Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER)


Melaleuca leucadendra


RISK ASSESSMENT RESULTS: Low risk, score: -1


Australian/New Zealand Weed Risk Assessment adapted for Hawai‘i.
Information on Risk Assessments
Original risk assessment

Melaleuca leucadendra L. L. Family - Myrtaceae . Common Names(s)(broadleaved paperback, broadleaved teatree, paperbark, river teatree, weeping teatree, cajuputi, caxajeputi, melaleuca)- . Synonym(s) - Melaleuca leucadendron, Kajuputi leucadendra (L.) Rusby, Myrtus leucadendra

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

n

0

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

n

-2

3.02

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

n=0

3.03

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

n=0

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

n

0

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

4.05

Toxic to animals

y=1, n=0

n

0

4.06

Host for recognized pests and pathogens

y=1, n=0

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

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

n

-1

6.04

Self-compatible or apomictic

y=1, n=-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

2 or 3

0

7.01

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

y=1, n=-1

n

-1

7.02

Propagules dispersed intentionally by people

y=1, n=-1

y

1

7.03

Propagules likely to disperse as a produce contaminant

y=1, n=-1

n

-1

7.04

Propagules adapted to wind dispersal

y=1, n=-1

n

-1

7.05

Propagules water dispersed

y=1, n=-1

y

1

7.06

Propagules bird dispersed

y=1, n=-1

n

-1

7.07

Propagules dispersed by other animals (externally)

y=1, n=-1

n

-1

7.08

Propagules survive passage through the gut

y=1, n=-1

n

-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

y

1

8.05

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

y=-1, n=1

Total score:

-1

Supporting data:

Notes

Source

1.01

(1) Most reports of plantings of species in Asia, Africa, America refer to arboretum or trial plantings.

(1) CAB International, 2005. Forestry Compendium. Wallingford, UK: CAB International.

1.02

1.03

2.01

(1) Native to Asia Tropical: Indonesia,- Irian Jaya, Moluccas; Papua New Guinea; Australia - Northern Territory, Queensland, Western Australia

(1) http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?23805 [cited 2008 Sep. 29]

2.02

2.03

(1) M. lecadendra can be found at elevations between sea level and 800 m. (2) Latitude between 3ºS to 23ºS (3) M. leucadendrais found from ~sea level to 500m and latitude between 3ºS to 23ºS in its native range.

(1) http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/cropView?id=1430 [cited 208 Sep. 29 (2) CAB International, 2005. Forestry Compendium. Wallingford, UK: CAB International. (3) Turnball, J.W. (ed). 1986. Multipurpose Australian Trees and Shrubs. Australian Center for International Agriculture Research. Canberra. P. 278-279.

2.04

(1) Native to Asia Tropical: Indonesia,- Irian Jaya, Moluccas; Papua New Guinea; Australia - Northern Territory, Queensland, Western Australia

(1) http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?23805 [cited 2008 Sep. 29]

2.05

(1) Planted in Bangladesh, India, Moluccas, Papua Barat, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, Malawi, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Cuba, Jamaica, Hawaii, Fiji

(1) CAB International, 2005. Forestry Compendium. Wallingford, UK: CAB International

3.01

No evidence in literature of naturalization beyond native range.

 

3.02

No evidence

3.03

No evidence

3.04

No evidence

3.05

(1) Melaleuca quinquenervia is a notorious invasive weed that threatens the biological integrity of Florida's Everglades ecosystems. (2) Cited on Pier.org to be invasive in Hawaii, Micronesia, and Palau. (3) In Hawai'i Melaleuca quinquenervia was formerly referred to as M. leucadendron which is not synonymous

(1) Dray, F.A. Jr., B.C. Bradley, T.D. Center. 2006. Invasion history of Melaleuca quinquenervia (Cav.) S.T. Blake in Florida. Castanea Vol 71 (3):210-225. (2) http://www.hear.org/Pier/species/melaleuca_quinquenervia.htm (3) Bingelli, P., J.B. Hall, J.R. Healey. 1998. An overview of invasive woody plants in the tropics. School of Agricultural and Forest Sciences. Publication number 13. University of Wales, Bangor.

4.01

(1) Fruit is a capsule, no mention of spines, thorns or burrs.

(1) Macar, N., D. Crawford, P. Lepper, T. Jovanovic, R. Floyd, R. Farrow. 1995. Trees for Saltland; a Guide to Selecting Native Species for Australia. Division of Forestry. Australia. P. 58

4.02

Don't know

4.03

(1) not listed as a parasitic plant in database

(1) http://www.omnisterra.com/bot/pp_home.cgi

4.04

Don't know

4.05

No direct evidence of toxicity to animals.

 

4.06

No evidence

(1) http://fppd.cbio.psu.edu/ [Cited 2008 Oct 2]. (2) http://pnwfungi.wsu.edu/programs/searchHostPerspective.asp [Cited 2008 Oct 2].

4.07

No evidence in primary literature, Toxnet or Pubmed.

(1) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez (2) http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/

4.08

(1) Is tolerant to fire, but no mention of being a fire hazard.

(1) Turnball, J.W. (ed). 1986. Multipurpose Australian Trees and Shrubs. Australian Center for International Agriculture Research. Canberra. P. 278-279.

4.09

(1) Shade cover when germinating then move to full sun.

(1) CAB International, 2005. Forestry Compendium. Wallingford, UK: CAB International.

4.10

(1) acid soils; clay soils; sandy soils; silty soils; swamp soils

(1) CAB International, 2005. Forestry Compendium. Wallingford, UK: CAB International.

4.11

(1) Tropical tree

(1) CAB International, 2005. Forestry Compendium. Wallingford, UK: CAB International.

4.12

No evidence

5.01

Terrestrial

(1) CAB International, 2005. Forestry Compendium. Wallingford, UK: CAB International.

5.02

Myrtaceae

(1) CAB International, 2005. Forestry Compendium. Wallingford, UK: CAB International.

5.03

(1) The genus Melaleuca does not fix nitrogen.

(1) http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Nitrogen-fixation

5.04

(1) Tropical tree

(1) CAB International, 2005. Forestry Compendium. Wallingford, UK: CAB International.

6.01

No evidence in literature of reproductive failure.

 

6.02

(1) Produces ~2300 viable seeds/g

(1) Macar, N., D. Crawford, P. Lepper, T. Jovanovic, R. Floyd, R. Farrow. 1995. Trees for Saltland; a Guide to Selecting Native Species for Australia. Division of Forestry. Australia. P. 58

6.03

No evidence in the primary literature and the species has been widely planted as a forest tree.

 

6.04

Don't know

6.05

(1) Pollinated by insects, birds and small mammals.

(1) CAB International, 2005. Forestry Compendium. Wallingford, UK: CAB International.

6.06

No evidence in the literature of spread by vegetative fragments.

 

6.07

(1) Long-lived, fast growing. First flowers appear after two years of growth.

(1) CAB International, 2005. Forestry Compendium. Wallingford, UK: CAB International.

7.01

Not likely to be dispersed unintentionally. Seeds don't have attachment method and plants are not growing in heavily trafficked areas.

 

7.02

(1) Planted in Bangladesh, India, Moluccas, Papua Barat, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, Malawi, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Cuba, Jamaica, Hawaii, Fiji

(1) CAB International, 2005. Forestry Compendium. Wallingford, UK: CAB International

7.03

Not likely to be dispersed as a produce contaminant.

 

7.04

(1) Fruit is a capsule.

(1) Macar, N., D. Crawford, P. Lepper, T. Jovanovic, R. Floyd, R. Farrow. 1995. Trees for Saltland; a Guide to Selecting Native Species for Australia. Division of Forestry. Australia. P. 58

7.05

(1) Fruit is a capsule. (2) Tree grows in river flats, coastal plains and seasonal swamps.

(1) Macar, N., D. Crawford, P. Lepper, T. Jovanovic, R. Floyd, R. Farrow. 1995. Trees for Saltland; a Guide to Selecting Native Species for Australia. Division of Forestry. Australia. P. 58 (2) Turnball, J.W. (ed). 1986. Multipurpose Australian Trees and Shrubs. Australian Center for International Agriculture Research. Canberra. P. 278-279.

7.06

(1) Fruit is a capsule.

(1) Macar, N., D. Crawford, P. Lepper, T. Jovanovic, R. Floyd, R. Farrow. 1995. Trees for Saltland; a Guide to Selecting Native Species for Australia. Division of Forestry. Australia. P. 58

7.07

(1) Fruit is a capsule.

(1) Macar, N., D. Crawford, P. Lepper, T. Jovanovic, R. Floyd, R. Farrow. 1995. Trees for Saltland; a Guide to Selecting Native Species for Australia. Division of Forestry. Australia. P. 58

7.08

(1) Fruit is a capsule.

(1) Macar, N., D. Crawford, P. Lepper, T. Jovanovic, R. Floyd, R. Farrow. 1995. Trees for Saltland; a Guide to Selecting Native Species for Australia. Division of Forestry. Australia. P. 58

8.01

(1) Produces ~2300 viable seeds/g

(1) Macar, N., D. Crawford, P. Lepper, T. Jovanovic, R. Floyd, R. Farrow. 1995. Trees for Saltland; a Guide to Selecting Native Species for Australia. Division of Forestry. Australia. P. 58

8.02

Don't know

8.03

Don't know

8.04

(1) M. leucadendra is fire tolerant and has reasonable coppicing ability.

(1) CAB International, 2005. Forestry Compendium. Wallingford, UK: CAB International.

8.05

Don't know


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