Paraserianthes lophantha
Environmental Weed (2024)
Common names
brush wattle
Biostatus
Exotic
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Trees & Shrubs - Dicotyledons
Flower colours
Green, Yellow
Detailed description
Evergreen shrub to small tree with hairy ribbed twigs. Leaves alternate and 2-pinnate, pinnae in 8-15 pairs; pinnules in 20-40 pairs, petiole 3-8 cm long, stipules minute. Numerous greenish-yellow flowers arranged in a cylindrical inflorescence. Seed pod without any hairs, straight, up to 15cm x 18mm. Numerous dark brown or black seeds in each pod.
Similar taxa
Easily distinguished from all Acacia species by the large and robust inflorescences. Similar in general appearance to Albizia julibrissin, but this species is deciduous, has glabrous twigs and pink globbose flowers.
Habitat
Prefers disturbed open land, especially scrubland, riverbanks and coastal sites, but can persist in low forest for many years.
Conservation status
Not applicable
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Ecology
Flowering
May, June, July, August
Year naturalised
1870
Origin
W Australia
Reason for introduction
Agricultural
Life cycle and dispersal
Perennial; Reproduces from seed, some suckering may occur. A plant that seeds prolifically. Seed probably viable for at least 20 years. Seeds are dispersed explosively, transported down water courses. Cannot tolerate deep shade but can tolerate almost any other conditions.
Wetland plant indicator status rating
Information derived from the revised national wetland plant list prepared to assist councils in delineating and monitoring wetlands (Clarkson et al., 2021 Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research Contract Report LC3975 for Hawke’s Bay Regional Council). The national plant list categorises plants by the extent to which they are found in wetlands and not ‘drylands’. The indicator status ratings are OBL (obligate wetland), FACW (facultative wetland), FAC (facultative), FACU (facultative upland), and UPL (obligate upland). If you have suggestions for the Wetland Indicator Status Rating, please contact: [Enable JavaScript to view protected content]
UPL: Obligate Upland
Rarely is a hydrophyte, almost always in uplands (non-wetlands).
Other information
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.
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