Nicotiana glauca R.C.Graham, Solanaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk, score: 15 (Go to the risk assessment)

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: guang yan cao

English: mustard tree, tree tobacco, wild tobacco

French: tabac canaque

Hawaiian: mākāhala, paka

Habit:  tree

Description:  "Shrubs or small spindly trees, glabrous except for corolla tube.  Leaves simple, alternate, glaucous, ovate to ovate-lanceolate, often 4-10 cm long, 2-8 cm wide, glabrous, margins entire, apex obtuse to broadly acuminate, base obtuse, petioles terete, 1-6 cm long.  Flowers in short, dense, terminal panicles, pedicels up to 15 mm long, bracts lanceolate, 2-7 mm long; calyx usually 7-14 mm long, the lobes narrowly elliptic, connate ca. 3/4 their length, intersepalar membrane inconspicuous; corolla tube 20-40 mm long, 3-4 mm wide at apex of calyx, the tube proper narrower than throat cylinder, throat cup symmetrical, yellow or yellowish, corolla limb 9-13 mm in diameter, remaining open in daylight, the lobes obtuse, connate most of their length, stamens equal or nearly so; filaments inserted in lower 1/2 of tube, 20-30 mm long.  Capsules ovoid-ellipsoid to nearly subglobose, equaling or shorter than calyx, 7-13 mm long.  Seeds numerous, reniform to oblong-reniform, 0.5-0.9 mm long, testa honeycombed or with wrinkles" (Wagner et al., 1999; pp. 1260-1262, 1895).

Habitat/ecology:  "Riverbanks, desert scrub, arid grassland, coastal beaches, rocky places.  A drought resistant plant that grows in a wide range of conditions, either as a stunted shrub or as a tree.  The vigorous growth leads to dense pure  stands that crowd out native species and prevent natural regeneration.  The large leaves shade out all vegetation below its canopies.  Little is known on the ecology of this shrub"  (Weber, 2003; p. 286).

In Hawai‘i, "naturalized in open, arid, disturbed sites, 3-350 m" (Wagner et al., 1999; pp. 1260-1262). In New Caledonia, "cette plante envahissante ailleurs ne semble pas s'être établie en Nouvelle-Calédonie" (MacKee, 1994; p. 131).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  "Argentina, now widely naturalized in warm temperate regions of the world" (Wagner et al., 1999; pp. 1260-1262).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
French Polynesia Clipperton Island	Clipperton (Arue, Avera) Island		Sachet, M.-H. (1962) (p. 93)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R. (1995) (p. 26) Voucher cited: Flynn & Lorence 2280 (BISH, PTBG)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaho‘olawe Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 1260-1262)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Lāna‘i Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 1260-1262)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 1260-1262)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Moloka‘i Island	introduced invasive	Oppenheimer, Hank L. (2003) (pp. 25-26) Voucher cited: Oppenheimer H70113 (BISH, PTBG)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 1260-1262) Voucher cited: Mann & Brigham 196 (BISH)
Marshall Islands Ralik Chain	Enewetak (Ãnewetak, Eniwetok) Atoll	introduced invasive	St. John, Harold (1960) (pp. 332-333) Voucher cited: Palumbo 1124
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 131) Present status unknown. Vouchers cited: Cribs 1035, Le Rat 54
United States (other Pacific offshore islands) Johnston Atoll	Johnston Island	introduced invasive	Amerson, A. Binion, Jr./Shelton, Philip C. (1976) (p. 59)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	Australia (continental)	introduced invasive	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013) Naturalized
China China	China (People's Republic of)	introduced cultivated	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2013)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	introduced invasive	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013) Naturalized
New Zealand New Zealand	New Zealand (country)	introduced invasive	Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. (1988) (p. 1231)
South America (Pacific rim) South America (Pacific rim)	Chile (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
South America (Pacific rim) South America (Pacific rim)	Ecuador (Republic of) (continental)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
South America (Pacific rim) South America (Pacific rim)	Perú (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)

Also reported from
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
United States (continental except west coast) United States (other states)	United States (other states)	introduced invasive	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013) Naturalized

Control: 

Physical:  Hand pull or dig out seedlings and young plants.

Chemical:  Cut large plants and treat the stumps with herbicide. "In South Africa the plants are cut and stumps treated with 2,4,5-T" (Cronk & Fuller, 2001; p. 174).

Biological:  "Successful control has been achieved where the plants were sprayed with herbicide and the exposed to the beetle, Malabris aculeata"  (Cronk & Fuller, 2001; p. 174).