Elephant ear vine
Argyreia nervosa
family
Convolvulaceae
origin
Exotic
declaration
Category 3 Restricted Matter (Biosecurity Act 2014)
Must not be distributed or disposed. This means it must not be released into the environment unless the distribution or disposal is authorised in a regulation or under a permit.
Common names
Baby woodrose, Elephant climber, Elephant creeper, Elephant ear vine, Elephant vine, Hawaiian baby woodrose, Silver morning glory, Wood rose, Woolly morning glory.
A perennial woody vine growing up to 9 m. Leaves are heart-shaped (ovate-cordate, acute), glabrous (hairless) above and persistently white-tomentose (silver, hairy) underneath. Leaves are quite distinctive and can be more than 30 cm across. Flower colour varies from pale pink/white to dark pink/violet, generally with a much darker centre. Flowers are 5 cm in diameter. The pod is a dry capsule, c. 2 cm diameter, surrounded by a calyx that is divided into five sections. The structure has been likened to a carved rose (hence the Hawaiian common name of 'woodrose'). Each pod contains 4-6 seeds.
Impact
Impact
Elephant creeper (Argyreia nervosa) is regarded as an environmental weed in northern Queensland and is included on the Cape York Peninsula priority weed list. It is an aggressive invader of rainforest and other tropical forest communities in northern Queensland and has been observed to smother trees, much like rubber vine (Cryptostegia grandiflora). Anecdotal reports from Queensland National Parks and Wildlife staff suggests that it can germinate quite readily in seemingly undisturbed sites, and it is capable of growing under rainforest canopies and among dense grass cover in eucalypt woodlands., It thrives around Townsville, which has a comparatively low rainfall and is in a dry monsoonal area, and is also aggressive around Cooktown, where the summer rainfall is very high. Hence, elephant creeper (Argyreia nervosa) is seen as a potential threat to conservation areas in both the wet tropics and dry tropics regions.
Location
Location
Characteristics
Characteristics
Similar Species
Similar Species
Elephant creeper (Argyreia nervosa) is regarded as an environmental weed in northern Queensland and is included on the Cape York Peninsula priority weed list. It is an aggressive invader of rainforest and other tropical forest communities in northern Queensland and has been observed to smother trees, much like rubber vine (Cryptostegia grandiflora). Anecdotal reports from Queensland National Parks and Wildlife staff suggests that it can germinate quite readily in seemingly undisturbed sites, and it is capable of growing under rainforest canopies and among dense grass cover in eucalypt woodlands., It thrives around Townsville, which has a comparatively low rainfall and is in a dry monsoonal area, and is also aggressive around Cooktown, where the summer rainfall is very high. Hence, elephant creeper (Argyreia nervosa) is seen as a potential threat to conservation areas in both the wet tropics and dry tropics regions.
