Once established, the plant's shallow root system enables it to absorb moisture after light rain before the moisture reaches the roots of more deeply rooted species further limiting opportunities for slower growing species to establish and out-compete "C. monilifera" over time. Furthermore, outside of Southern Africa the plant has few local, indigenous pathogens or predators to control its growth also reducing the potential for gaps to emerge that might provide opportunities for other species to reestablish. The net consequence of "C. monilifera"'s growth characteristics is that outside of its natural ecosystem it can ultimately form large, dense, unhealthy stands of a single species with extraordinarily poor biodiversity.