Harrisia bonplandii

[= Harrisia balansae]

Life > eukaryotes > Archaeoplastida > Chloroplastida > Charophyta > Streptophytina > Plantae (land plants) > Tracheophyta (vascular plants) > Euphyllophyta > Lignophyta (woody plants) > Spermatophyta (seed plants) > Angiospermae (flowering plants) > Core Eudicots > Order: Caryophyllales > Family: Cactaceae > Genus: Harrisia

Native to South America. Naturalised in southern Africa. A stem sucking mealiebug, Hypogeococcus pungens, has brought this weed under substantial control in South Africa (Klein 2011).

Ecological interactions in southern Africa

Herbivores

• Hypogeococcus pungens (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae). This is a stem sucking mealiebug that was released in South Africa in 1983 against Harrisia martinii. It was released in 2006 against Harrisia bonplandii, causing extensive damage (Klein 2011).

Publications

• Klein H. 2011. A catalogue of the insects, mites and pathogens that have been used or rejected, or are under consideration, for the biological control of invasive alien plants in South Africa. African Entomology 19(2): 515-549.

Text by Hamish Robertson