Plants → Magnoliophyta → Liliopsida → Asparagales → Asparagaceae Juss. → Asparagus L. → Asparagus asparagoides (L.) Druce

Asparagus asparagoides (L.) Druce Bridal Creeper
Rep.Bot.Exch.Club Brit.Isles 3:414 (1914)

Conservation Code: Not threatened
Naturalised Status: Alien to Western Australia
Name Status: Current
Photo of Asparagus asparagoides (L.) Druce
Browse to the list of specimens for Asparagus asparagoides (L.) Druce

Brief Description
Grazyna Paczkowska, Wednesday 22 June 1994

Rhizomatous and tuberous, perennial, herb and climber, 1-5 m high. Fl. white, Aug to Sep. Sand, loam, clay, granite.

Distribution

Beard’s Provinces: Eremaean Province, South-West Province.

IBRA Regions: Avon Wheatbelt, Coolgardie, Esperance Plains, Geraldton Sandplains, Jarrah Forest, Mallee, Swan Coastal Plain, Warren.

IBRA Subregions: Avon Wheatbelt P1, Avon Wheatbelt P2, Dandaragan Plateau, Eastern Mallee, Fitzgerald, Lesueur Sandplain, Mardabilla, Northern Jarrah Forest, Perth, Recherche, Southern Cross, Southern Jarrah Forest, Warren, Western Mallee.

IMCRA Regions: Central West Coast, Leeuwin-Naturaliste, WA South Coast.

Local Government Areas (LGAs): Albany, Augusta-Margaret River, Beverley, Bunbury, Capel, Cockburn, Collie, Coorow, Corrigin, Cottesloe, Cranbrook, Cuballing, Dardanup, Denmark, Donnybrook-Balingup, Dumbleyung, Dundas, Esperance, Gingin, Gnowangerup, Harvey, Jerramungup, Mandurah, Manjimup, Melville, Nannup, Narrogin, Nedlands, Northam, Pingelly, Plantagenet, Ravensthorpe, Rockingham, Serpentine-Jarrahdale, Swan, Tammin, Wanneroo, Wickepin, Williams, Yilgarn.

Management Notes (for the Swan NRM Region)
Kate Brown and Karen Bettink, Tuesday 13 August 2019

Alternative Names. Bridal Creeper, Florists' Smilax.

General Biology. Growth form. Geophyte. Life form. Perennial rhizome/tuber. Reproduction. Primarily seed, occasionally rhizome/tubers. Dispersal. Birds, foxes, rabbits, water, soil, machinery, garden refuse. Time to first flowering. 2-3 years. Seedbank persistence. 2-3 years if buried. Fire response. Generally survives fire.

Notes. Biocontrol agents include a leafhopper, a rust fungus and a leaf beetle. Extremely invasive, smothers vegetation, forms monocultures, increases fire risk during summer die-off phase.

Additional information. Origin. South Africa. History of use/introduction. Garden escape. First recorded in Australia in 1857 and by 1870s was a common garden plant.

Suggested method of management and control. Spray 0.2 g metsulfuron methyl + Pulse® in 15 L water (or 2.5 - 5g /ha + Pulse®). Best results achieved when flowering. Biological control agents available. Read the manufacturers' labels and material safety data sheets before using herbicides. For further information consult the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority to determine the status of permits for your situation or state.

Management Calendar

Calendar Type Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Comments
Dormant Y Y                 Y Y  
Active Growth   O Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y O    
Flowering               Y Y        
Germination     Y Y Y Y Y Y Y        
Optimum Treatment             Y Y          

Legend: Y = Yes, regularly, O = Occasionally, U = Uncertain, referred by others but not confirmed.

 

References

  • Brown, K. & Brooks, K. (2002) Bushland Weeds: A Practical Guide to their Management. Environmental Weeds Action Network, Greenwood.
  • Hussey, B.M.J., Keighery, G.J., Dodd, J., Lloyd, S.G. & Cousens, R.D. (2007) Western Weeds. A guide to the weeds of Western Australia. 2nd Edition. The Plant Protection Society of Western Australia, Victoria Park.
  • Moore, C.B. & Moore, J.H. (2002) Herbiguide, the pesticide expert on a disk. Herbiguide, PO Box 44 Albany, Western Australia, 6330.
  • Pritchard, G.H. (2002) Evaluation of herbicides for the control of the environmental weed bridal creeper. Plant Protection Quarterly, 17 (1): 17-27.
  • Raymond, K. (1996) The ecology of bridal creeper in south-eastern Australia. In Proceedings of the Bridal Creeper Symposium (eds. J.P. Pigott, D.L. Lamont & G.J. Keighery). Plant Protection Quarterly, 11 (2): 47.
  • Stansbury, C.D. (1999) The invasiveness and biogeographical limits of the environmental weeds Bridal Creeper, Asparagus asparagoides, and Bridal Veil, A. declinatus, in south-western Australia. Ph.D Thesis, University of Western Australia, Perth.
  • Stansbury, C.D. (2001) Dispersal of the environmental weed Bridal Creeper, Asparagus asparagoides, by Silvereyes, Zosterops lateralis, in south-western Australia. Emu, 101: 39-45.
  • The National Asparagus Weeds Committee (2006) Asparagus Weeds; Best Practice Management Manual. Department of Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation, Government of South Australia URL: http://www.weeds.org.au/WoNS/bridalcreeper/ - Accessed June 2008.
  • Turner, P. J. & Virtue, J. G. (2009) Ten year post-fire response of a native ecosystem in the presence of high or low densities of the invasive weed, Asparagus asparagoides. Plant Protection Quarterly, 24 (1): 20-26.
  • Turner, P.J., Scott. J. K. & Spafford, H. (2008) The ecological barriers to the recovery of bridal creeper (Asparagus asparagoides (L.) Druce) infested sites: Impacts on vegetation and the potential increase in other exotic species. Austral Ecology, 33 (6): 713-722.
  • Willis, A.J. (2000) Best practice management guide, Bridal creeper, Asparagus asparagoides. CRC for Weed Management Systems, Canberra. URL: http://www.weedscrc.org.au/documents/bridal_creeper.pdf - Accessed December 2007.

Project information and acknowledgements