THE FIRST OCCURRENCE OF INVASIVE AMORPHA FRUTICOSA L. (FALSE INDIGO) IN NORTH MACEDONIA

Several specimens of Amorpha fruticosa -an invasive alien plant species of North American origin -were recorded in 2020 near the village of Stari Grad, and alongside Babuna river, in the central part of North Macedonia.In the course of a field survey, A. fruticosa was found mainly in highly fragmented forests, on forest paths and in forest clearings (coppice), on the edges of arable fields, in a neglected dry meadow, riparian areas and the river banks of Babuna river.In the areas where A. fruticosa was detected, it usually grows in association with nitrogen-loving species such as Chenopodium album, Amaranthus retroflexus, Calystegia sepium, Urtica dioica, Sorghum halepense, and Rubus caesius. A. fruticosa was found mainly on alluvium and fluvisol soils, predominantly on arable lands along roadsides and at the border between forested areas and arable lands.Control and eradication of A. fruticosa is very complicated and costly, mostly due to high reproductive capacity of the species.