Cestrum parqui L'Hér., Solanaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  no

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  Reject, score: 11 (Go to the risk assessment)

Common name(s): [more details]

English: Chilean cestrum, green cestrum, green poison-berry, willow-leaved jessamine

Habit:  shrub

Description:  "Shrub, generally 1-3 m high.  Petiole to 1 cm long.  Lamina 2-12-(14) X 0.5-3 cm, lanceolate to narrow-ovate, minutely puberulent when young, otherwise glabrous; base attenuate or cuneate; apex acute to short-acuminate.  Inflorescence paniculate, dense; branches more or less puberulent; flowers subsessile or with pedicels to 7 mm long, fragrant nocturnally.  Calyx 3-6 mm long; lobes 1 mm long, more or less triangular, obtuse to subacute; margins shortly villous.  Corolla 1.5-2.3 cm long, greenish yellow or pale brownish yellow; tube narrow-salverform, widening slightly above; lobes 3.5-6 mm long, narrow-triangular, patent, shortly villous inside and on margins, acute or short-acuminate.  Fruit 7-10 X 6-8 mm, broad-ovoid to broad-ellipsoid, glossy, black or purplish black"  (Webb et al, 1988; pp. 1222-1223).

"Similar to C. diurnum, but glabrous; leaves narrowly lanceolate, to 5 in. long; flowers profuse in axillary and terminal clusters, fragrant at night, calyx 5-toothed, to 1/4 in. long, corolla greenish-white to greenish-yellow or brownish, to 7/8 in. long; fruit black"  (Bailey and Bailey, 1976; p. 253).

Habitat/ecology:  Favors fertile, well-drained soils.  "In some areas of south-east Queensland, it has formed reasonably dense infestations along degraded creek-banks, particularly in areas grazed and damaged by cattle."  (Csurhes and Edwards, 1998; p. 150).

Propagation:  Seeds, spread by birds and flood water (Csurhes and Edwards, 1998; p. 150).

Native range:  Southern South America

Presence:

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)	Northern Territory	introduced invasive	Csurhes, S./Edwards, R. (1998) (p. 150)
Australia Australia (continental)	Queensland	introduced invasive	Csurhes, S./Edwards, R. (1998) (p. 150)
Chile (continental) Chile	Chile (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)
New Zealand New Zealand	New Zealand (country)	introduced invasive cultivated	Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. (1988) (p. 1222) "Occasional near gardens in scrub, waste places, stream banks, cultivation escape".

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 and Florida) United States (other states)	United States (other states)	introduced invasive	Csurhes, S./Edwards, R. (1998) (p. 150)

Additional information:
Photos and additional information at the Environment Bay of Plenty, New Zealand, web site of the Bay of Plenty Regional Council (see thumbnails above).
Fact sheet from the Government of Queensland, Australia (PDF format).
Information from the Global Invasive Species Database

Additional online information about Cestrum parqui is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Cestrum parqui as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Cestrum parqui may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Bailey, L. H./Bailey, E. Z. 1976. Hortus third: A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada. Macmillan, New York. 1290 pp.

Csurhes, S./Edwards, R. 1998. Potential environmental weeds in Australia: Candidate species for preventative control. Canberra, Australia. Biodiversity Group, Environment Australia. 208 pp.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2009. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. 1988. Flora of New Zealand, Volume IV: Naturalised pteridophytes, gymnosperms, dicotyledons. Botany Division, DSIR, Christchurch. 1365 pp.