Family: Boraginaceae
High Risk Traits:
- Broad climate suitability
- Grows in temperate to tropical climates
- Naturalized on Hawaii and Maui (Hawaiian Islands); widely naturalized elsewhere
- A disturbance-adapted nuisance weed (due to barbed seeds) of yards and gardens
- A potential weed of rangelands and natural areas
- Other Cynoglossum species are invasive weeds
- Potentially allelopathic
- May be unpalatable to browsing and grazing animals
- Reported to be mildly toxic to horses if consumed in large quantities over a long period of time
- Tolerates many soil types
- Forms dense cover in pastures and hillsides, possibly due to disturbance; competitive effects on other vegetation unclear
- Reproduces by seeds
- A biennial that may reach maturity in <1 year in some climates
- Barbed seeds dispersed externally by attaching to animals and people, by water, and intentionally cultivated by people
Low Risk Traits:
- Despite widespread naturalization and weedy behavior, negative impacts have generally not been documented
- Unarmed
- Grows in full sun to partial shade (dense shade may limit ability to establish or spread)
- Not reported to spread vegetatively
- Herbicides provide effective control of a related, invasive species, and would likely be effective in controlling Cynoglossum amabile if needed
