Tagetes minuta and Eupatorium inulaefolium newly naturalized in Taiwan
The following two species are reported as newly naturalized in Taiwan.
Tagetes minuta (Asteraceae) is an herb of 1-2 m high, native to the temperate grasslands and mountain regions of southern South America. In Japan, it is recorded as a naturalized weed. It is considered to be a noxious weed as well as an environmental weed by the ‘Global Compendium of Weeds’. It is naturalized in France, Italy and former-Yugoslavia (Tutin et al., 1964/80) and has been quoted as invasive in Islas Canarias (ES) (Wildpret de la Torre, Osorio Martin, pers. comm. 2005) and in Cyprus (Tsintides and Christodoulou, pers. comm. 2006).
Eupatorium inulaefolium (= Austroeupatorium inulifolium) (Asteraceae) is a perennial erect herb or shrub, which grows to 2-3 m tall. The plant originates in South America. It is considered to be a quarantine weed and a noxious weed by the ‘Global Compendium of Weeds’. It is not known to occur in the EPPO region. It is widely distributed in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela, and is casual in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Sumatra. In Taiwan, it occurs at 1300-1400 m altitude in the Central Mountain Range. It is considered to be an aggressive species that rapidly colonizes areas cleared for the plantation of new crops, agricultural fields, fallow fields, waste lands and roadsides.
Sources
Hsu TW, Peng CI, Wang CM (2006) Austroeupatorium inulifolium (Kunth) King & Robinson (Asteraceae) a newly naturalized plant in Taiwan. Taiwania, 51(1): 41-45.
The Global Compendium of Weeds:
Personal communication with Messrs Tsintides and Christodoulou, Cyprus, 2006
Personal communication with Mr Wildpret de la Torre, Osorio Martin, Islas Canarias (ES), 2005.
Tutin TG, Heywood VH, Burges NA, Moore DM, Valentine DH, Walters SM and Webb DA (1964/80) Flora Europeaea, Vol 1-5. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Wang CH, Chen CH (2006) Tagetes minuta L. (Asteraceae), a newly naturalized plant in Taiwan. Taiwania, 51(1): 32-35.