Invasive Weeds
Cassia (Senna Pendula)
Common name: senna / arsenic bush
It replaces native vegetation and establishes in a wide range of native plant communities, including coastal heath and scrubland.
Note: leaves are opposite each other
Do not confuse with Breynia local native which has leaves set alternate to each other. (see Native Flora)
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Dolichos Pea
Common name: mile-a-minute, common dipogon, chookhouse vine, dunny vine, okie bean, purple dolichos
A vigorous, twining climber with a woody base, bearing mauve or white flowers, it invades native vegetation, sometimes forming a monoculture.
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Lantana (Lantana camara)
Lantana is one of Australia’s most debilitating invasive weeds. It is recognised as a Weed of National Significance (WoNS) because of its impacts on primary industries, conservation and biodiversity, and the extent of its distribution.
Widespread lantana infestations regularly impact on agriculture, the environment, forestry management, recreation and transport. Lantana, however, does provide some minor benefits for native fauna.
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Fireweed (Senecio Madagascariensis)
This is a weed of National Significance.
Fireweed is a serious weed of coastal New South Wales). It is able to grow on most soil types and in all aspects. It forms a persistent seedbank if not controlled before it flowers and can rapidly take over neglected foreshores, competing strongly plants. It seeds prolifically and grows to maturity quickly. Density is influenced by groundcover and competition, especially in autumn. Fireweed contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids that are toxic to livestock.
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Cobblers Peg (Bidens Pilosa)
This is a weed of National Significance.
Native to Europe, Cobblers Peg is a herb up to 2m high.that invades dunes, headlands and sides of tracks mainly seen shorter in coastal areas. Found in disturbed areas exposed to full sun.
Yellow sometimes white flowers, flowering all year. Black seeds 1cm long with forked tip.
Seeds attach to clothing and fur.
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Bitou Bush (Chrysanthemoides Monilifera)
This is a weed of National Significance.
South African bitou bush was first recorded in Australia at Stockton near Newcastle in 1908. Between 1946 and 1968, it was widely planted to stabilise mined sand dunes. However in 1999, 'invasion of native plant communities by bitou bush and boneseed' was listed as a key threatening process by the NSW Scientific Committee and bitou was declared a Weed of National Significance by the Australian Government in 2000.
Bitou bush has now infested about 80 per cent (or more than 900km) of the NSW coastline, extending 10km inland in some areas. It has become the dominant species along about 36 per cent of the state's coastline
Bitou bush is a highly competitive weed that smothers native plant communities and destroys natural habitat and food sources for native animals.
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Black Nightshade (Solanum Nigrum)
Common names: Black Nightshade and Blackberry Nightshade.
Native to Eurasia and is TOXIC to animals.
The plant can become invasive and attract nematodes, viruses and fungi that can be detrimental to the soil and plants growing in it.
Seeds can stay dormant for more than 40 years waiting for the right conditions so vital to remove before seeds set.
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Yellow Bartsia (Parentucellia Viscosa)
Common names: Sticky Bartsia, sticky parentucellia and yellow glandweed.
Native to western and southern Europe.
Widely naturalised in some parts of eastern New South Wales. Yellow bartsia is regarded as an environmental weed.
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