Summary
There have been several attempts to develop lists of environmental weeds in New Zealand. This report presents all the recent lists of environmental weeds and compares the species listed (Appendix 1). Species are listed alphabetically under their currently accepted botanical name, with synonyms and mis-applied names included.
In New Zealand, there are at least six such lists that are currently used. The six lists are discussed in chronological order with particular focus on the number of species listed and the criteria used to establish the list. These lists were compiled for specific purposes, which usually did not include the purpose of maintaining or standardising the list.
A further six publications are discussed, as they contain important information regarding species not included in these lists. I have not included the lists of plant species named in Regional Pest Management Strategies (RPMS), as these typically include some species listed for cultural and agricultural reasons, as well as some not yet considered naturalised. The lists presented here recognised a total of 490 species as environmental weeds, although the number of species in each list ranged from 33 to 254.
Publication information
Author: Clayson Howell
DOC Research & Development Series 292
ISBN 978-0-478-14413-0 (web PDF); ISSN 1176-8886 (hardcopy); ISSN 1177-9306 (web PDF)ISBN 978-0-478-14412-3 (hardcopy)
Published by Science & Technical Publishing, DOC