Smoke bush (Buddleja madagascariensis)

Present distribution

Scientific name:	Buddleja madagascariensis Lam.
Common name(s):	Smoke bush, Orange buddleia

This weed is not known to be naturalised in Victoria

Habitat:

Native to Madagascar. Reported in disturbed land, montane forest, bush scrub in mountains and rainforest.

Potential distribution

Potential distribution produced from CLIMATE modelling refined by applying suitable landuse and vegetation type overlays with CMA boundaries

Map Overlays Used

Land Use:
Forest private plantation; forest public plantation.

Broad vegetation types
Sedge-rich woodland; dry foothill forest; moist foothill forest; montane dry woodland; sub-alpine woodland; valley grassy forest; herb-rich woodland; montane grassy woodland; riverine grassy woodland; riparian forest.

Colours indicate possibility of Buddleja madagascariensis infesting these areas.

In the non-coloured areas the plant is unlikely to establish as the climate, soil or landuse is not presently suitable.

Map showing potential distribution of smoke bush

Red= Very high	Orange = Medium
Yellow = High	Green = Likely

Impact

QUESTION	COMMENTS	RATING	CONFIDENCE
Social
1. Restrict human access?	Forms dense impenetrable thickets (Stock & Wild 2002).	mh	mh
2. Reduce tourism?	Been recorded smothering rainforest canopy, if altar rainforest to a monoculture would reduce tourism based on this habitat (Stock & Wild 2002).	mh	m
3. Injurious to people?	No prickles or toxicity recorded	l	mh
4. Damage to cultural sites?	May grow over sites.	ml	m
Abiotic
5. Impact flow?	Terrestrial plant with an apparent susceptibility to waterlogging (Stuart 2006).	l	mh
6. Impact water quality?	Terrestrial plant with an apparent susceptibility to waterlogging (Stuart 2006).	l	mh
7. Increase soil erosion?	Replaces species not reported to leave soil exposed.	l	m
8. Reduce biomass?	Out competes other species probably direct replacement, if smothering canopy species live biomass may decrease while total biomass may increase.	ml	m
9. Change fire regime?	It can re-sprout after fire and replaces old stand with in a year may increase fire intensity and frequency if fuel load is replaced within a year (Starr, Starr & Loope 2003).	m	mh
Community Habitat
10. Impact on composition (a) high value EVC	EVC= Dry Valley Forest (V); CMA= East Gippsland; Bioreg= Victorian Alps; VH CLIMATE potential. “…tenacious, persistent species capable of ascending trees and smothering canopy, wherever conditions are suitable.” Major displacement of dominant sp. within a layer.	h	mh
(b) medium value EVC	EVC= Grassy Woodland (D); CMA= East Gippsland; Bioreg= Victorian Alps; VH CLIMATE potential. “…tenacious, persistent species capable of ascending trees and smothering canopy, wherever conditions are suitable.” Major displacement of dominant sp. within a layer.	h	mh
(c) low value EVC	EVC= Damp Forest (LC); CMA= East Gippsland; Bioreg= Victorian Alps; VH CLIMATE potential. “…tenacious, persistent species capable of ascending trees and smothering canopy, wherever conditions are suitable.” Major displacement of dominant sp. within a layer.	h	mh
11. Impact on structure?	Can ascend tress and smother the canopy (Stock & Wild 2002).	h	mh
12. Effect on threatened flora?	No specific data but appears to smother everything in its path.	mh	m
Fauna
13. Effect on threatened fauna?	No specific data may be beneficial to butterflies, but if can dramatically alter habitat.	mh	m
14. Effect on non-threatened fauna?	Replacing range of species potentially beneficially to nectivorus species but detrimental to frugivourous species.	m	m
15. Benefits fauna?	Supplies nectar for butterflies, other insects and nectivourous birds and mammals.	m	m
16. Injurious to fauna?	No spines or toxicity reported.	l	m
Pest Animal
17. Food source to pests?	Nectar consumed by bees (Starr, Starr & Loope 2003).	ml	m
18. Provides harbor?	Dense thickets would form cover for pest species	m	m
Agriculture
19. Impact yield?	Not agricultural weed	l	m
20. Impact quality?	Not agricultural weed	l	m
21. Affect land value?	Not agricultural weed	ml	m
22. Change land use?	Not agricultural weed	l	m
23. Increase harvest costs?	Not agricultural weed	ml	m
24. Disease host/vector?	Not agricultural weed	ml	m

Invasive

QUESTION	COMMENTS	RATING	CONFIDENCE
Establishment
1. Germination requirements?	No data available on germination requirements of seed however fertile seed is not yet reported in Australia. Vegetatively a section of stem will grow under low light conditions, low temperatures could impeded this but at this point that is not known (Stock & Wild 2002).	h	mh
2. Establishment requirements?	Vegetatively a stem fragment can establish under rainforest canopy (Stock & Wild 2002).	h	mh
3. How much disturbance is required?	Invades undisturbed rainforest (Stock & Wild 2002).	mh	mh
Growth/Competitive
4. Life form?	Evergreen climbing shrub (ed. Spencer 2002).	ml	mh
5. Allelopathic properties?	None Described	l	m
6. Tolerates herb pressure?	In cultivation recommended to prune in spring and after flowering (Stuart 2006).	m	mh
7. Normal growth rate?	Described as growing very quickly and able to out-compete other major environmental weeds of south east Queensland (Stock & Wild 2002).	h	mh
8. Stress tolerance to frost, drought, w/logg, sal. etc?	From recommendations on its cultivations, can be killed by frost, and it is recommended to not over water it especially in winter therefore susceptible to water logging (Stuart 2006). Re-sprouts after fire (Starr, Starr & Loope 2003).	l	mh
Reproduction
9. Reproductive system	Only know to reproduce vegetatively in Australia (Stock & Wild 2002), however does produce seed elsewhere (Starr, Starr & Loope 2003).	h	mh
10. Number of propagules produced?	Reported to produce numerous seeds in fruits and produce much fruit (Starr, Starr & Loope 2003).	m	m
11. Propagule longevity?	Longevity of seeds not reported, main form of reproduction in Australia is vegetatively (Stock & Wild 2002).	l	mh
12. Reproductive period?	Actual life span of species not reported however it is reported to form dense impenetrable thickets smothering out other species (monoculture) (Stock & Wild 2002).	h	mh
13. Time to reproductive maturity?	Spreading vegetatively may produce propagates within one year (Stock & Wild 2002).	h	mh
Dispersal
14. Number of mechanisms?	Vegetatively, human dispersal, and water potentially birds (Stock & Wild 2002). Seeds presumed dispersed by birds (Starr, Starr & Loope 2003).	mh	mh
15. How far do they disperse?	Water may disperse propagules distances greater than 1km. Plants have been recorded to establish in the midst of national parks in Queensland apparently distant from any source of infestation (Stock & Wild 2002).	h	mh

References

Spencer R. (ed) (2002) Horticultural Flora of South-Eastern Australia. Flowering Plants Dicotyledons Part 3. UNSW Press.

Starr. F. Starr. K. Loope. L. (2003) Buddleia madagascariensis. United States Geological Survey -- Biological Resources Division.

Stock. D.h. Wild. C.H. (2002) Natural propagation of orange buddleia (Buddleja madagascariensis Lamarck) in eastern Australia. Thirteenth Australian weeds Conference. 120-123.

Stuart. D.D. (2006) Buddlejas. Timber Press.

Global present distribution data references

Australian National Herbarium (ANH) 2006, Australia’s Virtual Herbarium, Australian National Herbarium, Centre for Plant Diversity and Research, viewed, http://www.anbg.gov.au/avh/

Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) 2006, Global Biodiversity Information Facility, Data portal, viewed 25 Aug 2006, http://www.gbif.org/

Missouri Botanical Gardens (MBG) 2006, w3TROPICOS, Missouri Botanical Gardens Database, viewed 25 Aug 2006, http://mobot.mobot.org/W3T/Search/vast.html

Pacific Island Ecosystem at Risk (PIER) 2005, , Hawaii Ecosystem at Risk, viewed 25 Aug 2006 , http://www.hear.org/Pier/wra/pacific/ (broken link)

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