Expert Working Group for Pest Risk Analysis on Senecio angulatus

Paris, 2026-02-09/11

In 2024, the Panel on Invasive Alien Plants identified Senecio angulatus (Asteraceae: EPPO List of Invasive Alien Plants), through the EPPO Prioritization Process for Invasive Alien Plants, as having a high spread potential and high impact, and recommended the species for PRA. The Working Party on Phytosanitary Regulations approved their recommendation to carry out a PRA.

An Expert Working Group (EWG) was held at the EPPO headquarters in February 2026 to perform a Pest Risk Analysis on S. angulatus for the EPPO region. S. angulatus is a perennial woody plant species that has been introduced into the EPPO region for horticulture and has spreads locally by stem fragments. Transient and established populations of the species are present in several EPPO countries where it predominantly occupies coastal habitats in which it can outcompete native biodiversity and have negative impacts on ecosystem services.

In total six experts attended the meeting from six countries (Austria, France, Italy, Morocco, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom). This included four experts from the EPPO Panel on Invasive Alien Plants, an expert on species distribution modelling from Great Britain, and an expert on the species from Morocco: a country where the pest has recently been recorded.

The EWG discussed the species’ biology and ecology, and conducted an analysis of the potential pathways for further entry into the EPPO region, including the pathway plants for planting. The EWG discussed the potential establishment and spread of the species in the EPPO region, the impact of the species in other areas where it is non-native and its impact in the EPPO region. Finally, the EWG recommended measures to be taken against priority pathways to reduce the phytosanitary risk of the pest.

The outcome of the EWG, is a PRA that outlines that S. angulatus has a high phytosanitary risk with a moderate uncertainty. This conclusion will be reviewed by the EPPO Core Members for PRA, the EPPO Panel on Invasive Alien Plants and the Working Party on Phytosanitary Regulations during 2026.

Photo of the Expert Working Group

Composition of the Expert Working Group