Invasiveness Assessment - Sand Rocket (Diplotaxis tenuifolia) in Victoria
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Plant invasiveness is determined by evaluating a plant’s biological and ecological characteristics against criteria that encompass establishment requirements, growth rate and competitive ability, methods of reproduction, and dispersal mechanisms.
| Each characteristic, or criterion, is assessed against a list of intensity ratings. Depending upon information found, a rating of Low, Medium Low, Medium High or High is assigned to that criterion. Where no data is available to answer a criterion, a rating of medium (M) is applied. A description of the invasiveness criteria and intensity ratings used in this process can be viewed here. |
The following table provides information on the invasiveness of Sand Rocket.
A more detailed description of the methodology of the Victorian Weed Risk Assessment (WRA) method can be viewed below:
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Common Name: Sand Rocket
Scientific name: Diplotaxis tenuifolia
| Question | Comments | Reference | Rating |
| Establishment | |||
| Germination requirements? | Seeds germinate after autumn rains. | P & C (1992) | MH |
| Establishment requirements? | Occurs in mostly ‘open’ areas e.g. pastures, roadsides, waste areas and open natural ecosystems. | P & C (1992) Carr et al (1992) | ML |
| How much disturbance is required? | Establishes in minor disturbed natural ecosystems, e.g. grass lands & riparian. | Carr et al (1992) | MH |
| Growth/Competitive | |||
| Life form? | “Aerial growth dies in late autumn and new growth is produced at the crown”, therefore geophyte. * However, not recorded as a geophyte by Carr et al (1992). | P & C (1992) | ML |
| Allelopathic properties? | None described. |  | L |
| Tolerates herb pressure? | Not always readily eaten by stock. | P & C (1992) | MH |
| Normal growth rate? | “Invades poor pastures & becomes the dominant species, but it does not cause problems in established, well managed pastures”. | P & C (1992) | MH |
| Stress tolerance to frost, drought, w/logg, sal. etc? | Tolerates water logging (occurs along watercourses and riparian areas). ? * However, stated as preferring ‘porous’ or ‘well-drained sandy soils’ P & C (1992), AgWest 2000). Presumably tolerates drought. * Forms a long tap root which utilises water from deep underground, which enables it to survive and grow throughout the dry West Australian summer. (AgWest 2000). Frost (occurs in Southern Tasmania & N. UK). | P & C (1992) AgWest (2000) Carr et al (1992) Clapham et al (1952) | ML |
| Reproduction | |||
| Reproductive system | Reproducing from a taproot and by seed. | P & C (1992) | H |
| Number of propagules produced? | Equal to 10 flower clusters per plant x 5 fruits per cluster x 50 seeds per fruit = 2,500 seeds. | P & C (1992) Robbins et al (1951) | H |
| Propagule longevity? | ? | | M |
| Reproductive period? | Can form monocultures (picture P & C (1992) p. 343). | P & C (1992) | H |
| Time to reproductive maturity? | Germinates in autumn – flowering in spring/summer. | P & C (1992) | H |
| Dispersal | |||
| Number of mechanisms? | Cultivation equipment, vehicles, animals, clothes, bags, water and mud etc. | P & C (1992) | MH |
| How far do they disperse? | Seed said to be ‘readily transported as a contaminant on vehicles including rail cars’. Many seeds could therefore be dispersed > 200 m. | P & C (1992) | MH |
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© The State of Victoria, 1996 - 2009.
This document was last reviewed on 18/08/2009