.hear.org/pier/species/argyreia_nervosa.htmhttp://plants.usda.gov/cgi_bin/plant_search.cgihttp://plants.usda.gov/cgi_bin/plant_search.cgihttp://volumes/CORPDATA/CorpCap/StratCommMkt/Publishing/Jobs%20Current/3612-3694_IP%26A%20Risk%20Assessments/3663_argyreia%20Risk%20Assessment/Editorial/Final/www.hear.org/pier/species/argyreia_nervosa.htmhttp://mobot/org/cgi-bin/search_vast?name=Argyreia+nervosahttp://www.shaman-australis.com/


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IPA Argyreia Risk Assessment