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Species
Colubrina asiatica (L.) Brongn
IUCN
NCBI
EOL Text
Isotype for Rhamnus acuminata Maguire & Steyerm.
Catalog Number: US 3189006
Collection: Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of Botany
Verification Degree: Original publication and alleged type specimen examined
Preparation: Pressed specimen
Collector(s): B. Maguire, J.J. Wurdack & C. K. Maguire
Year Collected: 1957
Locality: Cerro de La Neblina, Rio Yatua, Canon Grande SSW of Cumbre camp., Amazonas, Venezuela, South America
Elevation (m): 1050 to 1150
- Isotype: Maguire, B. & Steyermark, J. A. 1989. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 51: 121.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | This image was obtained from the Smithsonian Institution. Unless otherwise noted, this image or its contents may be protected by international copyright laws. |
Source | http://collections.mnh.si.edu/search/botany/?irn=2114811 |
Comments: Not applicable. Sensitivity to cold temperatures may limit the northern expansion of this pest species. Miller (1992) stated that it has been found as far north as St. Lucie County.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | NatureServe |
Source | http://explorer.natureserve.org/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Colubrina+asiatica |
Asiatic colubrina is believed to have been carried to Jamaica in the 1850s by East Asian immigrants, probably on account of its traditional uses (food, medicine, fish poison, and soap substitute). From there, it spread on its own to other Caribbean islands, Mexico (Yucatan Peninsula), and Florida. The earliest known record of its occurrence in Florida is 1937 where it was collected in the Florida Keys. The first reports of it on the mainland are specimens collected in Everglades National Park in the early 1950s.
Comments: Alexander and Crook (1974) noted 20 years ago that C. asiatica could cause problems by overgrowing native vegetation near the seacoast. A report from the South Florida Research Center (Olmstead et al. 1981) nine years later noted that C. asiatica had been known to "locally engulf stands of buttonwood and has been regarded as a possible severe threat to native vegetation".
In Florida, it is naturalized in relatively frost-free coastal areas of the southern peninsula and the Florida Keys (Godfrey and Wooten 1981). The current northern boundary of the species is Sewell Point, Martin Co. (R. Roberts, pers. comm. 1992). In the very recent Exotic Woody Plant Control guide edited by Langeland (1990), C. asiatica is listed as one of the most aggressive exotic plants in Florida along with Casuarina spp., Schinus terebinthefolius and Melaleuca quinquenervia.
Natural communities where C. asiatica is found include beach dune (Long and Lakela 1976, Wunderlin 1982), coastal strand (Norma Jeanne Byrd pers. comm. 1992),maritime hammock (Wunderlin 1982, Myers and Ewel 1990), tidal marsh (Jim Duquesnel pers. comm. 1992), and tidal mangrove swamp (Godfrey and Wooten 1981, Olmstead et al. 1981, Byrd, 1992). It is most often found growing in the uplands - submerged lands interface (Langeland 1990) or between beach dune and maritime hammock (Duquesnel 1992). Duquesnel (1992) stated that, unlike some exotic pest plant species, C. asiatica can become established and grow in undisturbed sites of natural vegetation.
Management Requirements: This element requires active management to prevent its spread and the resulting domination of natural communities.
Manual removal can be done on young plants in the beach dune or coastal strand where they are easily detected (Byrd, 1992). Removal by machinery is usually not practical due to latherleaf's habit of growing in and over desirable native species (Langeland 1990). At the Blowing Rocks Preserve, machinery removal was effective in an area where no native understory existed and where latherleaf and Australian pine removal could be coordinated (N.J. Byrd, pers. comm. 1992). Herbicide control is very labor intensive and difficult due to latherleaf's rambling habit and difficulty in identifying the main trunk (Langeland 1990). Herbicide on a stem will kill it only to where it is rerooted by ground layering (Miller 1992). Guidelines for a herbicide control program in Langeland (1990) recommend basal bark applications of Garlon 4 diluted to 2% concentration with diesel fuel. The herbicide is applied directly to the bark around the circumference of each vine up to 40 cm above the ground. Hand-held equipment or backpack sprayers are ususally used.
Duquesnel (1992) recommended different herbicide treatments depending on the number of latherleaf plants. His general guidelines were: less than 20 - cut stump, more than 20 - basal bark, more than 100 - foliar, as C. asiatica would cover all other vegetation. The cut stump treatment consisted of one individual cutting the vines off near the ground with a machete (or loppers in areas of dense vegetation), followed by another individual spraying herbicide on the entire exposed cambium layer. He recommended using up to a 50% concentration of Garlon 3A diluted in water - the sooner the Garlon was applied after cutting, the more effective the results and the less concentrated a solution necessary. Duquesnel (1992) used a 6% Garlon 4 solution in diesel fuel for basal bark treatment as described in Langeland (1990). The foliar spray application was of Garlon 3A diluted to a 6% solution in water with the addition of a surfactant to aid in sticking. The foliar spray technique is appropriate only where damage to non-target vegetation is not a concern. Areas may require re-treatment every 3-4 months to prevent regeneration. Initial treatment should be applied around the perimeter of a dense stand to prevent continued expansion on the far side of a treated population.
Both Duquesnel (1992) and Miller (1992) added that marker dyes are very useful for keeping track of the treated vegetation. Details on application methods (including color photographs) are given in Langeland (1990).
Byrd (1992) related a situation at TNC's Blowing Rocks Preserve where C. asiatica was growing in the shade of large Casuarina equisetifolia. Once these trees were removed from the site, C. asiatica flourished in the full sun. Byrd now recommends eradicating latherleaf prior to any canopy removal. Duquesnel (1992) cautioned against inadvertantly spreading C. asiatica seed by hauling away cut branches. The seed pods easily shatter when dry and seeds can be disseminated along roadsides.
Management Programs: Doren (1992) stated that no active management is currently being done at Everglades National Park. DNR is managing against C. asiatica spread in the Florida State Park system. Key contacts are Jim Duquesnel and J.B. Miller. TNC's Blowing Rocks Preserve is also working to eradicate C. asiatica (contact Norma Jeanne Byrd).
Monitoring Programs: Everglades National Park is currently monitoring the spread of C. asiatica and has a map of its range available (contact Bob Doren). DNR is monitoring in the Florida State Park system. Key contacts are Jim Duquesnel and J.B. Miller. Jeff Weber, DNR biologist (pers. comm. 1992) relates that C. asiatica is not yet found in state parks along the Gulf of Mexico. The Nature Conservancy is currently monitoring distribution of C. asiatica at the Blowing Rocks Preserve (contact Norma Jeanne Byrd). Infestations of latherleaf in Biscayne National Park are under observation (C. Lippincott, pers. comm. 1992).
Management Research Programs: Karen Brown (pers. comm. March, 1992) at the Center for Aquatic Plants, IFAS, searched the Aquatic Plant Information Retrieval System data base for C. asiatica and found only Langeland (1990) as a published reference. None of the above identified research needs are being worked on at this time.
Management Research Needs: Biological control of C. asiatica needs to be investigated. Apparently no research is currently underway or planned (Dan Austin, pers. comm. 1992, Langeland 1990). However, because other species within the genus and family are native in Florida, biocontrol efforts should be approached cautiously.
Factors affecting the susceptibility of C. asiatica to herbicides need study. These include identification of the best time of year and stage of plant development to apply and the frequency of application necessary to obtain optimal results. The exact times of flowering and fruiting needs to be determined: no information exists on whether latherleaf reproduces seasonally or all year round. Identification of seed dispersers other that water should be conducted. Research might also identify allelopathic properties of C. asiatica that suppress the growth of other plants.
Notes: Grown as hedge plant.
Grown as hedge plant
Uses: MEDICINE/DRUG, INDUSTRIAL/CHEMICAL USE/PRODUCT, Soap/Solvent
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | NatureServe |
Source | http://explorer.natureserve.org/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Colubrina+asiatica |
Flowering class: Dicot Habit: Shrub
Asiatic colubrina is an upland plant that inhabits only the higher portions of coastal areas. It can invade both disturbed and undisturbed forest sites. Coastal forests (or hammocks) comprised of tropical hardwoods and buttonwoods are especially vulnerable as they occur on such flood-free sites, created from the deposition of soils left by storms and tidal influences. Natural ridges or berms that have formed within inundated mangrove forests can also support Asiatic colubrina. It is also frequently found along elevated road shoulders in coastal areas, from which it can spread into adjacent natural areas.