Rubber vine
Cryptostegia grandiflora
family
Apocynaceae
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
India rubber vine, Palay rubber vine, Purple allamanda.
A robust woody vine or shrub with greyish-brown stems covered with small warty spots. Its stems and leaves contain a milky sap. Its paired leaves are thick and leathery with glossy dark green upper surfaces and slightly paler and duller undersides. Its showy pale pink to whitish flowers (4-6 cm long and 5-9 cm wide) are tubular with a darker throat and five petal lobes Its fruit (10-15 cm long and 2-4.5 cm wide) are produced in divergent pairs and contain numerous seeds topped with a silky tuft of white hairs.
Impact
Impact
Rubber vine (Cryptostegia grandiflora) is a significant environmental weed in northern and central Queensland and a potentially significant environmental weed in Western Australia and the Northern Territory. It is also regarded as a threat in south-eastern Queensland, and was recently listed among the top 30 invasive plant species in this region.Rubber vine (Cryptostegia grandiflora) threatens waterways, open woodlands and rainforests throughout north-eastern Australia, including significant conservation areas such as the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area and Cape York. It is particularly invasive in riparian areas and can displace the plants and animals that inhabit these habitats. The whole ecological integrity of the native vine thickets and riverine systems of northern Australia is thought to be under threat from this species. It grows rapidly and smothers other plants, often completely dominating the vegetation and spreading aggressively from waterways to adjoining open woodlands and pastures. For these reasons it has been listed among the twenty Weeds of National Significance (WoNS) and is also included the Global Invasive Species Database.
Location
Location
Characteristics
Characteristics
Similar Species
Similar Species
Rubber vine (Cryptostegia grandiflora) is a significant environmental weed in northern and central Queensland and a potentially significant environmental weed in Western Australia and the Northern Territory. It is also regarded as a threat in south-eastern Queensland, and was recently listed among the top 30 invasive plant species in this region.Rubber vine (Cryptostegia grandiflora) threatens waterways, open woodlands and rainforests throughout north-eastern Australia, including significant conservation areas such as the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area and Cape York. It is particularly invasive in riparian areas and can displace the plants and animals that inhabit these habitats. The whole ecological integrity of the native vine thickets and riverine systems of northern Australia is thought to be under threat from this species. It grows rapidly and smothers other plants, often completely dominating the vegetation and spreading aggressively from waterways to adjoining open woodlands and pastures. For these reasons it has been listed among the twenty Weeds of National Significance (WoNS) and is also included the Global Invasive Species Database.
