Carduus nutans

Wardle, D. A., Nicholson, K.S., Ahmed, M. Allelopathic influence of nodding thistle (Carduus nutans L.) seeds on germination and radicle growth of pasture plants. New Zealand J Agri Res 1991 34 185-191. 

Carduus nutans Asteraceae Artemisietea vulgaris communities... 

Plantago major presents an exception because it is the only dicot tested exhibiting BOA-N-glucosylation comparable with com. As the species colonizes disturbed localities it is possibly under a strong selection pressure. Carduus nutans and Daucus carota are able to co-exsist with Agropyron repens, a very aggressive monocot that contains benzoxazinones as secondary constituents, which are released by root exudation. This association may explain the relatively well developed detoxification capacity. 

To demonstrate the applicability of the mathematical approach we compare our model with population data taken from the literature for different invasive plants. Data from the native and exotic ranges of Echium plantagineum, Cytisus scoparius, and Carduus nutans [172, 344, 397,398,479] were used to establish that the model predicts their invasive behavior when the fecundity of these species in their exotic ranges is considered. Finally, the invasion rates recently found experimentally [221] for Carduus acanthoides are shown to fit closely the analytical predictions of the model. 

Sheppard, A.W., CuUen, J.M., Aeschlimann, J.P. Predispersal seed predation on Carduus nutans (Asteraceae) ia southern Europe. ActaOecol. 15(5), 529-541 (1994)... 

Sheppard, A.W., CuUen, J.M., Aeschlimann, J.P., Sagliocco, J.L., Vitou, J. The importance of insect herbivores relative to other limiting factors on weed population dynamics a case study of Carduus nutans. In Delfosse, E.S. (ed) Proceedings of the Vll International Symposium on Biological Control of Weeds, Rome, Italy, pp. 211-220. MAF, Rome, Italy (1990)... 

Puccinia carduorum Jacky, a rust fungus from Turkey, was released in 1987 on a limited basis in Virginia to control musk thistle, Carduus thoermeri Weinm. (=C. nutans L. ssp. leiophyllus [Petrovic] Stoj. Stef.), a problem in about 15% of all counties in the United States and in Canada. Detailed studies in quarantine... 

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