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

Spanish: hediondilla, palqui, parqui

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 Cestrum 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).  "In Chile this species grows in the following environmental conditions:  Low altitude, interior valleys; coastal mountains, 500-2000 m; coastal areas, 0-500 m.  Humid areas, with almost constant rainfall, short dry periods are possible (generally not longer than 1 month); somewhat dry areas where the drought may last 3-5 months, precipitations of 400-800 mm. are concentrated in winter.  Fully exposed to the sun, level areas or slopes facing north"  (Chileflora).

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

Native range:  Southern South America

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más a Tierra (Robinson Crusoe Island)	introduced	Skottsberg, Carl (1953) (p. 223) Escaped from gardens.
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más a Tierra (Robinson Crusoe Island)	introduced invasive	Atkinson, Rachel/Sawyer, John (2011)
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más a Tierra (Robinson Crusoe Island)	introduced invasive	Danton, Philippe/Perrier, Christophe/Martinez Reyes, Guido (2006) (p. 552)
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más Afuera (Alejandro Selkirk Island)	introduced	Skottsberg, Carl (1953) (p. 223) Escaped from gardens.
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más Afuera (Alejandro Selkirk Island)	introduced invasive	Atkinson, Rachel/Sawyer, John (2011)
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más Afuera (Alejandro Selkirk Island)	introduced invasive	Danton, Philippe/Perrier, Christophe/Martinez Reyes, Guido (2006) (p. 552)

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. (2011)
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) United States (other states)	United States (other states)	introduced invasive	Csurhes, S./Edwards, R. (1998) (p. 150)

Control:  "Stems resprout. Reseeds into bared areas. Exclude stock at all times. Replant bared sites to minimise regrowth. Check for seedlings 6-monthly. 

Physical:  Pull out small plants (all year round), leave to Leave on site to rot down.

Chemical:  1. Cut down and paint stump (all year round): Tordon Brushkiller (100ml/L) or triclopyr 600 EC (100ml/L) or Yates Hydrocotyle Killer (500ml/L).  2.3. Spray (spring-summer): triclopyr 600 EC (30ml/10L) or Yates Hydrocotyle Killer (15ml/L)"  (Weedbusters New Zealand).

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.
Information sheet from Weedbusters New Zealand.
Photos and other information from Chileflora.

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:

Atkinson, Rachel/Sawyer, John. 2011. Naturalized species in the Juan Fernández Archipelago, Chile. Unpublished spreadsheet.

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.

Belov, Michail. 2011. Chileflora (online resource).

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

Danton, Philippe/Perrier, Christophe/Martinez Reyes, Guido. 2006. Nouveau catalogue de la flore vaculaire de l'archipel Juan Fernández (Chile) [Nuevo catálogo de la flora vacular del Archipélago Juan Fernández (Chile)]. Acta Bot. Gallica 153(4):399-587.

Skottsberg, Carl. 1953. The natural history of Juan Fernandez and Easter Island. Vol. II, Botany. Almqvist &l; Wiksells, Uppsala. 960 pp.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. 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.