Acanthospermum australe (spiny-bur)

Pictures

Picture	Title	Caption	Copyright
Title Fruits Caption Acanthospermum australe (spiny-bur); close view of fruits and a flower. Honeydew, Gauteng, South Africa. February 2016. Copyright ©Paul Venter-2016/via wikipedia - CC BY-SA 3.0	Fruits	Acanthospermum australe (spiny-bur); close view of fruits and a flower. Honeydew, Gauteng, South Africa. February 2016.	©Paul Venter-2016/via wikipedia - CC BY-SA 3.0
Title Habit Caption Acanthospermum australe (spiny-bur); habit. Kukumamalu gulch, Molokai, Hawaii, USA. May, 2005. Copyright ©Forest & Kim Starr-2005 - CC BY 3.0	Habit	Acanthospermum australe (spiny-bur); habit. Kukumamalu gulch, Molokai, Hawaii, USA. May, 2005.	©Forest & Kim Starr-2005 - CC BY 3.0
Title Habit Caption Acanthospermum australe (spiny-bur); habit. Polihua Rd, Lanai, Hawaii, USA. April, 2007. Copyright ©Forest & Kim Starr-2007 - CC BY 3.0	Habit	Acanthospermum australe (spiny-bur); habit. Polihua Rd, Lanai, Hawaii, USA. April, 2007.	©Forest & Kim Starr-2007 - CC BY 3.0
Title Habit Caption Acanthospermum australe (spiny-bur); habit, with flowers. Hanaula, Maui, Hawaii, USA. September, 2011. Copyright ©Forest & Kim Starr-2011 - CC BY 3.0	Habit	Acanthospermum australe (spiny-bur); habit, with flowers. Hanaula, Maui, Hawaii, USA. September, 2011.	©Forest & Kim Starr-2011 - CC BY 3.0
Title Flowers and leaves Caption Acanthospermum australe (spiny-bur); flowers and leaves. Hanaula, Maui, Hawaii, USA. September, 2011. Copyright ©Forest & Kim Starr-2011 - CC BY 3.0	Flowers and leaves	Acanthospermum australe (spiny-bur); flowers and leaves. Hanaula, Maui, Hawaii, USA. September, 2011.	©Forest & Kim Starr-2011 - CC BY 3.0

Identity

Preferred Scientific Name

• Acanthospermum australe (Loefl.) Kuntze

Preferred Common Name

• spiny-bur

Other Scientific Names

• Acanthospermum brasilum Schrank.
• Acanthospermum hirsutum DC.
• Acanthospermum xanthioides (Kunth) DC.
• Echinodium prostratum Poit.
• Melampodium australe Loefl.
• Orcya adhaerens Vell.
• Orcya adhaerescens Vell.

International Common Names

• English: creeping starbur; guay greenstripe; Paraguayan starbur; Paraguay-bur; Paraguay-starbur; sheep-bur; spiny bur; star bur

Local Common Names

• Brazil: amor-de-negro; carrapichinho; carrapicho-rasteiro; cordao de sapochifrinho; maroto; mata-pasto; tapekué
• Hawaii: ‘ihi kukae hipa; kukaehipa; pipili
• Paraguay: tapeku
• South Africa: donkieklits; eight-seeded starbur; jodeluis; kruipsterklits; setla-bocha

Summary of Invasiveness

Acanthospermum australe is a creeping annual or short-lived perennial plant, which originates from the tropics and sub-tropics of Central and South America. A. australe has been introduced to China, Australia, Africa, and the USA, where it is classed as invasive in the states of Hawaii and Oregon. It spreads to form dense mats that can smother other low-growing vegetation. In Australia, A. australe is seen as a threat to native mat-forming species in coastal sand dunes and in hind-dune vegetation. It is also regarded as an invasive species within its native range in Brazil, where it occurs in conservation areas.

Taxonomic Tree

• Domain: Eukaryota
•     Kingdom: Plantae
•         Phylum: Spermatophyta
•             Subphylum: Angiospermae
•                 Class: Dicotyledonae
•                     Order: Asterales
•                         Family: Asteraceae
•                             Genus: Acanthospermum
•                                 Species: Acanthospermum australe

Description

Annual or short-term perennial, stems 10-60(-120) cm, mostly procumbent. Leaves cauline. Leaves rhombic-ovate to triangular, 1.5-3.5 cm long, 1-3 cm wide, with conspicuous glands on both surfaces, margins irregularly serrate above the middle, base cuneate, petioles 0.3-1.5 cm long. Heads 4-6 mm in diameter, generally solitary, with 3-8 white-cream-yellow ray florets and 3-8 yellowish disc florets functionally staminate. The single-seeded fruits (cypselae) are each enclosed within and shed with an often hardened, ± prickly perigynium, ultimately plumply ellipsoid to fusiform, or ± compressed (PIER, 2015; PROTA, 2015; ZipcodeZoo, 2015).

A. australe has small stomata and 4-5-cellular non-glandular hairs (Martins et al., 2006).

Plant Type

Distribution

A. australe is native to South and Central America, but has been introduced widely to Mexico and USA, including Hawaii. Distribution is generally localized in China and Australia, and mostly sporadic in a number of countries in Africa. GBIF (2015) has single records from many African countries, perhaps suggesting some mis-identification. GBIF (2015) records for A. australe in South Africa and Swaziland include multiple specimens. Contrastingly, there are no occurrences of A. australe listed in these countries in Flora Zambesiaca (2015).

Distribution Table

The distribution in this summary table is based on all the information available. When several references are cited, they may give conflicting information on the status. Further details may be available for individual references in the Distribution Table Details section which can be selected by going to Generate Report.

History of Introduction and Spread

In the USA, early introductions of A. australe occurred in Alabama and Hawaii in 1877 and 1895, respectively. In Australia, it was first recorded in New South Wales in 1967 (Benson and McDougall, 1994), and in Queensland in 1994 (Technigro, 2010). However, the origins of these introductions are not detailed.

Introductions

Habitat

A. australe, a plant of disturbed ground, commonly occurs on roadsides and in crops in its native South America. In Hawai’i it is naturalized along roadsides and other relatively dry, open, disturbed areas (PIER, 2015). In Australia it occurs on sand dunes and sandy soils along footpaths and roadsides in the near-coastal areas (Technigro, 2010). 

Habitat List

Hosts/Species Affected

Host Plants/Plants Affected

Growth Stages

Biology and Ecology

Genetics

The chromosome number of A. australe has been found as 2n = 20 and 22 (Missouri Botanical Garden, 2015). Other sources usually indicate 2n = 22.    

Reproductive Biology

In the cogeneric A. hispidum, self-pollination and cross-pollination occur by wind. A. australe is assumed to have similar pollination behaviour, since it is also monoecious, having male flowers in the centre and female flowers on the outside of the inflorescence. However, it is also known to be pollinated by bees (Isahara and Miamoni-Rodell, 2011).

Very little information is available on the germination of A. australe seeds, but B & T World Seeds (2015) suggest that it may be stimulated by smoke.

Vegetative propagation can occur from the prostrate stems (Technigro, 2010).

Physiology and Phenology

As a member of the Heliantheae (tribe Asteraceae), A. australe is known to have C₄ physiology.

Longevity

Longevity of the plant is not normally more than one year. However, although A. australe is generally referred to as an annual, Technigro (2010) describes it as ‘long-lived’ and refers to the dangers of vegetative propagation, presumably from the prostrate stems.

Associations

The following endophytic fungi have been found to have associations with A. australe in Argentina: Alternaria alternata, Aureobasidium pullulans, Fusarium oxysporum, F. solani, Myrothecium roridum, Phoma sp. and Sordaria fimicola. It is suggested that some of these may have significance in medicinal terms (Giusiano et al., 2010).

Environmental Requirements

A. australe thrives in warm, relatively dry conditions.

Climate

Latitude/Altitude

Rain Regime

Soil Tolerances

Soil drainage

• free

Soil reaction

• neutral

Soil texture

• light
• medium

Special soil tolerances

• shallow

Natural Enemies

Notes on Natural Enemies

A. australe is an alternate host of Thanatephorus cucumeris, the causal agent of web blight on dry beans, and the plants are quite severely affected (Costa et al., 2007). No other natural enemies are commonly reported.

Means of Movement and Dispersal

Vector Transmission

A. australe is readily transported by livestock due to the spiky burs, which attach themselves to the coats/tails.

Accidental Introduction

Accidental introduction can occur via the import of pelts or wool of livestock.

Intentional Introduction

Intentional introduction is unlikely. The plant’s applications in medicine are generally known only locally, where the weed already occurs, so the risk of introduction outside of these areas is minimal.

Pathway Causes

Pathway Vectors

Impact Summary

Economic Impact

A. australe is a major weed of crops, especially in Brazil. These include soybean, Phaseolus beans, rice, cotton, groundnut, maize, cassava, okra and tomatoes, but there are no exact estimates of the losses caused.

It is also an alternate host of Thanatephorus cucumeris, the causal agent of web blight on dry beans (Costa et al., 2007).

Environmental Impact

A. australe is regarded as an environmental weed in Australia, where it can threaten the native vegetation of sand dunes (Technigro, 2010). In Hawaii it is among the group of invasive species threatening the endangered grass Poa mannii on the island of Kauai (USFWS, 2008).

Risk and Impact Factors

Impact mechanisms

• Competition
• Competition - smothering
• Produces spines, thorns or burrs

Impact outcomes

• Negatively impacts agriculture
• Reduced native biodiversity
• Threat to/ loss of native species

Invasiveness

• Abundant in its native range
• Has a broad native range
• Highly adaptable to different environments
• Invasive in its native range
• Pioneering in disturbed areas
• Proved invasive outside its native range
• Reproduces asexually

Likelihood of entry/control

• Highly likely to be transported internationally accidentally

Uses

Social Benefit

A. australe has a wide range of traditional medicinal uses, with supposed activity against: the protozoan Acanthamoeba polyphaga trophozoites (Castro et al., 2013); a range of fungi causing skin diseases in Paraguay (Portillo et al., 2001) and specifically Candida albicans in Brazil (Fabri et al., 2011); rheumatism and arthritis (by internal administration); and swelling and bleeding (by external application) (Shimizu et al., 1987); malaria in South Africa (Nethengwe et al., 2012); herpes and polio viruses (Martins et al., 2011); and for anti-fertility, foot problems and sores (Duke, 2015). Hepatoprotective properties have also been reported.

The basis for these uses has not been explained, but Carvalho et al. (2014) have confirmed antimicrobial activity of oil from A. australe, and high antioxidant activity was confirmed in Argentina (Desmarchelier et al., 1997). The detection of high concentrations of caffeoylquinic acids in the plants indicated that their use in traditional medicine is justified (Debenedetti et al., 1993). Acanthostral, a novel germacranolide, was isolated as an antineoplastic constituent from the above-ground parts of A. australe, showing significant activity against L1210 (murine leukaemia) cell cultures (Matsunaga et al., 1996).

Similarities to Other Species/Conditions

A. australe is similar to A. hispidum, but the latter can be distinguished by its upright habit and the fact that its fruits have two larger spines at their tips. A short petiole in A. hispidum is another diagnostic trait that distinguishes it from A. australe. Types of glandular trichomes can also be used to distinguish these two species (Araújo et al., 2013).

Prevention and Control

Cultural Control and Sanitary Measures

It is especially important to avoid the spread of A. australe by the sticky burs on animal coats or human clothing.

Physical/Mechanical Control

A. australe can be controlled mechanically in the early stages of growth, but this becomes more difficult as the plant matures and becomes woody at the base.

Movement Control

Avoid transfer by grazing animals and in human clothing.

Chemical Control

A. australe is controlled by glyphosate in non-crop situations and in glyphosate-tolerant soybeans. Other herbicides of use in soybean include: a mixture of diclosulam and flumetsulam (Fortuna and Dutra,1999); chlorimuron-ethyl plus metribuzin (with or without cyanazine) (Guimarães, 1988); and sethoxydim plus bentazone (sethoxydim is not effective on its own).

Herbicides for other crops include: benthiocarb (thiobencarb) + propanil, propanil + 2,4-D, propanil + oxadiazon (for rice); diuron +/- sethoxydim, paraquat (for cotton); trifluralin (for okra).

A. australe apparently has an unusual susceptibility to fluazifop-butyl (Zhang and Luo, 2010), a characteristic which could be of value in a range of broad-leaved crops.

Gaps in Knowledge/Research Needs

There is a scarcity of information on many aspects of this weed, particularly its environmental requirements, germination requirements, and seed longevity.

References

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B & T World Seeds, 2015. Graines de germination induites par fumee. Aigues-Vives, France: B & T World Seeds. http://b-and-t-world-seeds.com/aleCat.asp?title=Graines%20de%20Germination%20Induites%20par%20Fumee&list=185

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Carvalho CCde, Turatti ICC, Lopes NP, Salvador MJ, Nascimento AMdo, 2014. Chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of essential oil from Brazilian plants Acanthospermum australe, Calea fruticosa and Mikania glauca. African Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, 8(14):392-398. http://www.academicjournals.org/article/article1398180439_de%20Carvalho%20et%20al.pdf

Castro LC, Sauter IP, Ethur EM, Kauffmann C, Dall'agnol R, Souza J, Cibulski SP, Muniz AW, Weidlich L, Lohmann PM, Roehe PM, Germani JC, Rott MB, Sand STvand der, 2013. In vitro effect of Acanthospermum australe (Asteraceae) extracts on Acanthamoeba polyphaga trophozoites. Revista Brasileira de Plantas Medicinais, 15(4):589-594. http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1516-05722013000400016&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en

Costa GR, Lobo Júnior M, CaféFilho AC, 2007. Acanthospermum australe is an alternate host of Thanatephorus cucumeris, the causal agent of web blight on dry beans. (Acanthospermum australe é hospedeiro alternativo de Thanatephorus cucumeris, agente causal da mela do feijoeiro.) Fitopatologia Brasileira, 32(1):83. http://www.scielo.br/pdf/fb/v32n1/14.pdf

Debenedetti SL, Palacios PS, Wilson EG, Coussio JD, 1993. HPLC analysis of caffeoylquinic acids content in Argentine medicinal plants. In: Acta Horticulturae, No. 333 [ed. by Franz Ch, Seitz R, Verlet N], 191-199.

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Martins LRR, Mourão KSM, Albiero ALM, Cortez DAG, Dias Filho BP, NakamuraFunke CV, 2006. A preliminary morphological and anatomical study of the stem and leaf of Acanthospermum australe (Loefl.) Kuntze (Asteraceae-Heliantheae). (Estudo morfoanatômico preliminar do caule e da folha de Acanthospermum australe (Loefl.) Kuntze (Asteraceae-Heliantheae)). Revista Brasileira de Farmacognosia, 16(1):42-52.

Matsunaga K, Saitoh M, Ohizumi Y, 1996. Acanthostral, a novel antineoplastic cis,cis,cis-germacranolide from Acanthospermum australe. Tetrahedron Letters, 37(9):1455-1456.

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Contributors

17/04/15 Original text by:

Chris Parker, Consultant, Bristol, UK

Distribution Maps

• = Present, no further details
• = Evidence of pathogen
• = Widespread
• = Last reported
• = Localised
• = Presence unconfirmed
• = Confined and subject to quarantine
• = See regional map for distribution within the country
• = Occasional or few reports

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