Invasiveness Assessment - Noogoora burr (Xanthium strumarium) in Victoria (Nox)
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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 Noogoora burr.
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: Noogoora burr
Scientific name: Xanthium strumarium
| Question | Comments | Reference | Rating |
| Establishment | |||
| Germination requirements? | “Germinate as temperatures rise after spring and summer rains or after irrigation”. | P & C (1992) | MH |
| Establishment requirements? | Occurs in unshaded situations. | P & C (1992) | ML |
| How much disturbance is required? | Weed of cultivated and grazing land. | P & C (1992) | MH |
| Growth/Competitive | |||
| Life form? | Erect annual herbs. Other. | P & C (1992) | L |
| Allelopathic properties? | “part of the plant’s competitiveness could be due to Allelopathic chemicals known to occur but this aspect has not been studied in depth”. | P & C (1992) | MH |
| Tolerates herb pressure? | “Adult plants are not readily eaten by stock due to their rough texture”. | Hosking & Liddle (1995) | MH |
| Normal growth rate? | “Rapid growth rate make these plants strong competitors both in pasture and summer crops”. (Drought, “Tolerates flooding at all growth stages”. (See distribution map P & C 1992)). | P & C (1992) | MH |
| Stress tolerance to frost, drought, w/logg, sal. etc? | Tolerates some water logging. “Tolerates flooding at all growth stages”. (P & C 1992). “The tolerance of Noogoora burr to salinity ranges from moderate to quite high, depending on the ecotype”. (Hocking & Liddle 1995 p. 262). | P & C (1992) | MH |
| Reproduction | |||
| Reproductive system | Reproducing by seed. Self-compatible and predominantly selfing. | P & C (1992) Hosking & Liddle (1995) | ML |
| Number of propagules produced? | A single vigorous open-growing plant can produce as many as 11,000 burrs. | Hosking & Liddle (1995) | H |
| Propagule longevity? | “The viability of buried seeds…in the southern USA decreased from 100% at harvest to 66% & 18% after burial for 6 and 30 months respectively”. | Hosking & Liddle (1995) | L |
| Reproductive period? | “Noogoora burr can form very dense stands which are completely dominant and cover entire paddocks in pastoral areas”. | Hosking & Liddle (1995) | H |
| Time to reproductive maturity? | Annuals. | P & C (1992) | H |
| Dispersal | |||
| Number of mechanisms? | Burrs well equipped for dispersal because hooked spines readily entangle in wool, fur, bag, etc. also spread by water, road making equipment, agricultural seeds. | P & C (1992) | MH |
| How far do they disperse? | Burrs are known to have spread > 200 km along waterways. Other dispersal mechanisms (animals, equipment) also could spread seed long distances. | P & C (1992) | H |
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