Cassinia sifton

1 Sifton Bush, Chinese Shrub at Aranda, ACT

Cassinia sifton at Aranda, ACT - 22 Mar 2023
Cassinia sifton at Aranda, ACT - 22 Mar 2023
Cassinia sifton at Aranda, ACT - 22 Mar 2023
Cassinia sifton at Aranda, ACT - 22 Mar 2023
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Identification history

Cassinia sifton 22 Mar 2023 Tapirlord
Cassinia sifton 22 Mar 2023 lbradley

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24 comments

lbradley wrote:
   12 Apr 2023
Something I read said this is not native to the ACT but you don’t have the little airplane. It also said it’s very invasive. Could you check for me please?
Tapirlord wrote:
   12 Apr 2023
Its a good question and to be totally honest i'm not sure myself, the ACT census of vascular plants notes it as non-local, though I note that this publication is riddled with errors in this regard (as a good a reference as it is generally). I'm also not sure of the origin of our current status for this species, it could honestly just be an error.

Personally, I'm hesitant to jump to conclusions so I'm happy to keep things as they are. This species is regarded as invasive in some jurisdictions, but as I understand it this tends to be from an agricultural rather than ecological perspective, where this species may form monoculture in disturbed country. From my observations this species does seem to be increasing its presence in our region, though it doesn't seem to be particuarly invasive. Or at least we haven't seen the monocultures that are known to have formed in other parts of Australia.
   13 Apr 2023
The Canberra Nature Map region is in the middle of this species range, though it is more common to the north and south-west of us. I think it is native to the lower half of the ACT but was uncommon - Plantnet treats Cassinia arcuata as a synonym of Cassinia sifton, but the atlas of living australia retains both species. Burbidge and Gary (1979) consider Black Mountain as a locality of arcuata but state that it is "apparently not common in the ACT."
lbradley wrote:
   13 Apr 2023
Is it native to AB and if not, should we get rid of it?
lbradley wrote:
   13 Apr 2023
Sorry, if it's on BM likely on AB
lbradley wrote:
   13 Apr 2023
I just checked Paul Downey's list. He says:

This species is invasive, especially in disturbed areas and can become problematic.

So I'm not sure where that leaves us on AB - I can only see it on the management track along Caswell. We have lots of Cassinia aculeata subsp. aculeata, Cassinia longifolia, and Cassinia quinquefaria. Could sifton become a problem or just intermingle? Could it hybridise? Should I care?
   13 Apr 2023
Leave it until we get back to you @natureguy can you please ask Paul about this?
lbradley wrote:
   13 Apr 2023
BTW Michael - I noticed that Paul Downey used CNM sightings in his list. Pretty cool...
I was thinking - you know I'm concerned about keeping ALG out of AB. Have you come up with a list of nasties that are currently not in specific reserves that could be prioritised for getting rid of when they are identified? I'm sure somebody thought of that...
   13 Apr 2023
I haven't but good question to put to Warran Schofield
lbradley wrote:
   13 Apr 2023
For example, you guys at Red Hill are battling nettle trees. We don't have it. Mt Painter has lots of cobblers peg. I'm bracing myself for when the cobblers peg hits us. I bet someone in the Invasive Plants Program could come up with a list
   14 Apr 2023
Paul Downey got back to me and provided teh following information
1. There are two species referred to as Sifton Bush - Cassinia arcuata and Cassinia sifton - both listed on CNM although C. arcuata has no records/sightings at present.
2. C.sifton was first described in 2017 from near Stockinbingal - between Harden and Temora - All records prior to 2017 for Sifton Bush would have been for C. arcuata.
3. PlantNet includes Cassinia arcuata as a synonym of Cassinia sifton.
4, The Atlas of Living Australia however does not, and thus has records for both species.
5. With respect to the ACT - the Atlas states that C. arcuata is native to the ACT (there are 22 records on the Atlas for this species in the ACT), and that C. sifton is naturalised in the ACT (there are 55 records for the ACT on the Atlas).
6. However, based on records from the Atlas for C. sifton the ACT could be part of the species natural range.
7. Both species are considered to be problematic in disturbed areas.
8. I have included both species on my list draft of potential native plant invaders for the ACT.
9. I am yet to assess them, but am likely to categorize them as over-abundant native species in disturbed areas - with management aimed at addressing the causes of the disturbance in the first instance, given that species of Cassinia have a lifespan of years (3-5), not decades. Clearing them from disturbed areas may see them quickly re-establish from the seedbank as many Cassinia species are also early colonisers if the disturbance is not addressed.
10. They are not likely to be high on the list of priority species.
lbradley wrote:
   14 Apr 2023
I guess the take home message is that I don’t worry about them.
   15 Apr 2023
Yep
waltraud wrote:
   25 Jun 2023
Thank you for the interesting discussion. We here on Mt Majura have an explosion of Sifton in secondary grassland very close to main populations of Canberra Spider orchid so I am worried about them, see this record: Cassinia sifton (Sifton Bush, Chinese Shrub) and a discussion with Mike and Natureguy here: Cassinia sifton (Sifton Bush, Chinese Shrub)
I should add that the secondary grassland is the high transmission power line easement and there is and was disturbance since the old timber posts are replaced with concrete posts - currently some of the area looks like a battlefield with churned up soil (I wished they had waited till ElNino...). This will of cause benefit these quick invaders of the daisy family. I have been working on mt majura for over 20 years and have not seen an explosion of Sifton - there was the occasional Sifton here and there and I was never worried about them until now.
lbradleyKV wrote:
   25 Jun 2023
Yes, where ours occur in AB it will probably self contain but it sounds like you have a problem. I’m sorry to hear it!
natureguy wrote:
   25 Jun 2023
Yes, I can see how it can be problematic in some areas in the instance of Waltraud's location on Mount Majura. One thing I should note is that here at our place in Wamboin much of the understorey vegetation was browsed down heavily and trashed during the drought a couple of years back, and Cassinias (mainly quinquefaria and some longifolia, sifton and aculeata) have dominantly regrown in the subsequent wet years. It's interesting to observe and note, and although the area is woodland, and those other Cassinias are local species, they really have grown back vigorously in dense swathes. I mainly wanted to highlight that overall I believe Cassinias (and many other daisies for that matter) are very good at growing quickly, and invading into disturbed sites, though in most instances are probably not going to be problematic. It would be interesting to see what happens with C. sifton since it appears to be a fairly new invader in the region, but from my observations here and elsewhere with other Cassinia species (this also tends to apply to other species that are quick to regrow after disturbance such as some wattles) is that they seem to show huge population surges after disturbance, e.g. the drought, but after a few years other slower growing shrubs are becoming more established and many of the Cassinias are already becoming straggly and dying off. In another few years the balance will probably be restored as the Cassinias have a short lifespan, and other longer-lived vegetation re-establishes. But yes, it would be good to monitor Sifton bush in some of these sites and see how the population explosion pans out long term, as I wonder whether it will take the same trajectory and peak after a certain point. Furthermore, bordering onto our property is Kowen Forest, a pine plantation, and some of the other Cassinias, especially aculeata, have sprung up in some of the recently cleared disturbed areas (sifton does not seem to be as common up around here), showing how they respond quickly to colonising disturbed sites.
lbradleyKV wrote:
   25 Jun 2023
I think what you say agrees with Paul Downey’s conclusion. My comment is coming from a very low knowledge base. Best to listen to the experts. 😊
waltraud wrote:
   26 Jun 2023
Many thanks natureguy. Our problem on Mt Majura (and Mt Ainslie) is that there are sites which are frequently disturbed, see this site with 100s of Siftons growing adjacent to a site of approx 4000square meters of heavily disturbed and churned up soil Cassinia sifton (Sifton Bush, Chinese Shrub) - my concern is that Siftons spread into bush nearby with 2 Canberra Spider Orchid populations. Walkers and bike riders now use an informal track uphill of the disturbed site because the Centenary trail downhill is a muddy mess with deep water filled channels from heavy trucks. The pedestrian and bike traffic uphill may causes more disturbance and a potential threat to CSO either by trampling or overgrowth with colonizers . Perhaps it is a question of watch and see? Of course we haven't been notified of the power pole replacement work and I'm not sure whether Parks manages the situation.
   26 Jun 2023
Waltraud - I have similar concerns with Cassinia longifolia invading and shading patches of Button Wrinklewort on Red Hill. I think it is right to be concerned about possible spread in certain situations and to thin plants if needed to protect species of high conservation significance but such action should be done after consultation with PCS.
RogerF wrote:
   26 Jun 2023
'Where angels fear to tread'. I just thought I would stick my oar in as we (ANPS) have been recording arcuata/sifton for 25 years with the Wednesday Walks. It has always been very common to the north of the ACT especially in the Goulburn Crookwell area. Because it's relatively short-lived it has waxed and waned with the climate, spreading in wet years and declining and dying out in droughts. It had a massive recruitment event during the 2020-2021 rains. It has always been 'weedy' in overgrazed pastures. and distrubed ground along roadsides, but so have a number of other native species.
We always listed Sifton weed as arcuata. The traxonomy was changed in December 2017 when Orchard & Orchard revised Cassinia and renamed all arcuata as sifton. This is well documented on the APNI site and the change has occurred Australia wide, I don't believe arcuata exists in NSW and the ACT. There is one record listed from VIC in VICFlora on the lower Murray..
The question of naturalisation is a difficult one. Native plant species are always changing their distribution and abundance, spreading or contracting due to a range of factors some of which are human induced. The causes may be subtle and not detectable.. At McClouds NR near Gundaroo, it has gone from rare to the dominant shrub in 2 years (2019-2021). It has windblown seed. Several Cassinias are opportunistic invaders of bare ground after droughts are broken but are short lived and very flammable. My conclusions support those of natureguy and Paul although I believe we should remove arcuata as a species and list sifton as native wherever it occurs.
Steve818 wrote:
   26 Jun 2023
Fascinating discussion. Before we take immediate action we should stop and think about the benefits of immediate action vs delayed action, or even the do-nothing option. If not threatening other local native species it might be a useful part of succession in response to past disturbance. Example is Kunzea ericoides in secondary grasslands at Tidbinbilla. A great suppressor of invasive grasses (African lovegrass and sweet vernal grass) and good bird habitat. But it does need managing at times. Sarah Sharp did some research on it, so she could add more. Interestingly when Kunzea first spread in cleared areas next to the Murrumbidgee River Corridor, there was concern that nothing else would grow. Eventually Eucalypts, wattles and other species appeared. Ranger Darren Roso observed the succession. I'll check with him how long it took and what management if any was needed.
Steve818 wrote:
   26 Jun 2023
I think best liaise with Parkcare Ranger or Mitchell Depot Parks and Conservation Senior Ranger to discuss best management approach. They would benefit from reading the discussion above.
RogerF wrote:
   26 Jun 2023
Yes Ke another good example of a rapidly spreading native in local grasslands where original trees were removed and grazing by domestic stock has ceased. Its danger is that its highly flammable eg Carwoola fire. It may supress exotic grasses but it also supresses eveything else growing beneath in secondary native grassland and soon becomes impenetrable.
K. parviflora is a similar example further east and is also spreading in the local area. Another spreader is Acacia pycnantha in the Queanbeyan area.
waltraud wrote:
   27 Jun 2023
Thanks everyone for the discussion. I had no problem with Sifton for years only now that it exploded in the vicinity close to Canberra Spider Orchid. Sifton is removed from Mulligans Flat and Goorrooyarroo - I know because members of our group were involved with a PCS Ranger Assist activity with 2 rangers present. I also know about the discussion reg the Siftons in Mulligans Flat. The first approach was to leave them and monitor them. I would like to see the management decision and rationale behind the removal. I'm afraid if FoMM / I mentions a management action to remove/manage numbers of Sifton as a precautionary action for CSP without watertight expert input, PCS will block or ignore it. Unfortunately, that is my recent experience. BTW there are large stands of many 100s of Sifton bush on the high transmission power line easement further south - we certainly will not lose the species by removing a few as a precautionary action.

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