HEAR bibliography
Evaluation of Puccinia lagenophorae as a biocontrol agent for Senecio madagascariensis in Hawaii
Killgore, E.M., M. Ramadan, and D.E. Gardner. (2001)

Weedy species of Senecio (Asteraceae) invade pastures or contaminate hay and other livestock feed. Many Senecio spp. produce alkaloid toxins that cause seneciosis, a serious liver disease of livestock. Senecio madagascariensis (fireweed) was first reported in Hawaii in the early 1980s and is becoming widely established on Maui and Hawaii islands, where ranchers blame it for livestock mortality. The Dept. of Agriculture declared it noxious and a target for control. Puccinia lagenophorae from fireweed in Australia, South Africa, and Madagascar was host range tested under quarantine in Hawaii. The rust severely infected fireweed, but of 42 species in eight Asteraceae tribes tested, two Hawaiian endemics, Tetramolopium filiforme and T. rockii, and three nonnatives, Crassocephalum crepidioides, Emilia sonchifolia, and Helichrysum sp., were susceptible.