Title: Asparagus asparagoides (L.) Druce

Scientific Name:

Asparagus asparagoides (L.) Druce

Common Name:

bridal creeper, smilax



Source & more images (via ALA)

Habitat: Warm-temperate to tropical regions, preferring fertile, well drained soils of light texture (Parsons and Cuthbertson 1992). It is often grown as an ornamental, and occurs as a weed along roadsides, in town allotments, orchards and citrus groves, waste places and disturbed scrubland close to habitation (Parsons and Cuthbertson 1992). Bridal creeper invades dry coastal vegetation, heathland and heathy woodland, mallee shrubland, lowland grassland and grassy woodland, dry sclerophyll forest and woodland, damp sclerophyll forest, riparian vegetation, rock outcrop vegetation, and warm temperate rainforest (Carr et al 1992).

Distribution:

   
Present Distribution - Australia (source: ALA)    


present, no further details = Present, no further details widespread = Widespread localised = Localised
confined and subject to quarantine = Confined and subject to quarantine occasional or few reports = Occasional or few reports
evidence of pathogen = Evidence of pathogen last reported = Last reported... presence unconfirmed = Presence unconfirmed
see regional map for distribution within the country = See regional map for distribution within the country
Present Distribution - World (source: CABI)




Invasiveness Assessment

ESTABLISHMENT


1. Germination requirements? “Seedlings usually emerge in autumn”. “Seeds germinate in autumn or early winter”. Muyt (2001) P & C (2001)

2. Establishment requirements? “Tolerates shade or part shade”. Blood (2001)

3. How much disturbance is required? Occurs in undisturbed vegetation e.g. heath land and Mallee shrubland. “It invades disturbed and undisturbed vegetation across a wide range of habitats”. Carr et al (1992) Raymond (1996)

GROWTH / COMPETITIVE


4. Life form? Tuberous geophyle. Climber. Carr et al (1992) Muyt (2001)

5. Allelopathic properties? No Allelopathic properties described.

6. Tolerates herb pressure? “Bridal creeper is a palatable specimen and is not an agricultural weed due to grazing by stock. (See information on grazing trial)”.Carr (1996) p 67 (Ed Marchant)

7. Normal growth rate? “Its seed germinate readily at temperatures between 10°C and 20°C, usually much quicker than some of the native species, thus putting them at risk of replacement”. “It rows rapidly during winter and as a consequence smother native vegetation”. (France 1996). P & C (2001)

8. Stress tolerance to frost, drought, w/logg, sal. etc? “Tolerates drought conditions and most soils including saline”. “Fire can also stimulate bridal creeper growth if the tubers are not killed”. Blood (2001) Carr (1996) p. 67

REPRODUCTION


9. Reproductive system? “Reproduces by seed and Rhizome”. Muyt (2001)

10. Number of propagules produced?

“Plants produce hundred of fruits annually, each containing up to nine seeds”. ∼ 300 x 9 = 2,700 seeds. Muyt (2001)



11. Propagule longevity? “Carry over of viable seeds between years is minimal. Most buried seed germinate and the remainder within 2 years. Dry seeds may remain viable for at least three ears”. Blood (2001)

12. Reproductive period? Forms virtual monocultures. (See pic. in P & C 2001 p. 46). P & C (2001)

13. Time to reproductive maturity? “Seeds germinate in autumn or early winter, these plants then flower the following August or September”. P & C (2001)

DISPERSAL


14. Number of mechanisms? “Seed is dispersed mainly by birds, as well as by water, machinery and in garden refuse. Rhizomes are dispersed by animal diggings, machinery in garden refuse and uring removal”. Muyt (2001)

15. How far do they disperse? “The seeds either pass through the digestive tract unharmed or, sticking to the beak, are dropped considerable distances from the source”. P & C (2001)


Impact Assessment

RECREATION


1. Restrict human access? Perennial climber that dominates ground flora and can form, “dense curtains smothering shrubs and the lower canopy of trees.” While the plant does occur in riparian areas, it is most vigorous on lighter well-drained soils. Its presence would a nuisance to humans impeding individual access. Muyt (2001)

2. Reduce tourism? The dense, smothering curtains this plant creates would present a major negative impact on aesthetics. Muyt (2001)

3. Injurious to people? The plant presents no harmful physical or toxic properties to humans.

4. Damage to cultural sites? “Its ability to establish in natural bushland and form a canopy over plants 2 to 3 metres high or higher, makes it a threat to native plant communities.” Dense infestations would create a negative visual impact, but unlikely to cause damage to cultural sites. Parsons & Cuthbertson (2001)

ABIOTIC


5. Impact flow? Terrestrial species. “It is usually most vigorous on lighter, well-drained soils.” Muyt (2001)

6. Impact water quality? Terrestrial species.

7. Increase soil erosion? Although stems die-off during summer, the dense cover provided by the twining stems and the thick mat of rhizomes and tuberous roots may reduce soil erosion. Parsons & Cuthbertson (2001)

8. Reduce biomass? “It has the potential to dominate a community, reaching high densities and accumulating a large biomass, especially underground.” Biomass would increase. Raymond (1995)

9. Change fire regime? While fire is recommended as an adjunct to controlling this species, there is no data on the flammability of the species. Stems commonly senesce in early summer, and leave little if any material. Thus, increases in fuel load because of infestation may be minimal. Dense infestations may have some minor effect on frequency of fire risk where shrubs or small trees have been smothered and killed. Parsons & Cuthbertson (2001) Raymond (1995) Holland-Clift (pers.com)

COMMUNITY HABITAT


10(a) Impact on composition of high value EVC? EVC=Sedgy Riparian Woodland (V); CMA=Corangamite; Bioreg=Otway Ranges; VH CLIMATE potential. “It is widespread in South Australia, Victoria and NSW in grassy woodlands, heathlands, forests, rocky escarpments and riparian areas.” It is, “…capable of eliminating all indigenous groundflora and smaller shrubs.” Capacity to dominate ground-flora and reduce mid-storey diversity. Muyt (2001)

10(b) Impact on medium value EVC? EVC=Montane Grassy Woodland (D); CMA=North East; Bioreg=Highlands – Northern Fall; VH CLIMATE potential. Impact as in 10(a) above. However, open vegetation structure may limit density of growth. “It tolerates heavy shade and generally is not found in open situations.” Parsons & Cuthbertson (2001)

10(c) Impact on low value EVC? EVC=Riparian Forest (LC); CMA=North East; Bioreg=Highlands – Northern Fall; VH CLIMATE potential. Impact as in 10(a) above. Muyt (2001)

11. Impact on structure? “It has the potential to dominate a community, reaching high densities.” The plant can grow to a height of 3 metres, thus having great potential to affect lower and mid storeys. Raymond (1995) Parsons & Cuthbertson (2001)

12. Effect on threatened flora? This species is not documented as posing an additional risk to threatened flora.

FAUNA


13. Effect on threatened fauna? This species is not documented as posing an additional risk to threatened fauna

14. Effect on non-threatened fauna? The plant forms, “…dense curtains smothering shrubs and the lower canopy of trees.” It is also considered capable of eliminating all indigenous ground-flora. Such serious impact on the plant community would significantly change the habitat for fauna species potentially leading to reduced numbers. Muyt (2001)

15. Benefits fauna? Some bird species (Silvereye Zosterops lateralis and Little Crow Corvus bennetti) are known to feed on the fruit. Stansbury (1996)

16. Injurious to fauna? No documented affects to fauna.

PEST ANIMAL


17. Food source to pests? Bird species, both native and introduced, are known to feed on the fruit. “…and the introduced starling were identified as feeding on bridal creeper fruits in South Australia.” Potential to provide food to one or more pest species. Stansbury (1996)

18. Provides harbor? Not documented as providing harbor for pest animals. The dense growth, which occurs in late winter, may provide some temporary harbor, particularly for birds

AGRICULTURE


19. Impact yield? “Introduced as an ornamental to many parts of the world, it is often found as a garden escape but is rarely considered a serious agricultural weed.” However, “it also occurs in a number of orchards and citrus groves along the Murray River where it smothers and weakens the trees and interferes with harvesting.” “The smothering effect…displacement of [citrus] roots contribute to reduced tree growth, and fruit production and increased susceptibility to disease.” Potential to impact yield in some horticultural industries. Parsons & Cuthbertson (2001) Kwong & Holland-Clift (2004)

20. Impact quality? In citrus orchards, bridal creeper is a serious competitor for nutrients and moisture, and its smothering habit reduces crop yield. With such competition, it is likely that quality is also affected, but there is no specific mention of this problem in the literature. It could be that fruit from infested trees is not used, thus only yield is affected. Anecdotal evidence is that fruit size on weed-affected trees is reduced, thus it flows that quality is also reduced, but not significantly. Kwong & Holland-Clift (2004)

21. Affect land values? Not known as a serious agricultural weed. The presence of bridal creeper would have little or no affect on land value. Parsons & Cuthbertson (2001)

22. Change land use? For general agriculture, no. For orchardists, the difficulty in controlling bridal creeper and impact on fruit quality and yield may result in some areas within the property being removed from production.

23. Increase harvest costs? See comment in 19 above. Citrus growers in the north west of Victoria comment that labour costs increase as a result of bridal creeper infestations. While some of the cost is due to increased weed control, the cost of harvesting also increases as fruit pickers have to negotiate through a blanket of bridal creeper to gather fruit. Parsons & Cuthbertson (2001)Kwong (pers comms)

24. Disease host/vector? Not known as a host or vector for disease.




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Assessment ratings originally made by the Victorian Department of Primary Industries.
The entry of this assessment was made possible through the generous support of The Weed's Network.






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Date: 2 November 2009; 10:12:20 AM AEDT

Author Name: Rebecca Grant
Author ID: rgrant