Yellow Soldier (Lachenalia reflexa)

Description

Yellow Soldier (Lachenalia reflexa) has a bulb and two strap-shaped leaves, 60-350 mm long and 15-25 mm wide, which are spreading or ascending and flat or slightly channeled in cross-section. The greenish-yellow, slightly succulent flowers are borne in erect racemes. Each flower is about 25 mm long and more or less tubular in shape but swollen in the middle; one of the outer segments is slightly longer than the others and is pouched at the apex.

Large healthy plants can produce up to ten flowering spikes. Plants flower particularly well following fire and set prolific amounts of seed. The smooth, shiny black seeds are about 2 mm long.

For further information and assistance with identification of Yellow Soldier contact the herbarium in your state or territory.

Distribution:

Yellow Soldier is a problem weed in tuart (Eucalyptus gomphocephala) woodland, limestone scrub and heath and banksia/jarrah woodland on the Swan Coastal Plain of Western Australia. It is the most widespread and invasive of the naturalised Lachenalia species in Australia. It is a serious weed at a number of conservation reserves around Perth.

Habit:

Herb

Key points:

• Yellow Soldier (Lachenalia reflexa) produces a large number of viable seeds that germinate each year, leading to rapid expansion of populations.

  Yellow Soldier (Lachenalia reflexa) bulb.

• A number of species of Lachenalia are present in Australia but Yellow Soldier is considered the most widespread and invasive.
• Prevention and early intervention are the most cost-effective forms of weed control. Once established, Yellow Soldier is difficult to control so it is important to keep uninfested areas weed free.
• Contact your state or territory weed management agency or local council if you find Yellow Soldier. Do not attempt control on your own.

How it spreads:

With only a single annually renewed bulb, Yellow Soldier spreads mainly by seed. There are usually between one and ten flowers per plant and each flower produces a capsule that contains 40-60 seeds, potentially giving rise to infestations of more than 400 bulbs per square metre. Experience in the Shenton bushland in Western Australia, where populations are quite discrete, suggests that seed is not easily spread over long distances.

Water movement and human activity are the main causes of seed spread. Yellow Soldier seeds often germinate in response to fire, taking advantage of any bare ground and the reduction in competition from native species. Plants have also been observed to produce a prolific number of bulbils (small bulbs) around the base of stems left lying on the soil surface, but this does not appear to be a common method of reproduction or dispersal.

Where it grows:

Yellow Soldier grows in woodlands and heath, especially on calcareous, sandy soils. In Perth, it occurs on sandy or calcareous soils and is found invading banksia/tuart woodlands, banksia/jarrah woodlands, tuart woodlands and limestone scrub and heath.

Flower colour:

Yellow

Distribution map:

Impacts:

Yellow Soldier is on the Alert List for Environmental Weeds, a list of 28 non native 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 ecosystem.

Yellow Soldier could become a significant environmental problem because it replaces native herbs and annuals in both disturbed and relatively intact bushland. Apart from causing a loss of plant biodiversity, which destroys habitat and resources for native animals, infestations of Yellow Soldier can reduce the recreational enjoyment of bushland by people.

Origin:

In its native range the genus Lachenalia extends mainly throughout western and southwestern Cape Province in South Africa, where it occurs in areas with winter rainfall, undergoing long dormant periods over the dry summers.

History:

Yellow Soldier was first recorded as naturalised south of Perth, Western Australia in 1957, probably after escaping from a garden planting.