Red cestrum
Cestrum elegans
family
Solanaceae
origin
Exotic
declaration
NIL
For information only
Common names
Red cestrum, Crimson cestrum, Elegant poison-berry, Purple cestrum.
A shrub usually growing 1-3 m tall, but occasionally reaching up to 5 m in height. Its younger stems and leaves are densely covered in reddish or purplish hairs. Its alternately arranged leaves (7-11.5 cm long) quickly lose most of their hairs. Its tubular flowers are arranged in dense clusters at the tips of the branches or in the upper leaf forks. These red, reddish-pink, pink or purplish flowers (15-23 mm long) have hairless petals. Its rounded berries (8-13 mm across) turn dark pink or dull red as they mature.
Impact
Impact
"Red cestrum (Cestrum elegans) invades disturbed rainforest margins, moist and wet sclerophyll forests, urban bushland and creek banks in south-eastern Australia. In these situations it displaces indigenous shrubs and small trees and restricts the habitat of native wildlife. It is a significant environmental weed in Victoria, where it is actively managed by community groups. It has also escaped from gardens in the Wollongong district, in the Southern Highlands, and at Deervale in New South Wales., This species has recently become naturalised in rainforest margins on Mount Glorious, Tamborine Mountain and in Lamington National Park."
Location
Location
Characteristics
Characteristics
Similar Species
Similar Species
"Red cestrum (Cestrum elegans) invades disturbed rainforest margins, moist and wet sclerophyll forests, urban bushland and creek banks in south-eastern Australia. In these situations it displaces indigenous shrubs and small trees and restricts the habitat of native wildlife. It is a significant environmental weed in Victoria, where it is actively managed by community groups. It has also escaped from gardens in the Wollongong district, in the Southern Highlands, and at Deervale in New South Wales., This species has recently become naturalised in rainforest margins on Mount Glorious, Tamborine Mountain and in Lamington National Park."
