Outbreak of a new alien invasive plant Salvia reflexa in north‐east China

Abstract

Summary The establishment of invasive species is widely recognised as a pivotal issue in the preservation of biodiversity. Salvia reflexa, a species native to the south‐central United States and Mexico, has been widely introduced in Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. In China, the first population of this plant was found growing adjacent to a grain depot in Shahai village, Jianping County, Liaoning Province, on 25 July 2007. Since the grain depot imported foodstuffs from regions where the plant is native, we infer that S. reflexa was introduced into China via imported foodstuff in the early to mid‐2000s. Based on field observations, at least seven populations of this plant were observed in north‐east China. The plants displayed vigorous growth in midsummer and produced prolific seeds to overcome the cold environment in winter. Salvia reflexa occurred in both dense monocultures and in mixed stands with native plants. In order to validate a system for recognising and categorising non‐native plants in China, the Australian Weed Risk Assessment system was used to assess the invasiveness status of 19 exotic and 16 native plants in north‐east China. Salvia reflexa exhibited a high score of 10, suggesting it is a potentially pernicious alien invasive plant. Although the current distribution of S. reflexa is restricted to Liaoning province and thus far has limited impact on local environments, local regulatory authorities should pay close attention to this plant and take measures to stop its expansion. This is the first time that an invasive plant from the Lamiaceae (mint family) has been documented from cold environments in China.

Geographical distribution of the dispersal ability of alien plant species in China and its socio-climatic control factors

“…These results implied that high-risk alien plant species (i.e., those that resulted in considerable economic and ecological loss) had a higher natural dispersal ability, and low-risk alien plant species (i.e., those that resulted in less or negligible economic and ecological loss) exhibited a lower natural dispersal ability. Possible reasons for this include the fact that high-risk alien plant species rely more on natural dispersal strategies, and rely less on anthropogenic strategies apart from accidental introduction (e.g., speirochory or introduced involuntarily via mixing with grain or fodder) 14 , 35 , 48 , 49 . For example, Ageratina adenophora (common name: crofton weed; rank I), which was accidentally introduced to China from Mexico, is a notorious weed that exerts considerable ecological impacts and causes substantial economic losses 50 , 51 .…”

Occurrence Record of and Possible Invasion by Scarlet Sage (Salvia coccinea Buc’hoz ex Etl.) in South Africa

“…The species invades places such as gardens, disturbed areas, roadsides, open spaces, and wetlands (Witt and Luke, 2017). Several species in the genus Salvia, such as Salvia tiliifolia, are regarded as invasive in South Africa and China, while Salvia reflexa has recently been reported to be invasive in China (Hu et al, 2013;Shao et al, 2019), in India, it is reported to cause death in goats and to be toxic for cattle (Nagal et al, 2014;Witt and Luke, 2017), and in Australia (Hindmarsh, 1932). Salvia coccinea is not listed in the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act (NEM:BA) inventories for South Africa (Department of Environmental Affairs, 2016).…”

Euro+Med-Checklist Notulae, 12

“…( , 2016, its occurrence in that country was first substantiated by . In both its native and non-native ranges, it occurs on trampled sites and as a weed of crops (Lovett & Lynch 1979;Shao & al. 2019).…”