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Datasheet

Anredera baselloides (Madeira vine)

Summary

  • Last modified
  • 01 October 2015
  • Datasheet Type(s)
  • Invasive Species
  • Pest
  • Preferred Scientific Name
  • Anredera baselloides
  • Preferred Common Name
  • Madeira vine
  • Taxonomic Tree
  • Domain: Eukaryota
  •     Kingdom: Plantae
  •         Phylum: Spermatophyta
  •             Subphylum: Angiospermae
  •                 Class: Dicotyledonae
  • Summary of Invasiveness
  • A. baselloides is an invasive succulent vine capable of smothering and destroying native vegetation. Currently, this species is regarded as an environmental weed in the Dominican Republic and as an agricultural weed in Sri Lanka where it is impact...

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Identity

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Preferred Scientific Name

  • Anredera baselloides (Kunth) Baill.

Preferred Common Name

  • Madeira vine

Other Scientific Names

  • Anredera weberbaueri (Ulbr.) Soukup
  • Boussingaultia baselloides Kunth
  • Boussingaultia weberbaueri Ulbr.
  • Tournonia leptostachys Moq.

International Common Names

  • Spanish: anredera busingaulcia; false yedra; liana de madeira; suelda con suelda; viña de madeira

Summary of Invasiveness

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A. baselloides is an invasive succulent vine capable of smothering and destroying native vegetation. Currently, this species is regarded as an environmental weed in the Dominican Republic and as an agricultural weed in Sri Lanka where it is impacting tea plantations (Ranamukhaarachchi et al., 1997). The species has climbing stems which can totally envelop the canopy layer, reducing light penetration and eventually killing the plants beneath and preventing the germination and regeneration of native plants. 

Taxonomic Tree

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  • Domain: Eukaryota
  •     Kingdom: Plantae
  •         Phylum: Spermatophyta
  •             Subphylum: Angiospermae
  •                 Class: Dicotyledonae
  •                     Order: Caryophyllales
  •                         Family: Basellaceae
  •                             Genus: Anredera
  •                                 Species: Anredera baselloides

Notes on Taxonomy and Nomenclature

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Basellaceae is a small family of flowering plants including 4 genera and about 19 species distributed in Africa and the New World and apparently introduced into India-East Asia (Stevens, 2012). This family is placed in the order Caryophyllales and traditionally members of this family are recognized by the following combination of morphological characters (Eriksson, 2007):

  • Fleshy vines
  • Indeterminate inflorescences (except Tournonia)
  • Flowers subtended by two bracteoles
  • Perianth consisting of two sepals and five petals
  • Indehiscent fruits surrounded by a persistent perianth.

Description

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Twining vine. Stem glabrous, not producing tubers. Leaf blades 2-8.5 × 1-5 cm, elliptic, at base rounded to cuneate, at apex acute to shortly acuminate. Inflorescences 4 - 25(- 35) cm long, unbranched or rarely with few (to many) branches, often with rather stout axis. Pedicels 1-3 mm long. Bracteoles persistent, triangular to very broadly ovate or almost circular, usually free. Flowers bisexual. Sepals 2.5-3.5 × 2-2.5 mm, usually shorter than petals, rarely equalling them in length, patent, ovate to elliptic, at anthesis whitish or cream-colored, in fruit brown. Petals 3-4 × 1-2 mm, uniform, more or less patent at anthesis and more or less erect in fruit, elliptic to obovate, at anthesis whitish or cream-colored, in fruit brown. Anthers at least sometimes pale reddish. Style 1, undivided. Fruit completely surrounded or loosely enclosed by persistent, more or less erect petals (Eriksson, 2007). 

Plant Type

Top of pageHerbaceous
Perennial
Seed propagated
Vine / climber

Distribution

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A. baselloides is native to Ecuador and Peru (Eriksson, 2007; Govaerts, 2014). It is naturalized in Bermuda, Dominican Republic, Florida (USA) and Sri Lanka (Anderson, 1995; Ranamukhaarachchi et al., 1997; Acevedo-Rodríguez and Strong, 2012; Govaerts, 2014).  

Distribution Table

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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.

CountryDistributionLast ReportedOriginFirst ReportedInvasiveReferencesNotes

ASIA

Sri LankaPresentIntroducedRanamukhaarachchi et al., 1997Agricultural weed

AFRICA

South AfricaPresentIntroducedWells et al., 1986Listed as a synonym of A. cordifolia

NORTH AMERICA

BermudaPresentIntroducedGovaerts, 2014
USA
-FloridaPresentIntroducedAnderson, 1995Naturalized

CENTRAL AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN

Dominican RepublicPresentIntroducedInvasiveAcevedo-Rodriguez & Strong, 2012

SOUTH AMERICA

EcuadorPresentNativeGovaerts, 2014
PeruPresentNativeGovaerts, 2014

History of Introduction and Spread

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A. baselloides was probably introduced to be used as an ornamental. In the Dominican Republic this species is cultivated as an ornamental and has escaped from cultivation becoming invasive, but there is no information available about the date of introduction on this island. In Florida, it was first reported as naturalized and locally abundant in the area of Tallahassee in 1993 (Anderson, 1995). 

Habitat

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Within its native distribution range, A. baselloides grows in semi-dry scrub or sometimes more humid forest in the Andes of Ecuador and Peru (Eriksson, 2007). Outside these areas, it can be found naturalized along railroad embankments in Florida (USA) and in forest gaps, forest edges, riparian zones, waste areas, disturbed sites, and gardens in the Dominican Republic (Liogier, 1988; Anderson, 1995).

Habitat List

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CategoryHabitatPresenceStatus
Terrestrial-managed
Disturbed areasPresent, no further detailsHarmful (pest or invasive)
Disturbed areasPresent, no further detailsNatural
Managed forests, plantations and orchardsPresent, no further detailsHarmful (pest or invasive)
Managed forests, plantations and orchardsPresent, no further detailsNatural
Rail / roadsidesPresent, no further detailsHarmful (pest or invasive)
Rail / roadsidesPresent, no further detailsNatural

Hosts/Species Affected

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A. baselloides has been reported as an agricultural weed impacting tea plantations in Sri Lanka (Ranamukhaarachchi et al., 1997). 

Host Plants/Plants Affected

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Plant nameFamilyContext
Camellia sinensis (tea)TheaceaeMain

Growth Stages

Top of pageFlowering stage, Fruiting stage, Vegetative growing stage

Climate

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ClimateStatusDescriptionRemark
Am - Tropical monsoon climatePreferredTropical monsoon climate ( < 60mm precipitation driest month but > (100 - [total annual precipitation(mm}/25]))
As - Tropical savanna climate with dry summerPreferred< 60mm precipitation driest month (in summer) and < (100 - [total annual precipitation{mm}/25])
Cw - Warm temperate climate with dry winterToleratedWarm temperate climate with dry winter (Warm average temp. > 10°C, Cold average temp. > 0°C, dry winters)

Air Temperature

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ParameterLower limitUpper limit
Mean annual temperature (ºC)1735

Rainfall

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ParameterLower limitUpper limitDescription
Mean annual rainfall8002000mm; lower/upper limits

Soil Tolerances

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Soil texture

  • heavy
  • light
  • medium

Means of Movement and Dispersal

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A. baselloides spreads by seeds, but apparently fruit production outside its native distribution range is rare. Here, it is mostly spread by people both intentionally and unintentionally. The vine escapes from cultivation spreading vegetatively and through pieces of rhizome and stems that separate from the parent plant. Plants can also spread in garden wastes (Anderson, 1995; Eriksson, 2007).  

Pathway Causes

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CauseNotesLong DistanceLocalReferences
DisturbanceYesYesRandall, 2012
Garden waste disposalYes
Ornamental purposesYesYes

Pathway Vectors

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VectorNotesLong DistanceLocalReferences
Debris and waste associated with human activitiesYesYes

Impact Summary

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CategoryImpact
Economic/livelihoodPositive and negative
Environment (generally)Positive and negative

Environmental Impact

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A. baselloides has escaped from cultivation to become invasive in the Dominican Republic. On this island it is spreading quickly and is competing for light, space, and water, smothering and replacing native vegetation. Once established, it is very difficult to control due to its aggressive vining nature. 

Risk and Impact Factors

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Impact mechanisms

  • Competition - shading
  • Competition - smothering

Impact outcomes

  • Host damage
  • Monoculture formation
  • Negatively impacts agriculture
  • Reduced native biodiversity
  • Threat to/ loss of native species

Invasiveness

  • Fast growing
  • Pioneering in disturbed areas
  • Proved invasive outside its native range

Likelihood of entry/control

  • Difficult to identify/detect in the field

Uses

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A. baselloides is occasionally used as an ornamental in gardens and for decoration on fences and walls (Acevedo-Rodriguez, 2005).  

Uses List

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Environmental

  • Amenity

Ornamental

  • Propagation material

Similarities to Other Species/Conditions

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A. baselloides can be confused with the close and highly invasive species A. cordifolia.  However, A. baselloides does not produce the specialized aerial tubers along the stems that are typical in A. cordifolia (Eriksson, 2007). 

Prevention and Control

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There is no information available about the control and management of A. baselloides.  However, information for the closely related species A. cordifolia can be found at the CABI ISC Website: http://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/112290.

References

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Acevedo-Rodríguez P, 2005. Vines and climbing plants of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Contributions from the United States National Herbarium, 51:483 pp.

Acevedo-Rodríguez P, Strong MT, 2012. Catalogue of the Seed Plants of the West Indies. Smithsonian Contributions to Botany, 98:1192 pp. Washington DC, USA: Smithsonian Institution. http://botany.si.edu/Antilles/WestIndies/catalog.htm

Anderson LC, 1995. Noteworthy plants from north Florida. SIDA, Contributions to Botany, 16(3):581-587.

Eriksson R, 2007. A Synopsis of Basellaceae. Kew Bulletin, 62(2):297-320.

Govaerts R, 2014. World Checklist of Basellaceae. Richmond, UK: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/

Liogier AH, 1988. La Flora de la Española ([English title not available])., Dominican Republic: Univ. Central de Este, San Pedro de Macorís.

Ranamukhaarachchi SL, Luxmei Silva MSDde , Perera B, Weerasuriya A, Marambe B, Nissanka SP, 1997. Problem of Anredera basselloides and Talinum paniculatum in tea plantations. TRI Update of the Tea Research Institute of Sri Lanka, 2(2):5-6.

Randall RP, 2012. A Global Compendium of Weeds. Perth, Australia: Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia, 1124 pp. http://www.cabi.org/isc/FullTextPDF/2013/20133109119.pdf

Stevens PF, 2012. Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/research/APweb/

Wells MJ, Balsinhas AA, Joffe H, Engelbrecht VM, Harding G, Stirton CH, 1986. A catalogue of problem plants in South Africa. Memoirs of the botanical survey of South Africa No 53. Pretoria, South Africa: Botanical Research Institute.

Contributors

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25/11/14 Original text by:

Julissa Rojas-Sandoval, Department of Botany-Smithsonian NMNH, Washington DC, USA

Pedro Acevedo-Rodríguez, Department of Botany-Smithsonian NMNH, Washington DC, USA

Distribution Maps

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Distribution map Bermuda: Present, introduced
Govaerts, 2014Dominican Republic: Present, introduced, invasive
Acevedo-Rodriguez & Strong, 2012Dominican Republic: Present, introduced, invasive
Acevedo-Rodriguez & Strong, 2012Ecuador: Present, native
Govaerts, 2014Sri Lanka: Present, introduced
Ranamukhaarachchi et al., 1997Peru: Present, native
Govaerts, 2014USA
See regional map for distribution within the countryUSA
See regional map for distribution within the countrySouth Africa: Present, introduced
Wells et al., 1986
  • = 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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Distribution map (asia) Sri Lanka: Present, introduced
Ranamukhaarachchi et al., 1997
Distribution map (europe)
Distribution map (africa) South Africa: Present, introduced
Wells et al., 1986
Distribution map (north america) Bermuda: Present, introduced
Govaerts, 2014Dominican Republic: Present, introduced, invasive
Acevedo-Rodriguez & Strong, 2012Florida: Present, introduced
Anderson, 1995
Distribution map (central america) Dominican Republic: Present, introduced, invasive
Acevedo-Rodriguez & Strong, 2012Florida: Present, introduced
Anderson, 1995
Distribution map (south america) Ecuador: Present, native
Govaerts, 2014Peru: Present, native
Govaerts, 2014
Distribution map (pacific)