Checklist of alien flora of Algeria
This checklist includes alien flora to Algeria whose presence is due to intentional or accidental introduction because of human activity. Those taxa included should (1) have been introduced (or presumed to be introduced) through activities related to humans or their domestic animals, whether intentionally or not, and (2) have been found in the natural environment. In total, 211 alien plants (206 species and 5 subspecies) belonging to 151 genera and 51 families were recorded in Algeria from the current literature. Most of the alien plants originated from North America (31.3%) and the Mediterranean Basin (19.4%). Nearly half (43%) are therophytes (short lived annual species) and occur in highly disturbed habitats (62%), such as arable fields (44.5%) or ruderal habitats (17.5%). Introduced plants for ornamental purposes account for almost half (43.6%) of the alien flora. A large proportion (51.2%) of the alien species are naturalized in Algeria, with about 16% considered as invasive or potentially invasive (Table 1).
Table 1. List of alien plant species considered invasive or potentially invasive in Algeria. Invasive score: 1 = with a clear invasive behaviour, although by the moment it is only found in largely disturbed systems. It is needed to monitor its further behaviour. 2 = it is known as invasive and although it is not threatening natural or man-made ecosystems, it is suspected to do it in the near future. 3 = dangerous (invasive and causing ecological damage or alteration) for natural ecosystems.
Species | Family | Invasive score | |
Abutilon theophrasti | Malvoideae | 1 | |
Acacia mearnsii | Fabaceae | 3 | |
Acacia melanoxylon | Fabaceae | 1 | |
Acacia saligna | Fabaceae | 3 | |
Agave americana | Asparagaceae | 2 | |
Ageratina adenophora | Asteraceae | 2 | |
Ailanthus altissima* | Simaroubaceae | 3 | |
Ambrosia artemisiifolia* | Asteraceae | 2 | |
Carpobrotus acinaciformis* | Aizoaceae | 2 | |
Carpobrotus edulis* | Aizoaceae | 3 | |
Chenopodium ambrosioides | Amaranthaceae | 1 | |
Cotula coronopifolia | Asteraceae | 3 | |
Cuscuta campestris | Convolvulaceae | 3 | |
Elaeagnus angustifolia | Elaeagnaceae | 1 | |
Erigeron bonariensis | Asteraceae | 2 | |
Erigeron canadensis | Asteraceae | 2 | |
Erigeron karvinskianus | Asteraceae | 1 | |
Ipomoea indica | Ipomoea | 2 | |
Fallopia baldschuanicum* | Polygonaceae | 2 | |
Lantana camara | Verbenaceae | 1 | |
Leucaena leucocephala subsp. glabrata | Mimosoideae | 2 | |
Nicotiana glauca | Solanaceae | 2 | |
Opuntia ficus-indica | Cataceae | 3 | |
Oxalis pes-caprae* | Oxalidaceae | 3 | |
Paspalum distichum* | Panicoideae | 3 | |
Phytolacca americana | Phytolaccaceae | 3 | |
Polygala myrtifolia | Polygalaceae | 3 | |
Ricinus communis | Euphorbiaceae | 2 | |
Robinia pseudoacacia | Fabaceae | 3 | |
Solanum elaeagnifolium** | Solanaceae | 3 | |
Symphyotrichum squamatum | Asteraceae | 2 | |
Xanthium orientale subsp. italicum | Asteraceae | 1 | |
Xanthium spinosum | Asteraceae | 2 | |
Xanthium strumarium subsp. strumarium | Asteraceae | 2 | |
* EPPO List of Invasive Alien Plants | |||
** EPPO A2 List | |||
Sources
Meddour R, Sahar O, Fried G (2020) A preliminary checklist of the alien flora of Algeria (North Africa): taxonomy, traits and invasiveness potential. Botany Letters. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/23818107.2020.180277