Cestrum nocturnum
NPPA pest plant
Environmental Weed (2024)
Common names
queen of the night
Biostatus
Exotic
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Trees & Shrubs - Dicotyledons
Flower colours
Green, White
Detailed description
Shrub, generally 1.5-2.5 m high, almost glabrous. Petiole c. 1cm long. Lamina 5-15 X 1.5-6 cm, elliptic to elliptic-ovate, glabrous or with minute puberulence when young; base cuneate to rounded, sometimes asymetric; apex abruptly acuminate. Panicle open, large; fls usually shortly pedicellate, sometimes subsessile, fragrant nocturnally. Calyx 2-3 mm long; lobes >1 mm long, +/- triangular, densely ciliolate, acut. Carolla 1.5-2 cm long, pale green or greenish white; tube cylindric to narrow-funnelform, widening slightly above; lobes 3 mm long, eventually spreading, glabrous except for shortly villous margins. Fruit c. 0.5 - 1 cm diameter, globose to ellipsoid, white glossy. (Webb et al 1988).
Similar taxa
Flowers in rather diffuse clusters; fruit white; fragrant nocturnally.
Habitat
Terrestrial.
Conservation status
Not applicable
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Ecology
Flowering
November, December, January, February, March
Year naturalised
1980
Origin
West Indies, Central America
Reason for introduction
Ornamental.
Life cycle and dispersal
Perennial.
Other information
National Pest Plant Accord species
This plant is listed in the 2020 National Pest Plant Accord. The National Pest Plant Accord (NPPA) is an agreement to prevent the sale and/or distribution of specified pest plants where either formal or casual horticultural trade is the most significant way of spreading the plant in New Zealand. For up to date information and an electronic copy of the 2020 Pest Plant Accord manual (including plant information and images) visit the MPI website.
Environmental Weed (2024)
This plant is named in a list of 386 environmental weeds in New Zealand 2024 prepared by DOC. 759 candidate species were considered for inclusion on this new comprehensive list of environmental weeds in New Zealand. The species considered were drawn from published lists of weed species, lists of plants that must be reported or managed by law if observed, existing national and regional programmes and agreements for pest management, and species already managed by the Department of Conservation (DOC). Candidate species were then assessed to see if they were fully naturalised and whether they have more than minor impacts in natural ecosystems. Read the full report here.
NVS code
The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.
CESNOC