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3 June 2025 Two decades of progress targeting boneseed (Chrysanthemoides monilifera subsp. monilifera): a global review to inform eradication in Western Australia
Kathryn L. Batchelor, John K. Scott, Bruce L. Webber
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Abstract

Boneseed [Chrysanthemoides monilifera subsp. monilifera (L.) Norl.; syn. Osteospermum moniliferum subsp. moniliferum L.] is a perennial shrub native to the southwestern and southern coasts of South Africa. It was introduced to Australia in about 1852 and now represents a significant threat to natural ecosystems. Despite C. monilifera subsp. monilifera being listed as a Weed of National Significance, momentum on improving its management has dissipated at a national level, beginning in 2008 (when a national research initiative finished) and increasingly after 2013 (when funding for national coordination ceased). A recent synthesis of past management for C. monilifera subsp. monilifera and recommendations for guiding future priorities has rekindled interest in Western Australia. To complement this synthesis and to identify improvements for program efficiency and effectiveness, we reviewed research and management findings on this weed with a focus on the past two decades. We collated information across the ecology and biology of C. monilifera subsp. monilifera, and the near relative, bitou bush [Chrysanthemoides monilifera subsp. rotunda (DC.) J.C. Manning & Goldblatt; syn. Osteospermum moniliferum subsp. rotundatum (DC.)], as well as useful insight from C. monilifera subsp. monilifera management programs applied elsewhere. As part of this review, we assessed the classical biological control work that has been done on C. monilifera subsp. monilifera, focusing on likely explanations for why, despite nine agents and a naturalized fungus, biological control is not an effective management tool. Our synthesis suggests that for the limited populations with low-abundance plants in Western Australia, eradication from the state remains a realistic target. This objective, however, needs to build on the collated baseline of past management efforts and deploy a carefully planned management program over the coming two decades. Systematic surveillance using the latest techniques, combined with manual or herbicide removal and controlled burns where possible, remain the most suitable methods to deploy. The long-lived soil seedbank requires detailed monitoring following initial plant removals and long-term funding to ensure the sustained effort required to deliver the goal of eradication of C. monilifera subsp. monilifera in Western Australia.

Kathryn L. Batchelor, John K. Scott, and Bruce L. Webber "Two decades of progress targeting boneseed (Chrysanthemoides monilifera subsp. monilifera): a global review to inform eradication in Western Australia," Invasive Plant Science and Management 18(4), 1-12, (3 June 2025). https://doi.org/10.1017/inp.2025.11
Received: 18 June 2024; Accepted: 21 February 2025; Published: 3 June 2025
KEYWORDS
delimitation
environmental weed
historical context
invasion
seed dispersal
soil seedbank
weed management
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