Clidemia hirta
Koster’s curse
Koster’s curse is a declared Class 1 Noxious Weed in NSW and is the target of a national eradication program. It is a highly invasive shrub, growing up to five metres tall and has the potential to spread rapidly over many parts of Australia. Koster’s curse forms dense thickets, which can smother pasture and native vegetation in a similar manner to lantana. It is quick-growing and could cause major problems for primary industries. It invades disturbed areas including the edges of clearings and stream-banks, along fence lines, paths and roadways. The weed prefers humid tropical lowlands and therefore could spread [...]
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Tecoma stans
Yellow bells
Yellow bells is a small shrub growing between three metres and eight metres tall. It is vase shaped with a rounded top and it can be multi-stemmed. An escaped garden plant, it is a serious threat to native riparian vegetation. The stem is smooth with squarish twigs which are green, turning tan or reddish tan as they age. The bark on the main trunk is light brown. Leaves are compound, with linear serrate leaflets about two centimetres wide. They are glossy bright green and have a tropical look. The plant has clusters of bright yellow trumpet-shaped flowers on terminal portions [...]
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Ligustrum sinense
Narrow-leaf privet
Narrow-leaf privet is a much-branched, hardy, evergreen, fast-growing shrub up to four metres tall, formerly used extensively for hedging. Sprays of small, round blue-black berries persist into winter. Its stems are covered in lenticels (white dots). It is a tall multi-stemmed shrub. Leaves are dark green ovals with a pointed tip, to 6cm long and often have a wavy margin. Masses of heavily-scented tiny white tubular flowers occur in drooping sprays in spring; they are highly allergenic. One plant may produce up to a million seeds, which are spread into bushland by birds, and are also washed down waterways. Narrow-leaf [...]
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Chrysanthemoides monilifera - subsp. rotundata
Bitou bush
Bitou bush was once used to stabilise sand dunes, but has now become a significant weed in coastal areas. It is rated as the worst pest plant in the Australian coastal environment, restricting access to beaches and destroying native bushland. Where bitou bush invades the impacts include a decline in native plant communities; a decline in floral biodiversity; changes in the diversity of birds, mammals and ground-dwelling insects and harbouring of pest animals like foxes and introduced birds which disperse the seeds. Native to South Africa, bitou bush first found its way to Australia in 1908, dumped as ballast from ships [...]
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Caesalpinia decapetala
Mysore thorn
Mysore thorn is a perennial shrub, growing to 2-4 metres, or a sprawling climber to 15 metres high, which readily forms a dense impenetrable thicket. It has tap roots and lateral roots. Mysore thorn is a vigorous growing plant capable of climbing and engulfing native vegetation, fences, sheds, bridges and other infrastructure. The long spines of the Mysore thorn can inflict serious injury to humans and animals, native and domestic. Mysore thorn forms dense thickets restricting access of stock and machinery to vital areas like water, pastures and roads. Thorns on the stems are straight or hooked and aid in [...]
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Cestrum parqui
Green cestrum
Green cestrum is a native of South America. It was introduced into Australia to be used as an ornamental shrub for gardens. Since that time, green cestrum has spread rapidly from people’s gardens and has become naturalised throughout eastern New South Wales. Green cestrum’s most common source of spread is droppings from birds that have eaten the berries. Seed is also readily spread through watercourses and by flood events. In NSW green cestrum can be found growing in the Hunter Valley, the outer metropolitan areas of Sydney, the North Coast and the north-west, central west and south-west of the state. [...]
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solanum chrysotrichum
Giant devil’s fig
Giant devil’s fig originated from Central America. A member of the Solanaceae family, it is a tall perennial shrub, three metres to four metres high, with a similar growth habit to wild tobacco. Flowering from Autumn to Spring, it reproduces from seed usually spread by birds and bats. It rapidly invades disturbed sites, for instance, where the ground was recently bulldozed. Twenty years ago this plant was restricted to the Tuntable Creek area. In the 2010-2011 season we have really seen the invasion into areas as widespread as Toonumbar, to the west. A single specimen was found near the first [...]
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Solanum viarum
Tropical soda apple
Tropical Soda Apple is an aggressive prickly perennial shrub one metre to two metres high. It is a native of north-eastern Argentina, south-eastern Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. An upright much branching perennial shrub, it has broad-based, straight, cream-coloured prickles to 12 mm long scattered on most plant parts. Leaves are mostly 10-20 cm long and 6-15 cm wide. The upper and lower leaf surfaces are densely covered in short hairs; mid-veins and primary lateral-veins are cream coloured on both sides of the leaves. Flowers are white, with five petals 2-4 mm long. They occur in clusters of three to six, off [...]
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