Echium plantagineum in Australia
E. plantagineum is known for its rapid growth, high seed production, and ability to thrive in disturbed soils, making it a major invasive species in agricultural areas.
Africa, the Iberian Peninsula and Atlantic Western Europe, it was introduced to Australia in the 19th century, where it has since become a serious environmental and economical problem.
Other names for the plant include Blueweed, Lady Campbell weed, Riverina bluebell, Purple bugloss and Ucolta Curse [1].
"This weed was introduced to this district by the people (Patersons), who lived in a small farm adjoining this estate, as a garden flower, about twenty-five years ago.
In a speech to the Field Naturalists Society of South Australia, he says: "It has been christened "Salvation Jane," because it bears some resemblance to the poke bonnet which is worn, or was worn, not long ago by the Salvation Army lasses" [7].An alternative explanation for the name is that the plant provided a 'salvation' for landholders in the semi-arid grazing lands of the mid-north of South Australia during drought years.
E. plantagineum was deliberately introduced as an ornamental plant in the 1840s through seed importation from England, via Madeira, the Canary Islands, and South Africa, the main shipping route before the opening of the Suez Canal.
Accidental introductions may have also occurred, such as with contaminated canary and cumin seeds from Morocco and France, as well as in agricultural produce like fodder[9].
The earliest recorded instance in Australia dates back to 1843, when it was introduced as an ornamental plant in the Camden gardens of John Macarthur near Sydney.
Paterson's curse can germinate under a wide variety of temperature conditions, tolerates dry periods well, and responds vigorously to fertiliser.
It can rapidly establish a large population on disturbed ground and competes vigorously with both smaller plants and the seedlings of regenerating overstorey species.
Its spread has been greatly aided by human-induced habitat degradation, particularly the removal of perennial grasses through overgrazing by sheep and cattle and the introduction of the rabbit.
Control of the plant is carried out by hand (for small infestations) or with any of a variety of herbicides, and must be continued over many years to reduce the seedbank.
The Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) has carried out research on numerous classical biological control solutions, and of the 100-odd insects found feeding on Paterson's curse in the Mediterranean, judged six safe to release in Australia without endangering crops or native plants.
The leaf-mining moth Dialectica scalariella, the crown weevil Mogulones larvatus, root weevil Mogulones geographicus, and flea beetle Longitarsus echii are now currently widely distributed in southern Australia and can be found easily on most large Paterson's curse plants encountered.
The most recent economic analysis, however, suggests that biological control has already brought nearly $1.2 B in benefits to Australia by reducing the amount of Paterson's curse in pastures.
