Cabomba caroliniana A.Gray, Cabombaceae

Click on an image for links to BIGGER PICTURES

Present on Pacific Islands?  no

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  Reject, score: 18 (Go to the risk assessment)

Common name(s): [more details]

English: cabomba, Carolina fanwort, Carolina water-shield, fanwort, fish-grass, Washington plant, Washington-grass

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Stems slender, coated with gelatinous matter, branching. Leaves petioled, peltate, the floating ones small, entire; submerged ones opposite, palmately dissected into numerous capillary segments. Flowers small, white or yellow. Sepals and petals 3. Stamens 3-6; filaments slender; anthers extrorse. Carpels 2-4. Stigmas small, terminal; ovules commonly 3, pendulous. Fruit coriaceous, indehiscent, about 3-seeded" (Britton & Brown, 1913; p. 76)

Habitat/ecology:  "Grows in humid, sub-humid and temperate regions where it requires direct sunlight and still water.  Favours nutrient-rich waterways including ponds, lakes and slow-moving streams. Out-competes native plants and presumably has a negative impact on native fish or aquatic invertebrates." (Smith, 2002; 81).

Propagation:  "Reproduction is mainly by fragmentation and dispersal by stem fragments of discarded aquarium plants" (Smith, 2002; 81).

Native range:  North and South America

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced invasive	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 25) Voucher cited: Veillon 1140 (NOU)

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	Smith, Nicholas M. (2002) (p. 81) Infestaiton in Palmerston, N.T. under management.
Australia Australia (continental)	Queensland	introduced invasive	Smith, Nicholas M. (2002) (p. 81) Established in coastal rivers.
Canada Canada	Canada (country)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)

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)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)

Comments:  A "weed of national significance" in Australia; declared a noxious weed in Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia (Smith, 2002; 81).

Additional information:
Information from the Washington State Department of Ecology.
Information from the Western Aquatic Plant Management Society.
Draft European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization datasheet.
Weed Management Guide from the CRC for Australian Weed Management (PDF format).
Information from the Global Invasive Species Database.
Fact sheet from the Government of Queensland, Australia (PDF format).

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

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

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

References:

Britton, N.L. and A. Brown. 1913. An illustrated flora of the northern United States, Canada, and the British possessions, second edition, vol. 2. New York, Scribners.

MacKee, H. S. 1994. Catalogue des plantes introduites et cultivées en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 164 p.

Smith, Nicholas M. 2002. Weeds of the wet/dry tropics of Australia - a field guide. Environment Centre NT, Inc. 112 pp.

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