Madeira vine
Anredera cordifolia
family
Basellaceae
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
Madeira vine, Bridal wreath, Jalap, Jolop potato vine, Lamb’s tail, Potato vine.
A vigorous climbing plant that grows over other vegetation up to 30 m tall. Its green or reddish younger stems later become rope-like in appearance and produce numerous aerial tubers. These greyish-brown or greenish warty stem tubers (normally about 2-3 cm long) are the main means of reproduction and dispersal of this species. The heart-shaped leaves (2-15 cm long and 1.5-10 cm wide) are alternately arranged and slightly fleshy in nature. Numerous small, white or cream, fragrant flowers (about 5 mm across) are borne in elongated, drooping, flower spikes (6-30 cm long).
Impact
Impact
Madeira vine (Anredera cordifolia) is a very significant environmental weed in New South Wales and Queensland and is actively managed by community groups in these states. It is also regarded as an environmental weed in Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia, and is listed as a priority environmental weed in eight Natural Resource Management regions throughout Australia.Madeira vine (Anredera cordifolia) is a highly invasive weed capable of smothering and destroying native vegetation. It is most problematic in moist forests (e.g. damp sclerophyll forests), rainforest margins and riparian vegetation, where it has the ability to establish under an intact canopy and can quickly engulf native species. The growth rate of stems in warmer and moister regions can exceed 1 m per week, and up to 6 m in a growing season. Its climbing stems can totally envelop the canopy layer, while is trailing stems also smother the ground layer of invaded habitats. This reduces light penetration, eventually killing the plants underneath and preventing the germination and regeneration of native plants. The sheer weight of dense infestations can even bring down trees in the canopy layer, and in this way Madeira vine (Anredera cordifolia) can change the structure of invaded communities, eventually destroying them.This species is currently regarded as one of the five most invasive plants in south-eastern Queensland and among the ten worst weeds in the Gold Coast City Council region. Madeira vine (Anredera cordifolia) also appears on numerous local and regional environmental weed lists in eastern New South Wales and south-eastern Queensland, and has been recorded in a large number of conservation areas in these states (e.g. Mount Etna Caves National Park and Noosa National Park in Queensland and Coocumbac Island Nature Reserve, Stotts Island Nature Reserve, Booti Booti State Conservation Area, Mount Warning National Park, Limpinwood Nature Reserve and Lane Cove National Park in New South Wales). Not only does it invade conservation areas, including some of the most significant ones in this part of Australia, but it is often seen as one of the major threats to their condition or the integrity of the remnant plant communities that they contain. For example, Madeira vine (Anredera cordifolia) is considered to be the most serious and destructive pest plant affecting rainforest remnants in the North Coast region of New South Wales. It is also regarded as potentially the greatest ecological threat to the world heritage listed Dorrigo National Park, west of Coffs Harbour.
Location
Location
Characteristics
Characteristics
Similar Species
Similar Species
Madeira vine (Anredera cordifolia) is a very significant environmental weed in New South Wales and Queensland and is actively managed by community groups in these states. It is also regarded as an environmental weed in Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia, and is listed as a priority environmental weed in eight Natural Resource Management regions throughout Australia.Madeira vine (Anredera cordifolia) is a highly invasive weed capable of smothering and destroying native vegetation. It is most problematic in moist forests (e.g. damp sclerophyll forests), rainforest margins and riparian vegetation, where it has the ability to establish under an intact canopy and can quickly engulf native species. The growth rate of stems in warmer and moister regions can exceed 1 m per week, and up to 6 m in a growing season. Its climbing stems can totally envelop the canopy layer, while is trailing stems also smother the ground layer of invaded habitats. This reduces light penetration, eventually killing the plants underneath and preventing the germination and regeneration of native plants. The sheer weight of dense infestations can even bring down trees in the canopy layer, and in this way Madeira vine (Anredera cordifolia) can change the structure of invaded communities, eventually destroying them.This species is currently regarded as one of the five most invasive plants in south-eastern Queensland and among the ten worst weeds in the Gold Coast City Council region. Madeira vine (Anredera cordifolia) also appears on numerous local and regional environmental weed lists in eastern New South Wales and south-eastern Queensland, and has been recorded in a large number of conservation areas in these states (e.g. Mount Etna Caves National Park and Noosa National Park in Queensland and Coocumbac Island Nature Reserve, Stotts Island Nature Reserve, Booti Booti State Conservation Area, Mount Warning National Park, Limpinwood Nature Reserve and Lane Cove National Park in New South Wales). Not only does it invade conservation areas, including some of the most significant ones in this part of Australia, but it is often seen as one of the major threats to their condition or the integrity of the remnant plant communities that they contain. For example, Madeira vine (Anredera cordifolia) is considered to be the most serious and destructive pest plant affecting rainforest remnants in the North Coast region of New South Wales. It is also regarded as potentially the greatest ecological threat to the world heritage listed Dorrigo National Park, west of Coffs Harbour.
