Centaurea melitensis L. Family - Asteraceae. Common Names(s) - Yellow star thistle, Maltese star thistle, coix de Malte, malteser Flockenblume, centáurea-estrela-de-malta. Synonym(s) - Calcitrapa patibilcensis Kunth.

Answer

Score

1.01

Is the species highly domesticated?

y=-3, n=0

n

0

1.02

Has the species become naturalized where grown?

y=1, n=-1

1.03

Does the species have weedy races?

y=-1, n=-1

2.01

Species suited to tropical or subtropical climate(s) (0-low; 1-intermediate; 2-high) – If island is primarily wet habitat, then substitute “wet tropical” for “tropical or subtropical”

See Append 2

2

2.02

Quality of climate match data (0-low; 1-intermediate; 2-high) see appendix 2

2

2.03

Broad climate suitability (environmental versatility)

y=1, n=0

y

1

2.04

Native or naturalized in regions with tropical or subtropical climates

y=1, n=0

y

1

2.05

Does the species have a history of repeated introductions outside its natural range?

y=-2, ?=-1, n=0

y

3.01

Naturalized beyond native range y = 1*multiplier (see Append 2), n= question 2.05

y

2

3.02

Garden/amenity/disturbance weed y = 1*multiplier (see Append 2)

n=0

y

2

3.03

Agricultural/forestry/horticultural weed y = 2*multiplier (see Append 2)

n=0

y

4

3.04

Environmental weed y = 2*multiplier (see Append 2)

n=0

3.05

Congeneric weed y = 1*multiplier (see Append 2)

n=0

y

2

4.01

Produces spines, thorns or burrs

y=1, n=0

y

1

4.02

Allelopathic

y=1, n=0

4.03

Parasitic

y=1, n=0

n

0

4.04

Unpalatable to grazing animals

y=1, n=-1

n

-1

4.05

Toxic to animals

y=1, n=0

n

0

4.06

Host for recognized pests and pathogens

y=1, n=0

4.07

Causes allergies or is otherwise toxic to humans

y=1, n=0

n

0

4.08

Creates a fire hazard in natural ecosystems

y=1, n=0

4.09

Is a shade tolerant plant at some stage of its life cycle

y=1, n=0

n

0

4.10

Tolerates a wide range of soil conditions (or limestone conditions if not a volcanic island)

y=1, n=0

y

1

4.11

Climbing or smothering growth habit

y=1, n=0

n

0

4.12

Forms dense thickets

y=1, n=0

n

0

5.01

Aquatic

y=5, n=0

n

0

5.02

Grass

y=1, n=0

n

0

5.03

Nitrogen fixing woody plant

y=1, n=0

n

0

5.04

Geophyte (herbaceous with underground storage organs -- bulbs, corms, or tubers)

y=1, n=0

n

0

6.01

Evidence of substantial reproductive failure in native habitat

y=1, n=0

n

0

6.02

Produces viable seed.

y=1, n=-1

y

1

6.03

Hybridizes naturally

y=1, n=-1

6.04

Self-compatible or apomictic

y=1, n=-1

y

1

6.05

Requires specialist pollinators

y=-1, n=0

n

0

6.06

Reproduction by vegetative fragmentation

y=1, n=-1

n

-1

6.07

Minimum generative time (years) 1 year = 1, 2 or 3 years = 0, 4+ years = -1

See left

1

1

7.01

Propagules likely to be dispersed unintentionally (plants growing in heavily trafficked areas)

y=1, n=-1

y

1

7.02

Propagules dispersed intentionally by people

y=1, n=-1

n

-1

7.03

Propagules likely to disperse as a produce contaminant

y=1, n=-1

y

1

7.04

Propagules adapted to wind dispersal

y=1, n=-1

y

1

7.05

Propagules water dispersed

y=1, n=-1

n

-1

7.06

Propagules bird dispersed

y=1, n=-1

n

-1

7.07

Propagules dispersed by other animals (externally)

y=1, n=-1

y

1

7.08

Propagules survive passage through the gut

y=1, n=-1

y

1

8.01

Prolific seed production (>1000/m2)

y=1, n=-1

y

1

8.02

Evidence that a persistent propagule bank is formed (>1 yr)

y=1, n=-1

8.03

Well controlled by herbicides

y=-1, n=1

8.04

Tolerates, or benefits from, mutilation, cultivation, or fire

y=1, n=-1

n

-1

8.05

Effective natural enemies present locally (e.g. introduced biocontrol agents)

y=-1, n=1

n

1

Total score:

18

Notes

Source

1.01

No evidence.

1.02

1.03

2.01

(1) Native to: Portugal - Azores, Spain - Canary Islands, Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, Former Yugoslavia, Greece, Italy, France.

(1) http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?316613 [Accessed 2009 Jan 26].

2.02

(1) Native to: Portugal - Azores, Spain - Canary Islands, Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, Former Yugoslavia, Greece, Italy, France.

(1) http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?316613 [Accessed 2009 Jan 26].

2.03

(1) Hardy to USDA zone 7.

(1) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Centaurea+melitensis [Accessed 2009 Jan 27].

2.04

(1) Native to: Portugal - Azores, Spain - Canary Islands, Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, Former Yugoslavia, Greece, Italy, France.

(1) http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?316613 [Accessed 2009 Jan 26].

2.05

(1) Introduced to Angola, China, Chile, Ecuador, United States, Ethiopia, Kenya, Peru, South Africa, Zimbabwe.

(1) http://www.tropicos.org/NameDistributions.aspx?nameid=2702178 [Accessed 2009 Jan 27].

3.01

(1) Noxious weed in New Mexico. (2) Invasive along the western coast and elsewhere in the United States.

(1) http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=242416253 [Accessed 2009 Jan 27]. (2) http://www.invasivespecies.net/database/species/ecology.asp?fr=1&si=264&sts=[Accessed 2009 Jan 27].

3.02

(1) Dense infestations of C. melitensis displace native plants and animals, threatening natural ecosystems and nature reserves. (2) C. melitensis is widely distributed in California forming dense populations on disturbed or xeric sites.

(1) http://www.cal-ipc.org/ip/management/ipcw/pages/detailreport.cfm@usernumber=27&surveynumber=182.php [Accessed 2009 Jan 27]. (2) Gerlach, J. D. and K. J. Rice (2003). "TESTING LIFE HISTORY CORRELATES OF INVASIVENESS USING CONGENERIC PLANT SPECIES." Ecological Applications 13(1): 167-179.

3.03

(1) Agricultural weed in Australia.

(1) http://www.affashop.gov.au/PdfFiles/PC12781.pdf [Accessed 2009 Jan 28].

3.04

(1) Dense infestations of C. melitensis displace native plants and animals, threatening natural ecosystems and nature reserves.

(1) http://www.cal-ipc.org/ip/management/ipcw/pages/detailreport.cfm@usernumber=27&surveynumber=182.php [Accessed 2009 Jan 27].

3.05

(1) There are more than 10 species in the genus Centaurea that have become invasive weeds. C. solstitialis is invasive in central Argentina. (2) C. solstitialis is invasive in California covering more than 10 million acres.

(1) http://plantecology.dbs.umt.edu/Full%20text%20papers%20and%20abstracts/
2003%20papers/Ecology842003%20soil%20fungiand.pdf [Accessed 2009 Jan 26]. (2) http://www.cal-ipc.org/ip/management/ipcw/pages/detailreport.cfm@usernumber=27&surveynumber=182.php [Accessed 2009 Jan 27].

4.01

(1) outer phyllaries with apical appendage pinnately spiny with a few pairs of spinelets; spine 0.2-0.4 in (5-10 mm) long, slender, with a characteristic pair of tiny spinelets about 1/8 in (2-4 mm) from the base

(1) http://www.cal-ipc.org/ip/management/ipcw/pages/detailreport.cfm@usernumber=27&surveynumber=182.php [Accessed 2009 Jan 27].

4.02

Unknown

4.03

(1) Not parasitic.

(1) http://www.cal-ipc.org/ip/management/ipcw/pages/detailreport.cfm@usernumber=27&surveynumber=182.php [Accessed 2009 Jan 27].

4.04

(1) Methods used to control C. solstitialis can be used to control C. melitensis, including grazing. Sheep, goats, and cattle can graze in early spring, before the flower's spines develop. Goats will also graze plants in the spiny or flowering stages. Grazing reduces biomass and seed production.

(1) http://www.texasinvasives.org/invasives_database/detail.php?symbol=CEME2 [Accessed 2009 Jan 27].

4.05

(1) No evidence in Toxnet. (2) No evidence in PubMed (3) Long-term ingestion by horses causes a chewing disease, a lethal lesion of the nigropallidal region of the brain

(1) http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/search [Accessed 2009 Jan 27]. (2) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez [Accessed 2009 Jan 27]. (3) http://www.cal-ipc.org/ip/management/ipcw/pages/detailreport.cfm@usernumber=27&surveynumber=182.php [Accessed 2009 Jan 27].

4.06

Unknown

4.07

(1) No evidence in Toxnet. (2) No evidence in PubMed

(1) http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/search [Accessed 2009 Jan 27]. (2) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez [Accessed 2009 Jan 27].

4.08

Unknown

4.09

(1) Does not tolerate shade.

(1) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Centaurea+melitensis [Accessed 2009 Jan 27].

4.10

(1) Prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, requires well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils.

(1) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Centaurea+melitensis [Accessed 2009 Jan 27].

4.11

(1) Herbaceous annual(2) Annual 10-100 cm.

(1) http://www.cal-ipc.org/ip/management/ipcw/pages/detailreport.cfm@usernumber=27&surveynumber=182.php [Accessed 2009 Jan 27]. (2) http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=242416253[Accessed 2009 Jan 27].

4.12

(1) Annual 10-100 cm.

(1) http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=242416253[Accessed 2009 Jan 27].

5.01

(1) Terrestrial

(1) http://www.cal-ipc.org/ip/management/ipcw/pages/detailreport.cfm@usernumber=27&surveynumber=182.php [Accessed 2009 Jan 27].

5.02

(1) Asteraceae

(1) http://www.cal-ipc.org/ip/management/ipcw/pages/detailreport.cfm@usernumber=27&surveynumber=182.php [Accessed 2009 Jan 27].

5.03

(1) Herbaceous annual

(1) http://www.cal-ipc.org/ip/management/ipcw/pages/detailreport.cfm@usernumber=27&surveynumber=182.php [Accessed 2009 Jan 27].

5.04

(1) No underground storage units.

(1) http://www.cal-ipc.org/ip/management/ipcw/pages/detailreport.cfm@usernumber=27&surveynumber=182.php [Accessed 2009 Jan 27].

6.01

No evidence.

6.02

(1) Reproduces through seeds. (2) C. melitensis had a 99% germination rate after 13 days in this experiment.

(1) http://www.cal-ipc.org/ip/inventory/PAF/Centaurea%20melitensis.pdf [Accessed 2009 Jan27]. (2) Gerlach, J. D. and K. J. Rice (2003). "TESTING LIFE HISTORY CORRELATES OF INVASIVENESS USING CONGENERIC PLANT SPECIES." Ecological Applications 13(1): 167-179.

6.03

Unknown

6.04

(1) Self-fertile (2) Highly self-compatible.

(1) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Centaurea+melitensis [Accessed 2009 Jan 27]. (2) Gerlach, J. D. and K. J. Rice (2003). "TESTING LIFE HISTORY CORRELATES OF INVASIVENESS USING CONGENERIC PLANT SPECIES." Ecological Applications 13(1): 167-179.

6.05

(1) C. melitensis is pollinated by insects in the orders Coleoptera, Diptera, Hymenoptera, and Lepidoptera. (2) Pollinated by Bees, flies and Lepidoptera (Moths & Butterflies)

(1) Porras R., A. J. M. M. (1999). "Breeding system in the cleistogamous Centaurea melitensis (Asteraceae)." Canadian Journal of Botany 77(11): 1632-1640. (2) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Centaurea+melitensis [Accessed 2009 Jan 27].

6.06

(1) Reproduction through seeds only.

(1) http://www.cal-ipc.org/ip/inventory/PAF/Centaurea%20melitensis.pdf [Accessed 2009 Jan 27].

6.07

(1) Seeds germinate after fall rains, bolting occurs in early spring, and plants flower from spring to early summer.

(1) http://www.cal-ipc.org/ip/management/ipcw/pages/detailreport.cfm@usernumber=27&surveynumber=182.php [Accessed 2009 Jan 27].

7.01

(1) Seed is transported by humans.

(1) http://www.cal-ipc.org/ip/management/ipcw/pages/detailreport.cfm@usernumber=27&surveynumber=182.php [Accessed 2009 Jan 27].

7.02

(1) C. melitensis has been dispersed accidentally by humans as a contaminant.

(1) http://www.cal-ipc.org/ip/management/ipcw/pages/detailreport.cfm@usernumber=27&surveynumber=182.php [Accessed 2009 Jan 27].

7.03

(1) Possible seed contaminant. (2) C. melitensis has been a contaminant in wheat, barley, and oat seed and was widely distributed in dry-farmed grain fields.

(1) http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?316613 [Accessed 2009 Jan 26]. (2) http://www.cal-ipc.org/ip/management/ipcw/pages/detailreport.cfm@usernumber=27&surveynumber=182.php [Accessed 2009 Jan 27].

7.04

(1) Seed is transported by wind.

(1) http://www.cal-ipc.org/ip/management/ipcw/pages/detailreport.cfm@usernumber=27&surveynumber=182.php [Accessed 2009 Jan 27].

7.05

(1) Seed is transported by animals, human, wind.

(1) http://www.cal-ipc.org/ip/management/ipcw/pages/detailreport.cfm@usernumber=27&surveynumber=182.php [Accessed 2009 Jan 27].

7.06

(1) Seed is transported by animals, human, wind.

(1) http://www.cal-ipc.org/ip/management/ipcw/pages/detailreport.cfm@usernumber=27&surveynumber=182.php [Accessed 2009 Jan 27].

7.07

(1) Seed is transported by animals.

(1) http://www.cal-ipc.org/ip/management/ipcw/pages/detailreport.cfm@usernumber=27&surveynumber=182.php [Accessed 2009 Jan 27].

7.08

(1) Study found that 32% of seeds found in European rabbit feces germinated.

(1)FERNANDEZ, Alfonso y SAIZ, Francisco. El conejo europeo (Oryctolagus cuniculus L.) como disperser de la amapola de opio (Papaver somniferum L.) en la isla de Robinson Crusoe, Chile. Mastozool. Neotrop. [online]. ene./jun. 2007, vol.14, no.1 [citado 27 Enero 2009], p.19-27. Disponible en la World Wide Web: <http://www.scielo.org.ar/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0327-93832007000100003&lng=es&nrm=iso>. ISSN 0327-9383.

8.01

(1) Inflorescences can produce 1 to 100 heads with 1 to 60 seeds per head.

(1) http://www.cal-ipc.org/ip/management/ipcw/pages/detailreport.cfm@usernumber=27&surveynumber=182.php [Accessed 2009 Jan 27].

8.02

Unknown

8.03

Unknown (1) Application of the systemic herbicides clopyralid or picloram between December and April seems to be the most effective. Application during the winter encourages the growth of other, more desirable, plants.

(1) http://www.texasinvasives.org/invasives_database/detail.php?symbol=CEME2 [Accessed 2009 Jan 27].

8.04

(1) Experiment on Centaurea taxa including C. melitensis concluded that fire has a clear negative effect upon natural populations of the Centaurea taxa.It is possible that seeds buried in the soil could escape the fire effects. Fire can also create the environment for colonization. (2) In an experiment in 1980-82 in the Sequoia National Park, 10 m × 10 m plots of annual grassland dominated by Avena fatua, Bromus mollis [B.hordeaceus] and B. diandrus were burnt once in spring or autumn or in 2 or 3 successive years in spring or autumn. Both autumn and spring burning regimes increased the number of alien and native forb species. No native grass became established following the treatments but Centaurea melitensis, which was not encountered in any plots before burning, accounted for most of the alien forb response.

(1) Riba, M., A. Rodrigo, et al. (2002). Fire and species range in Mediterranean landscapes: an experimental comparison of seed and seedling performance among Centaurea taxa. Journal of Biogeography, Blackwell Publishing Limited. 29: 135-146.
(2) Parsons, D. J. and T. J. Stohlgren (1989). "Effects of varying fire regimes on annual grasslands in the southern Sierra Nevada of California." Madroño 36(3): 154-168.

8.05

(1) No specific biological control agents have been released to control C. melitensis. A small beetle, Lasioderma haemorrhoidale inadvertently introduced into California has been found to destroy mature seeds in the seedhead. The home range of the beetle is the entire Mediterranean region, and it appears to specialize on species in the thistle tribe.

(1) http://www.cal-ipc.org/ip/management/ipcw/pages/detailreport.cfm@usernumber=27&surveynumber=182.php [Accessed 2009 Jan 27].