Download Nothoscordum borbonicum

Weeds of Australia - Biosecurity Queensland Edition Fact Sheet
Nothoscordum borbonicum
Scientific Name
Nothoscordum borbonicum Kunth
Synonyms
Allium fragrans Vent. (misapplied)
Nothoscordum fragrans (Vent.) Kunth (misapplied)
Nothoscordum gracile (Ait.) Stearn (misapplied)
Nothoscordum inodorum (Ait.) G. Nicholson (misapplied)
infestation (Photo: Sheldon Navie)
Family
Alliaceae (Queensland, New South Wales, the ACT and Western Australia)
Liliaceae (Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania)
Common Names
false onion weed, fragrant false garlic, fragrant false-garlic, fragrant onion, Gowie's
curse, Gowie weed, honeybells, oleanderleaf nothoscordum, slender false garlic, sweet
garlic, wild onion
habit (Photo: Sheldon Navie)
Origin
Native to southern Mexico, Central America (i.e. Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras and
Panama) and South America (i.e. Brazil, Peru, Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay).
Naturalised Distribution
This widely naturalised introduced species is mostly found in the southern and eastern
parts of Australia, particularly around populated areas. It is most common in southeastern Queensland, eastern New South Wales, the ACT, Victoria and south-eastern
South Australia. Occasionally naturalised in south-western Western Australia, in inland
southern and central Queensland, in inland New South Wales and in Tasmania. It has
also been naturalised on Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island, though it is thought to
have been eradicated from Lord Howe Island.
habit (Photo: Sheldon Navie)
Widely naturalised in other temperate regions of the world, including in Europe,
southern Africa and the USA.
Habitat
A common weed of gardens, footpaths, lawns, waste areas, disturbed sites, roadsides,
pastures, crops and wetlands in the temperate and sub-tropical regions of Australia.
the strap-like, bluish-green, leaves (Photo: Sheldon Navie)
Habit
A long-lived (i.e. perennial) onion-like plant with upright (i.e. erect) stems usually
growing 15-60 cm tall, but occasionally reaching up to 1 m in height.
Distinguishing Features
a long-lived, bulbous, onion-like plant with narrow, strap-like (i.e. flattened),
leaves.
these leaves are only produced in loose clusters at the base of the plant.
its whitish-coloured flowers are borne in dense clusters at the top of long,
upright, stalks.
its fruit are small capsules with three compartments.
Seedling
The flowering stems (i.e. scapes) are slender, cylindrical, and green in colour.
The leaves are narrow and strap-like (15-60 cm long and 2-10 mm wide) with papery
close-up of base of stems and leaves (Photo: Sheldon
Navie)
sheaths at the base and only a faint onion-like smell. They are clustered together, in a
group of 2-10, at the base of the plant and are usually drooping in nature. These leaves
are hairless (i.e. glabrous), with entire margins and rounded tips (i.e. obtuse apices).
Stems and Leaves
The small underground bulbs are egg-shaped (i.e. ovoid) and white in colour (15-25 mm
in size). Mature plants have a large main bulb with many smaller 'bulblets' clustered
around its base. Each year these bulbs give rise to several basal leaves and an upright
(i.e. erect), cylindrical, flowering stem.
The leaves are narrow (i.e. linear), strap-like (i.e. flattened) and 15-60 cm x 4-10 mm in
size. They possess papery sheaths at the base and give off only a faint, onion-like, smell.
young flower cluster, enclosed in a pair of papery bracts
(Photo: Sheldon Navie)
Flowers and Fruit
The fragrant white flowers (1-1.5 cm long) are borne in clusters of 8-20 at the top of an
upright (i.e. erect) stalk 40-100 cm long. Individual flowers are borne on stalks (i.e.
pedicels) 1-4.5 cm long that emanate from the same point (i.e. in an umbel). Young
flower clusters are enclosed in two papery bracts (i.e. spathes) 6-15 mm long. Each
flower has six 'petals' (i.e. perianth segments or tepals) 8-15 mm long that are white
with pale green to pinkish or brownish central markings. They also have six yellow
stamens (7-8 mm long) and an ovary topped with a whitish style and stigma. Flowering
occurs in mostly during spring and summer (i.e. from September to January).
The small capsules (5-8 mm long) turn from green to pale brown in colour as they
mature. They have three compartments, each containing 4-12 seeds. These seeds are
black, strongly angled and about 2 mm long.
close-up of flowers (Photo: Sheldon Navie)
Reproduction and Dispersal
This species reproduces by seed and also vegetatively via underground bulbs. The eggshaped (i.e. ovoid) bulbs are white (1.5-2.5 cm long) and mature plants have a large
main bulb with many smaller bulblets clustered around it.
Seeds can be dispersed by wind and water and in dumped garden waste, while the
bulbs and bulblets are spread by the movement of contaminated soil.
Environmental Impact
mature fruit with black seeds (Photo: Sheldon Navie)
False onion weed ( Nothoscordum borbonicum) is regarded as an environmental weed
in Victoria, South Australia, New South Wales and Western Australia. While this species
is common as a garden weed in large parts of southern and eastern Australia, it is
mainly a concern as an environmental weed in coastal districts in temperate regions. It
has spread from gardens into riparian areas, wetlands, estuarine areas and coastal
sand dunes.
False onion weed ( Nothoscordum borbonicum) appears on several environmental weed
lists in the wider Sydney and Blue Mountains region, where it invades river edges and
estuarine flats. It has been recorded in numerous conservation areas in this region (i.e.
Mount Gibraltar Reserve, McKay Reserve, Lane Cove National Park, Cooper Park,
Deepwater Reserve and Bungan Beach Reserve) and also in Montagu Island Nature
Reserve, off the southern coast of New South Wales.
flower cluster, with pale pinkish markings down the centre
of some of the 'petals' (Photo: Sheldon Navie)
This species is also a common environmental weed of the Adelaide region, where it
occurs on plains, along creek and on hillsides. For example, it is listed as an invasive
plant in bushland in the Adelaide Hills Council District and has been recorded as a weed in the Murtho Park wetland complex and in Innes National
Park in South Australia.
In Victoria, false onion weed ( Nothoscordum borbonicum) has been recorded in Yarra Bend Park in suburban Melbourne, and is listed as an
environmental weed in the Goulburn Broken Catchment. It is also an occasional weed of riparian vegetation in Brisbane area and the Burnett River
Catchment in south-eastern Queensland, and is found in disturbed bushland between Perth and Albany in south-western Western Australia.
Other Impacts
This species is also a common and very difficult to eradicate weed of gardens.
Legislation
Not declared or considered noxious by any state government authorities.
Similar Species
False onion weed ( Nothoscordum borbonicum) is similar to three-cornered garlic ( Allium triquetrum), onion weed ( Asphodelus fistulosus) and dune
onion weed ( Trachyandra divaricata). These species can be distinguished by the following differences:
false onion weed ( Nothoscordum borbonicum) has flattened, strap-like, leaves and produces upright flowers that are borne in clusters at
the top of its thin, cylindrical, unbranched stems. These flowers sometimes have a reddish or greenish-coloured stripe running down the
outside of each 'petal' (i.e. perianth segment).
three-cornered garlic ( Allium triquetrum) has flattened, strap-like, leaves (with a 'keel' running down one side) and produces drooping
flowers that are borne in small, loose clusters at the top of its three-angled (i.e. triquetrous), unbranched stems. These flowers have a
green stripe running down the middle of each 'petal' (i.e. perianth segment).
onion weed ( Asphodelus fistulosus) has cylindrical, hollow, leaves and produces flowers that are borne along its thin, cylindrical, fewbranched stems. These flowers have a reddish stripe running down the middle of each 'petal' (i.e. perianth segment).
dune onion weed ( Trachyandra divaricata) has flattened, hollow, leaves and produces flowers that are borne along its cylindrical, muchbranched stems. These flowers have a reddish stripe running down the middle of each 'petal' (i.e. perianth segment).
Fact sheets are available from Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation (DEEDI) service centres and our Customer Service Centre (telephone 13
25 23). Check our website at www.biosecurity.qld.gov.au to ensure you have the latest version of this fact sheet. The control methods referred to in this fact sheet
should be used in accordance with the restrictions (federal and state legislation, and local government laws) directly or indirectly related to each control method. These
restrictions may prevent the use of one or more of the methods referred to, depending on individual circumstances. While every care is taken to ensure the accuracy of
this information, DEEDI does not invite reliance upon it, nor accept responsibility for any loss or damage caused by actions based on it.
Copyright © 2016. All rights reserved. Identic Pty Ltd. Special edition of Environmental Weeds of Australia for Biosecurity Queensland.
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