Invasiveness Assessment - Madeira winter-cherry (Solanum pseudocapsicum) in Victoria
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Plant invasiveness is determined by evaluating a plant’s biological and ecological characteristics against criteria that encompass establishment requirements, growth rate and competitive ability, methods of reproduction, and dispersal mechanisms.
| Each characteristic, or criterion, is assessed against a list of intensity ratings. Depending upon information found, a rating of Low, Medium Low, Medium High or High is assigned to that criterion. Where no data is available to answer a criterion, a rating of medium (M) is applied. A description of the invasiveness criteria and intensity ratings used in this process can be viewed here. |
The following table provides information on the invasiveness of Madeira winter-cherry.
A more detailed description of the methodology of the Victorian Weed Risk Assessment (WRA) method can be viewed below:
Victorian Weed Risk Assessment (WRA) method (PDF - 630 KB)
Victorian Weed Risk Assessment (WRA) method (DOC - 1 MB)
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Common Name: Madeira winter-cherry
Scientific name: Solanum pseudocapsicum
| Question | Comments | Rating | Confidence |
| Establishment | |||
| Germination requirements? | Flowers in October to May (spring to autumn) (Webb et al, 1988, Blood, 2001). Prefers well composted, moist, well drained soils in a protected position (Shepherd, 2004). It is noted in horticulture information that the plant is susceptible to frost and requires moderately warm temperatures and sufficient moisture to germinate (The Garden Helper, 1997). Therefore the most suitable time for germination would be after winter frosts through to spring. | MH | M |
| Establishment requirements? | Naturalised in disturbed wet areas mostly coastal in Eastern Australia (Spencer, 2002) and is able to establish in shady places (Roy et al, 1998 ). In a study by Aliero et al (2006a) found that this species required little amount of nitrogen and that watering regimes significantly influenced growth performance. The species is intolerable to drought indicating that it is dependant on reliable and sufficient water input. It does not require specific nutrients although it is responsive to some nutrient input and is able to establish under limited light. | MH | MH |
| How much disturbance is required? | Can invade damp sclerophyll forest, riparian vegetation and warm temperate rainforests (Carr et al, 1992), forests and forest edges (Weber, 2003). Establishes in hedges, plantations, remnant forest and shady places (Roy et al, 1998) In New Zealand the plant has been documented to be occasional to locally plentiful in damaged forests (Connor, 1977). A weed of disturbed areas, rough pasture and along bushland edges (Shepherd, 2004). The plant is able to establish in a range of highly disturbed areas and in relatively intact areas also. | MH | MH |
| Growth/Competitive | |||
| Life form? | A herbaceous to somewhat woody perennial of 50 - 200 cm height with a spread of 1 m (Weber, 2003, Shepherd, 2004). Small to medium shrub (Carr et al, 1992). A shrub that may reach 1 m and can grow up to 2 m (Hussey et al 1997, Blood, 2001 ). | L | MH |
| Allelopathic properties? | Fruit has been well studied for its compounds but no studies have been undertaken on its allelopathic qualities. | L | M |
| Tolerates herb pressure? | Plant is usually ignored by livestock (Roy et al, 1998). The poisons contained in berry are fatal to human and animal (Aliero et al, 2006b) | H | MH |
| Normal growth rate? | A herbaceous woody perennial, however no information was found on growth in relation to similar life form. | M | L |
| Stress tolerance to frost, drought, w/logg, sal. etc? | The plant is intolerant to drought condition and requires small amounts of fertilizer for successful propagation (Aliero et al, 2006a). The species has been noted to occur in some frost free localities near Auckland (Roy et al, 1998) It is susceptible to drought and frost and may be somewhat tolerant to salinity by colonising in coastal areas in eastern Australia. | L | MH |
| Reproduction | |||
| Reproductive system | Reproduces by seed (Blood, 2001). No evidence of whether it’s self or cross fertilisation. | L | L |
| Number of propagules produced? | The number of seeds per berry ranges from 50 to 100 while the berries could be as many as 100 per plant (Aliero et al, 2006a). Therefore the plant has the capacity to produce above 2,000 seeds per flowering event. | H | H |
| Propagule longevity? | No information was found on propagule longevity. | M | L |
| Reproductive period? | No information was found on the length of the reproductive periods of the plant. | M |  |
| Time to reproductive maturity? | 2 to 5 years to reproductive maturity (Whyvale Garden Centres). | ML | ML |
| Dispersal | |||
| Number of mechanisms? | Birds, internal, water (Carr et al, 1992) and dumped garden waste (Blood, 2001). Berries are eaten by birds which are the main means of seed dispersal (Webb et al, 1988). | H | MH |
| How far do they disperse? | Very likely that at least one propagule will be dispersed greater than one kilometre. | H | L |
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