Two varieties of the invasive liana, cat’s claw creeper, Macfadyena unguis-cati (Bignoniaceae) in Queensland, Australia (original) (raw)

Shortus, M. and Dhileepan, K. (2010)Two varieties of the invasive liana, cat’s claw creeper, Macfadyena unguis-cati (Bignoniaceae) in Queensland, Australia. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland, 116 . pp. 13-20.

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Article URL: http://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=428087810081031;res=IELHSS
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Abstract

The invasive liana cat’s claw creeper, Macfadyena unguis-cati, native to tropical Central and South America, is a major environmental weed in Queensland and New South Wales (NSW). Two morphologically distinct cat’s claw creeper varieties occur in Australia, a ‘short-pod’ variety that is widespread through Queensland and NSW and a ‘long-pod’ variety restricted to a few sites in southeast Queensland. In this study we report the differences in the above-ground morphological, phenological and reproductive traits between the two varieties. The ‘long-pod’ variety has significantly larger leaves, larger pods, and larger number of seeds per pod than the ‘short-pod’ variety. The ‘short-pod’ variety has a slightly wider pods, and thicker leaves than the ‘long-pod’ variety. Both varieties have a yellow trumpet shaped flower, but the flower of the ‘long-pod’ variety has a deeper hue of yellow than the ‘short-pod’ flower. The fruits of the ‘short-pod’ variety mature in late summer to early autumn while the fruits of ‘long-pod’ variety mature in late winter to early spring. The more widespread nature of the ‘short-pod’ variety could potentially be due to a preference for this variety as an ornamental plant, due to its more presentable foliage characteristics and shorter pods, in contrast to the ‘long-pod’ variety.

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