Echinocystis lobata (Michx.) Torr. & A.Gray
Synonymy
Notes
Echinocystis lobata is a xenophyte originating from the E part of North America (SE Canada to NE USA, see map in Slavík & Lhotská 1967: 259). It was introduced in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as an ornamental and medical plant to many countries in Europe and planted in several botanical gardens (DAISIE 2008). There has been increasing invasion during the last 20 years along the main rivers and floodplains from W to E Europe up to the Urals and beyond throughout Siberia (Czerepanov 1995: 196; DAISIE 2008). Nowadays it is considered as fully naturalized in C and SE Europe (Slavík & Lhotská 1967; Tutin 1968; Vasić 2005; Lambdon & al. 2008+).
In Bulgaria, it occurs only along the Danube River in the N part of the country (Petrova & al. 2013) and has not yet been recorded from Albania (Barina & al. 2014) or the Former Yugoslav Republic of Makedonija. There are no previous published records from Greece either (Arianoutsou & al. 2010; Dimopoulos & al. 2013). The cited populations in the Axios delta contain at least 1000 individuals. Echinocystis lobata is a fastgrowing annual vine that can climb up to 12 m. It often completely covers woody plants of the area, such as Alnus glutinosa (L.) Gaertn., Rubus spp., Salix spp. and Ulmus spp.
Reference
Th. Giannakis, E. Eleftheriadou, K. Theodoropoulos, S. Tsiftsis & R. Tsandekidis 2017: Echinocystis lobata (Michx.) Torr. & A.Gray. – Pp. 90–91 in: Raab-Straube E. von & Raus Th. (ed.), Euro+Med-Checklist Notulae, 7 [Notulae ad floram euro-mediterraneam pertinentes 36]. – Willdenowia 47 (1): 89-96.
In Bulgaria, it occurs only along the Danube River in the N part of the country (Petrova & al. 2013) and has not yet been recorded from Albania (Barina & al. 2014) or the Former Yugoslav Republic of Makedonija. There are no previous published records from Greece either (Arianoutsou & al. 2010; Dimopoulos & al. 2013). The cited populations in the Axios delta contain at least 1000 individuals. Echinocystis lobata is a fastgrowing annual vine that can climb up to 12 m. It often completely covers woody plants of the area, such as Alnus glutinosa (L.) Gaertn., Rubus spp., Salix spp. and Ulmus spp.
Reference
Th. Giannakis, E. Eleftheriadou, K. Theodoropoulos, S. Tsiftsis & R. Tsandekidis 2017: Echinocystis lobata (Michx.) Torr. & A.Gray. – Pp. 90–91 in: Raab-Straube E. von & Raus Th. (ed.), Euro+Med-Checklist Notulae, 7 [Notulae ad floram euro-mediterraneam pertinentes 36]. – Willdenowia 47 (1): 89-96.
