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Journal of Chemical Ecology, Vol. 29, No. 11, November 2003 (?C 2003)INTRASPECIFIC AND INTERSPECIFIC INTERACTIONSMEDIATED BY A PHYTOTOXIN, (?)-CATECHIN,SECRETED BY THE ROOTS OF Centaurea maculosa(SPOTTED KNAPWEED)TIFFANY L. WEIR,1 HARSH PAL BAIS,1 and JORGE M. VIVANCO1,2,?1Department of Horticulture and Landscape ArchitectureColorado State UniversityFort Collins, Colorado 80523-1173, USA2Graduate Program in EcologyColorado State UniversityFort Collins, Colorado 80523-1173, USA(Received May 13, 2003; accepted July 29, 2003)Abstract—Centarea maculosa Lam. (spotted knapweed) is one of the most de-structive invasive weeds in the western United States, particularly in pastures andrangelands. One of the components that may contribute to its invasiveness is thenaturally produced, root-secreted allelochemical (?)-catechin. This compoundhas been shown to have broad-spectrum phytotoxic activity, possibly assistingC. maculosa in displacing native plant communities. As a recently character-ized phytochemical, little is known about the specific effect of (?)-catechin oneither C. maculosa or other plant species. We have found that, in vitro, C. mac-ulosa begins to secrete phytotoxic levels of (?)-catechin within 2–3 weeks ofseedling emergence. Furthermore, (?)-catechin concentrations consistent withthose naturally secreted by C. maculosa were sufficient to inhibit germination inall species tested, including C. maculosa. These concentrations were also ofteneither phytotoxic or growth inhibitory to seedlings in a range of plant species,while having no negative effects on the growth of C. maculosa seedlings. How-ever, our results also indicate that different levels of resistance and susceptibilityto (?)-catechin exist in plant populations, suggesting that the capability of C.maculosa to invade an area through allelochemistry may be dependent on theage and species composition of plants in that area.Key Words—Centaurea maculosa, allelopathy, (?)-catechin.? To whom correspondence shoul