WEDELIA (Sphagneticola trilobata) - DAISY INVADER OF THE PACIFIC ISLANDS: The Worst Weed in the Pacific?
R. R. Thaman The University of the South Pacific Suva, Fiji Islands •Can a pretty daisy be compared with the likes of:
The Anopheles mosquito, the dreaded malaria vector? Brown Tree Snake (Boiga irregularis)
• That has brought birds and lizards in Guam to extinction ?? Little Fire Ant (Wassmania aureopunctata)
That threatens endemic lizards and causes blindness in dogs in New Caledonia?
I THINK SO!!!
“Wedelia”, creeping oxeye, or the trailing daisy, formerly known as Wedelia trilobata, but now Sphagneticola trilobata,
Is one of the world’s most aggressive weeds and listed among the world’s 1000 worst invasive alien species. Wedelia (Sphagneticola trilobata) • Native to tropical America from Mexico to Brazil and throughout the Caribbean
Now cultivated, firmly established and escaped from cultivation throughout the tropics and subtropics
Escaped and invasive on most of the main islands of Polynesia, Micronesia and Melanesia. Wedelia (Sphagneticola trilobata)
•Escaped and out-of-control on:
The atolls of Kiribati, Tuvalu, Tokelau and Tuamotus
The limestone islands of Niue and Nauru Mangroves, Swamps and Wetlands
Buada Lagoon, Nauru
Rewa Delta Mangroves, Fiji
Marshland, Tikehau Atoll, Tuamotus Wedelia (Sphagneticola trilobata)
Has rampantly spread into: Out of Control on Atolls!! Houseyard, Atafu Atoll, Tokelau
Schoolyard,Houseyard, Fakaofo So. Tarawa, Atoll, TokelauKiribati National Capitol, Majuro, Marshall Is
Lagoonside Lawn, Majuro Atoll Out of Control on Atolls!! Houseyard, Atafu Atoll, Tokelau
Houseyard, So. Tarawa, Kiribati National Capitol, Majuro, Marshall Is
Lagoonside Lawn, Majuro Atoll Coastlines and Beaches National Parks and Conservation Areas Sigatoka Sand Dunes National Park, Fiji Mountain Areas and Rivers Agricultural Areas
Fiji’ Sugarcane Belt
Palau, Women’s Agroforests Plantation Forests
Fiji’ Sugarcane Belt
Pine Forest, Moorea Nabou Pine Forest, Fiji Urban/Settled Areas
Fiji’ Sugarcane Belt Outcompetes Indigenous Species FINDINGS – CURRENT SITUAT
• Most attempts to control or eradicate it have failed, some at considerable cost. FINDINGS – CURRENT SITUAT
- It is suggested that wedelia should be immediately declared a serious noxious weed.
- Be restricted from introduction into new islands and habitats, and, where possible, eradicated from areas where it is yet to gain a foothold. FINDINGS – CURRENT SITUAT
-If action is taken NOW, islands and communities throughout the Pacific can prevent the spread of wedelia BEFORE it replaces extensive areas of indigenous where it out-competes plants of considerable ecological and cultural importance
-This conclusion is based on my studies of wedelia over the past 30 years in most of the countries and territories of the Pacific. FINDINGS – CURRENT SITUAT
• It is suggested that wedelia should be immediately declared a serious noxious weed, be restricted from introduction into new islands and habitats, and, where possible, eradicated from areas where it is yet to gain a foothold. If action is taken NOW, islands and communities throughout the Pacific can prevent the spread of wedelia BEFORE it replaces extensive areas of indigenous where it out-competes plants of considerable ecological and cultural importance. This conclusion is based on my studies of wedelia over the past 30 years in most of the countries and territories of the Pacific.
Gardens and Plantations