EPPO Datasheet:Celastrus orbiculatus

Abstract

Celastrus orbiculatus is native to China. It is also recorded as native in the Korean Peninsula, Japan and the Russian Far East and Sakhalin Island.C. orbiculatus has been introduced into the EPPO region, and New Zealand and North America. USDA (2020) record C. orbiculatus as present in 25 eastern states. However, 31 states document C. orbiculatus as present in at least one county according to EDDMapS (https://www. eddma ps.org/). The current distribution of the species in the United States extends from Maine south to Georgia and west to Iowa (IPSAWG, 2019). Patterson (1973) stated that C. orbiculatus had spread to 33 US states, which included California and Washington. POWO (2020) confirmed that the species is present in Washington State. C. orbiculatus is also present in Canada in New Brunswick, Ontario, and Quebec (USDA, 2020) and Nova Scotia (CABI, 2021). C. orbiculatus was first introduced into New Zealand as a garden ornamental in 1905. Williams and Timmins (2003) state that C. orbiculatus has a localized distribution in New Zealand but it is widely distributed in the northern areas of the North Island. Beringen et al., (2017) report that C. orbiculatus is present in eight EU countries (Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom) and Gudžinskas et al. (2020) record the species in 13 European countries (adding Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, European Russia, and Ukraine to the previous list) (see EPPO, 2021a). | MOR PHOLOGY | Plant typeDeciduous woody vine (the form can vary between vine and shrub). | DescriptionBoth Chinese and North American morphological descriptions have been given as the species could be imported from both regions.