Short description of Petasites fragrans, Winter Heliotrope

A dioecious, rhizomatous, perennial herb, producing fragrant inflorescences in winter, forming large persistent patches of round leaves.

Impact summary: Petasites fragrans, Winter Heliotrope

Forms complete cover to the exclusion of other species.

Habitat summary: Petasites fragrans, Winter Heliotrope

Rough grassland, especially roadsides, quite shade-tolerant and found on woodland margins.

Overview table

Environment	Terrestrial
Species status	Non-Native
Native range	Southwestern Europe, Southeastern Europe, Northern Africa
Functional type	Land plant
Status in England	Non-Native
Status in Scotland	Non-Native
Status in Wales	Non-Native
Location of first record	v.c.21
Date of first record	1835

Origin

Mediterranean region of North Africa.

First Record

Introduced 1806, recorded in the wild by 1835.

Pathway and Method

Introduced as an ornamental plant and for ground cover. Distributed by dumping of discarded garden waste on roadsides, etc.

Species Status

Widely naturalised in the south and west, more local in northern GB. The recorded number of 10km squares in the British Isles increased from 486 in the period from 1970 to 1986 to 1640 between 1987 and 1999.

Dispersal Mechanisms

Fragments of rhizomes can be distributed along roadsides by machinery, and along watercourses.

Reproduction

Dioecious, female plant does not occur in GB.

Known Predators/Herbivores

None known.

Resistant Stages

Winter Heliotrope perennates as rhizomes. It does not set seed in GB as the female plant is absent.

Habitat Occupied in GB

Mostly roadsides and other rough grassland and woodland edges.

Throughout GB, very frequent in the south and west, more local and mainly coastal in Scotland.

Environmental Impact

Spreads to form dense stands that exclude other vegetation.

Health and Social Impact

None known.

Economic Impact

Costly to remove if it invades sites of conservation importance.

Identification

Stace, C.A. (2010) New flora of the British Isles, Third Edition, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

Biology, ecology, spread, vectors

Botanical Society of the British Isles (2011). Vascular Plant Atlas Update Project http://www.bsbimaps.org.uk/atlas/ [March 2011].

Clement, E.J. & Foster, M.C. (1994) Alien Plants of the British Isles, BSBI, London.

Management and impact

Cornwall Local Nature Reserves: Invasive Species. http://www.cornwallnr.org.uk/inspec.htm [March 2011].

General

Ecological Flora of the British Isles http://www.ecoflora.co.uk/search_species2.php?plant_no=1690900080 [March 2011]