Sesbania punicea (Cavanilles) Bentham, Fabaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  no

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk, score: 9.5 (Go to the risk assessment)

Other Latin names:  Daubentonia punicea (Cav.) DC.; Piscidia punicea Cav.

Common name(s): [more details]

English: coffee weed, rattlebox, rattlepod, red sesbania, sesbania

Habit:  shrub

Description:  "A deciduous shrub or small tree, up to 4 meters tall. It has 10-20 cm long compound leaves each with 10-40 small dark-green leaflets in opposite pairs. Each leaflet is oblong and ends in a tiny pointed tip. The showy coral or red flowers appear in spring and early summer in dense sprays (up to 25 cm long) that droop or project outwards. The 2-3 cm long flowers are shaped like pea flowers. A characteristic feature are the seed pods, which are longitudinally 4-winged, oblong, 6-8 cm long, 1 cm broad, borne on short 1.5 cm stalks and may be dispersed by water. The tip of the pod is sharply pointed. The 4-10 seeds are separated by partitions and are freed only when the pod eventually breaks open"  (Bugwood Wiki).

"S. punicea is a deciduous, leguminous shrub that grows up to 4 m tall.  In spring or early summer, it produces a profusion of attractive red or orange flowers.  The ribbed seed pod is 6-8 cm long and may contain 4-10 seeds"  (Csurhes and Edwards, 1998; pp. 56-57).

"Deciduous shrub or small tree; leaves alternate, pinnately divided with 6-20 pairs of leaflets with smooth margins; flowers pea-like, red-orange or reddish purple, in drooping clusters; fruit a 4-winged pod with slight constrictions and partitions between the seeds" (Russell et al.).

Habitat/ecology:  "Riparian habitats, freshwater wetlands, grassland, disturbed sites.  This fast growing and short-lived, nitrogen-fixing shrub forms dense and imprenetrable thickets along riverbanks and in wetlands, excluding native species and affecting wildlife.  Both leaves and seeds are poisonous to humans and animals.  Dense stands impede the flow of water and may increase soil erosion as the soil under canopies of this shrub lacks a herbaceous cover"  (Weber, 2003; p. 402).

"In the United States, S. punicea was introduced as a garden ornamental.  It escaped cultivation and formed dense thickets along river banks, ditch banks and disturbed areas from Florida to eastern Texas.  Similarly, it was planted in gardens in South Africa and soon became naturalized.  Over a period of 20 years, the plant invaded the Natal coastal belt, the Natal midlands, northern Natal near Ladysmith, the Transvaal highlands, the eastern Transvaal, and several areas of the Cape Province.  Throughout these areas the plant has become an invasive weed, principally on river banks and in wetlands, where it has excluded native plants"  (Csurhes and Edwards, 1998; pp. 56-57).

Propagation:  "Seeds are readily water-dispersed, so the species poses a serious threat to riverside vegetation" (Cronk & Fuller, 2001; p. 124).

Native range:  South America (Argentina, Uruguay and southern Brazil), now a popular garden plant (Csurhes & Edwards, 1998; pp. 56-57).

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)	Queensland	introduced cultivated	Csurhes, S./Edwards, R. (1998) (pp. 56-57)
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	introduced cultivated	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 79) Cultivated only
United States (west coast) United States (west coast states)	USA (California)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2013)

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Mauritius Mautitius Islands (Mauritius and Rodrigues)	Mauritius Island	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)

Also reported from
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
South Africa South Africa	South Africa (Republic of)	introduced invasive	Csurhes, S./Edwards, R. (1998) (pp. 56-57)
United States (continental except west coast) United States (other states)	United States (other states)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2013)
United States (continental except west coast) United States (other states)	United States (other states)	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)
United States (continental except west coast) United States (other states)	USA (Florida)	introduced	Cronk, Q. C. B./Fuller, J. L. (2001) (p. 124)
United States (continental except west coast) United States (other states)	USA (Florida)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2013)

Comments:  Spreading rapidly in Mauritius following introduction in the 1980s (John Mauremootoo, personal communication).

Declared a noxious weed in South Africa.

Sold by a nursery in Queensland, Australia. All specimens recalled for destruction. Declared a noxious weed in Queensland in 1994. (Csurhes & Edwards, 1998).

Control:  Additional control information from the Bugwood Wiki.

Physical:  Hand pull or dig out seedlings and young plants.

Chemical:  Cut large plants and treat the stumps with herbicide.

Biological:  "The bud-feeding apionid Trichapion lativentre has so far proved to be the most successful biological control agent tested.  It feeds on and damages the leaflets and growing points of the host.  Its presence also increases premature leaf abscission, reduces the growth of branches and greatly reduces the numbers of flowers, pods and seeds produced by the plants.  Larval development of T. lativentre in the buds and flowers results in a dramatic decrease in seed set, by more than 98%.  Remarkably, Sesbania punicea populations are scarcely thinned by this, because of density dependent effects, although the ability of the plant to colonize new areas is severely reduced."  Other weevil species such as Rhyssomatus marginatus and Neodiplogrammus quadrivittatus are under investigation in South Africa (Cronk & Fuller, 2001; p. 125).