Recent discovery of small naturalised populations of Melaleuca quinquenervia (Cav.) S.T. Blake in South Africa

Abstract

The discovery of a naturalised population of Melaleuca quinquenervia in South Africa in 2009 prompted an evaluation of the species’ distribution across South Africa. We found records at seven localities in two of the nine provinces of South Africa, with naturalised populations at two sites — ~300 plants were discovered over 0.3ha in a confined-seep on a mountain slope, while at an old arboretum 12 large, planted trees and 9 naturalised trees were found. An additional herbarium record from Mozambique suggests that this global invader is present at other sites within the sub-region, and so while the extirpation of populations in South Africa is recommended and looks feasible, further work is required to determine the status and evaluate whether eradication from the sub-region as a whole is possible.