Thunbergia laurifolia is on the Alert List
for Environmental Weeds, a list of 28 nonnative
plants that threaten biodiversity
and cause other environmental damage.
Although only in the early stages of
establishment, these weeds have the
potential to seriously degrade Australia’s
ecosystems.
Thunbergia species were introduced
to Australia as garden ornamentals but
have escaped into native vegetation, and
four species are now declared weeds in
Queensland. T. laurifolia is very similar
to the closely related blue trumpet vine
Thunbergia grandiflora, which is a serious
weed in northern Queensland. Both
species were popular with gardeners for
their large blue flowers and climbing
habit.
Thunbergia species are a major threat
to monsoon vine thickets and remnant
tropical rainforests across northern
Australia, including the World Heritagelisted
Wet Tropics. They climb and smother
native vegetation, shading out and killing
the understorey and often pulling down
mature trees with the weight of the vine.