[APWG] FW: [Aliens-L] Milletia pinnata (Pongamia pinnata)

Fri Mar 1 16:40:49 CST 2024

From: aliens-l-request at list.auckland.ac.nz <aliens-l-request at list.auckland.ac.nz> On Behalf Of Lieurance, Deah
Sent: Friday, March 01, 2024 11:43 AM
To: aliens-l at list.auckland.ac.nz
Subject: Re: [Aliens-L] Milletia pinnata (Pongamia pinnata)

Hello all,

I have experience with Milletia pinnata in Florida where a company (Terviva) is planting as an alternative to citrus. We conducted a risk assessment and a status assessment. Of course it is predicted to be invasive based on a modified version of the A-WRA. It was also invasive in south Florida where it had been used for horticulture planting. We conducted the risk assessment for the state’s non-native planting rule as the Terviva planting was a new use. They received their permit under the condition they follow best management practices outlined in the permit. I have concerns about these plantings because they are close to Lake Okeechobee and a major hurricane could cause flooding that would move the seeds. 

We also had an intern check georeferenced occurrence records to see if the records were one or two trees or a population that is spreading on a 1.5 mile stretch of the Cocohatchee. He rented a kayak and found over 80 pongamia trees of various age, size, and maturity along the river’s banks. The included photos are from this population.

Here’s some additional information from his notes: Trees often occurred in clusters, potentially established by seed under preferable conditions and/or by root suckering. A definitive “founder tree”, one which may represent the original seed disperser, was not clearly identified. However, a single large pongamia tree of an estimated 10m height located at the uppermost accessible portion of the river appeared to have been intentionally incorporated into an ornamental landscape about 10 meters from the riverfront.

Please email me at dzl5661 at psu.edu <mailto:dzl5661 at psu.edu>  if you have any questions.

Cheers,

Deah Lieurance

Asst. Prof of Invasive Species Biology and Management

Dept. Ecosystem Science and Management

Penn State University

From: aliens-l-request at list.auckland.ac.nz <mailto:aliens-l-request at list.auckland.ac.nz>  <aliens-l-request at list.auckland.ac.nz <mailto:aliens-l-request at list.auckland.ac.nz> > on behalf of Chuck Chimera <chimera at hawaii.edu <mailto:chimera at hawaii.edu> >
Date: Thursday, February 29, 2024 at 11:31 PM
To: aliens-l at list.auckland.ac.nz <mailto:aliens-l at list.auckland.ac.nz>  <aliens-l at list.auckland.ac.nz <mailto:aliens-l at list.auckland.ac.nz> >
Subject: Re: [Aliens-L] Milletia pinnata (Pongamia pinnata)

You don't often get email from chimera at hawaii.edu <mailto:chimera at hawaii.edu> .  <https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIdentification> Learn why this is important

Aloha Arne, Tim et al.

Coincidentally, the subject of Milletia pinnata came up in a staff meeting of the Hawaii Invasive Species Council (HISC) today. We were discussing an article in a recent issue of Hawaiian Airlines in-flight magazine, Hana Hou, which extols pongamia's purported benefits and cultivation on the islands of Oahu and Maui (see The Power Pod: https://www.hawaiianairlines.com/hawaii-stories/hana-hou/articles/issue-27-1/the-power-pod).

Using the Australian Weed Risk Assessment system modified for use in Hawaii, I completed a risk assessment for Milletia pinnata (including numerous citations of The Weedy Truth About Biofuels) in 2017. It did receive a High Risk rating at that time (based on its biology, ecology and history of invasiveness elsewhere), but is currently NOT documented to be naturalized or invasive anywhere in the Hawaiian islands. (To access the assessment, see https://plantpono.org/hpwra/millettia-pinnata/). 

The Hawaii-Pacific Weed Risk Assessment is non-regulatory, although some state and federal government agencies will use the assessments as part of the process for grant applications, permits to lease county or state lands for agricultural purposes, etc. Because the grower mentioned in the article is operating on private lands, however, HISC and our partner agencies have no authority over what they can or cannot plant. 

It's unclear how much pongamia has been grown in the Hawaiian Islands in the past, but now that it is being cultivated on a much larger scale, and propagule pressure has dramatically increased, we will be monitoring the situation for signs of spread and any potential associated negative impacts that could result. 

Regards,

Chuck

--------- 

Charles Chimera, Weed Risk Assessment Specialist
Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Council 
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On 2/29/2024 1:02 PM, Tim Low wrote:

Dear Arne 

Your posting mentions a report I co-authored: Low and Booth (2007) The Weedy Truth About Biofuels. Milletia pinnata is native in northern Australia and naturalised in southern Queensland. My view is that virtually any plant will spread if you plant it somewhere new that suits it, and that is certainly true about Milletia. But our experience is that spread is limited, and around Brisbane in southern Queensland I would describe it as naturalised rather than invasive. There are at least 50 introduced woody species that are more invasive, despite Milletia being a common street and garden tree (my neighbour has one 10 metres from my fence). I think it is very limited by a dependency on water for dispersal of its seeds, which comes through in this description of its native habits in north Queensland: 

"Mostly mostly occurs in littoral rainforest along the seaward margin, or occasionally in adjoining dune swales; also in riparian forest,  <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/apps.lucidcentral.org/rainforest/text/entities/glossary.htm*Glossary_Monsoon*20forest__;IyU!!PvDODwlR4mBZyAb0!TF3raS-IoR6r8UV8m2F8BoSBA-AekssePlIka9vocQhP9N3H55FHz8fGBn5MfoYcnupf9jXxhFD58tyaAQ$> monsoon forest, vine thickets and behind mangroves"

The Queensland government's Pongamia risk assessment from 2006 says this:

"Pongamia does not appear to have any significant negative impacts in Queensland. It is being cultivated outside its native range in south-eastern Queensland but there is little evidence of spread, with only a very small number of sporadically naturalised populations. Herbarium records from the 1930s indicate that a population had established at Hercules Bank (now part of the Fisherman’s Island Port of Brisbane complex) at the mouth of the Brisbane River. This population may have developed from pods drifting downriver from cultivated specimens in Brisbane (T Bean, Queensland Herbarium, pers. comm. 2010). Stanley and Ross (1986) also reported its spread, on a small scale, into native bushland in southern Queensland."

Our report did not say it should be prohibited (we could not say that about every plant), and what we said instead is that it should not be grown near national parks or watercourses. A plantation beside a river could create a disaster, while a plantation away from the influence of floods and streams might be okay, except for very slow spread from shed seeds. I would be interested to know if the reports of serious invasion in Florida and Hawaii involve large scale water dispersal. 

All the best

Tim Low

On Wed, Feb 28, 2024 at 7:39 PM Arne Witt <a.witt at cabi.org <mailto:a.witt at cabi.org> > wrote:

Dear All

Various development agencies are promoting Milletia pinnata for reforestation, etc. in South America and now also Africa. There is not much information available in terms of its potential invasiveness but judging from its biology (see below) it is a species that I would be concerned about. If anyone has any additional information on its weed status please PM me. Thanks in advance.

Regards

Arne

Weed status: Tolerant to water-logging, saline and alkaline soils and can withstand harsh climates and grows happily on degraded lands. The tree grows wild on sandy and rocky soils, but also on moist soil types, even in salty water. In parts of Miami, the tree is being controlled in areas where it is considered to be invasive due to the profusion of seedlings which appear from the rapidly germinating (poisonous) seeds. Of eventual greater concern to homeowners in Miami is a steadily expanding system of surface lateral roots (McLaughlin, 2005). According to Sinclair (2008), the “tree has proliferated in Brisbane because of its tenacity in tough conditions” – this is well south of its natural range. This is supported by Low and Booth (2007) who state that it seeds prolifically with high germination success near parent trees. 

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