Download Tasman Priority Weeds And Control Methods

Paterson’s Curse
(Echium plantagineum
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One of southern Australia’s worst pasture weeds
Localised infestations, especially in developing areas
Toxic to stock
Costs Australian farmers $250 millions per year
Not yet firmly established in Tasmania
Present on the Tasman at Murdanna.
What does it look like?
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Annual herb mostly 30 - 60 cm tall (sometimes up to 2 m)
Rosettes with leaves up to 30 cm long
Leaves light-mid green, stalked, covered in bristly hairs that can be irritating to
skin.
Flowers trumpet shaped, blue/purple around 2-3 cm long
Seeds in nutlets, and are rough coated, so easily transported
Not to be confused with…
Vetches
Vetches
(Vicia
(Viciaspp.)
spp.)
Mallows
Mallows
((Malva
spp
Malva
Malvaspp.)
spp.).)
Lupins
Lupins
(Lupinus
(Lupinusspp.)
spp.)
Unlike
Unlikethese
theseplants,
plants,Paterson’s
Paterson’scurse
cursehas
hasdistinctly
distinctlyhairy,
hairy,bristly
bristly
leaves,
leaves,and
andtrumpet-shaped
trumpet-shapedflowers.
flowers.
Control methods for Paterson’s curse
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Small populations – can be dug up or handpulled – make sure to get tap root
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Slashing is OK, but only in the short term – must be followed with other methods
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Herbicides can also be part of the solution – can be sprayed with glyphosate (ie
Roundup ®) or metsulfuron methyl (Brush-Off ®)
White weed
(Lepidium draba)
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Significant weed of crops, pasture, roadsides and disturbed areas.
Competes heavily with crops, and taints the milk and meat of stock who have
consumed it.
Considered potentially lethal to stock.
Mainly spread by poor soil hygiene practices, as root fragments in soil.
Greatly reduces agricultural productivity, and is very difficult to remove once
established
What does it look like?
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Upright perennial herb to 90 cm tall
Seedlings appear ~ autumn, growing into rosettes with narrow leaves to 20cm
long.
Upright stalks grow from rosettes in spring - they are solid, pithy, with leaves
~10cm long at the base, shortening as they progress up the stem - the bases of the
upper leaves wrap slightly around the stem.
Distinctive cross shaped flowers - yellowish white, with four petals - grow in
showy bunches at the crown of the plant October - November.
Flowers form heart-shaped fruits (3-5 mm across), divided into two inflated
chambers.
Not to be confused with…
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Unlike other Lepidiums, whose fruits are flattened, the fruits of white weed are
rounded or inflated, and do not open to release seeds when they are mature.
There are several other species of Lepidium in Tasmania - some are introduced,
and some are threatened native species.
Control methods for white weed
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In agricultural systems, white weed can be controlled using a combination of
selective grazing regimes, intensive cultivation, herbicides and monitoring.
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For management within other areas, actively growing white weed can be spotsprayed with glyphosate (ie Weedmaster ®, Roundup ®) - kill rates will be
improved by use of a wetting agent.
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White weed is very persistent - follow up will be needed over a number of years.
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When working in white weed, be very careful not to transport soil on dirty
machinery or other equipment - it’s easily spread by root fragments.
Slender thistles
(Carduus tenuiflorus and Carduus pycnocephalus)
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Weeds of agricultural systems, roadsides, and other disturbed areas.
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Compete with desirable species, reduces productivity, interferes with harvesting
and can harm stock - suspected to produce toxic compounds
Spread by wind, water, animals, contaminated soil and produce, dirty equipment
and machinery
Worst infestations are in the Midlands - also some large populations in the NE
and NW
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What do they look like?
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Upright herbs to 1 m, with spiny, winged stems.
Leaves alternate with spine-tipped teeth or lobes, may appear woolly, 5-20 cm
long.
Flowerheads pink or purple, in clusters of 2-4 (C.pycnocephalus), or 3-8 (C.
tenuiflorus).
Typical thistle fruits, with shiny seeds attached to feathery ring of bristles
(pappus)
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There are several introduced species of thistles within Tasmania that slender
thistle could be confused with.
There are no native species that look much like these plants.
Control methods for slender thistles
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Keeping bare spots to a minimum is the best way to stop slender thistles from
invading
Can be controlled by mechanical removal
A range of herbicides can be used in different situations - consult the DPIPWE
service sheet for details.
Bee careful! These species are valued by apiarists for producing pollen when few
other plants are flowering - avoid spraying when and where bees are foraging.
Californian thistle
(Cirsium arvense)
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Major weed of agricultural systems, roadsides, and other disturbed areas.
Competes with desirable species, reduces productivity, interferes with harvesting
and can harm stock.
Grows across a wide range of climatic conditions, up to sub-alpine level - does
best where rainfall exceeds 700mm annually
Vigorous, extensive spreading root system - can expand 13 m horizontally and 6
m vertically in just one year - no other thistles do this.
Easily spread via root fragments in soil on dirty equipment and machinery.
What does it look like?
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Prickly herb to 1.5 m tall (generally smaller)
Seedlings emerge autumn or spring, growing to rosettes with elongate leaves to
15cm long, with irregular, spiny edges.
Ridged stems which grow from rosettes are branching, with alternate leaves.
Above ground growth dies off over winter.
Tap root and creeping (rhizomatous) roots, which grow close to the surface - new
plants can sprout from these, especially if they are broken.
Flowers in groups of 1-5 at the end of stem branches, up to 2.5cm long and wide.
Flower heads contain many small pink florets, ringed by spiky purplish bracts
(modified leaves) at their base.
Seeds are small and brown, with a pappus (the feathery white structures you see
flying around in the wind).
Control methods for Californian thistle
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Stubborn difficult to control weed - will require years of treatment to eradicate at
most sites.
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On agricultural sites, methods for controlling it include combining cultivation
with chemical control and monitoring.
Keeping pasture or other ground cover in good condition, and minimizing bare
patches will help stop this plant from becoming established.
Chemical control for Californian thistle is complicated - herbicides which may
be used for spot spraying in certain circumstances include those based on MCPA,
clopyralid and glyphosate - consult the DPIPWE service sheet in the manual for
more detailed information.
Pampas grasses
(Cortaderia species)
Common pampas grass
P•ink pampas grass
(C• ortaderia jubata)
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New Zealand toe toe
(Cortaderia richardii)
Introduced as early as the 1800’s for windbreaks, stock fodder and as garden
plants.
Aggressive invaders of disturbed areas, highly flammable.
Targeted by many campaigns Statewide for many years - populations have been
significantly reduced
What do they look like?
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Up to 3 m tall – 6 m with flower spike included
Long, slender leaves which have rough edges.
Showy flower spikes in a range of colours:
Common pampas – mostly white, sometimes with a hint of pink/mauve
Pink pampas – pale pink, darkening with age.
Not to be confused with…
Native cutting grass (Gahnia grandis) – sometimes called “black pampas”
Can tell the difference by looking at the flower heads and seeds.
Native cutting grass: Flower heads are light brown to almost black when older, and
grow to contain visible seeds, that vary from a shiny red brown when young, to almost
black when mature.
Pampas grasses: flower heads much lighter in colour, no obviously visible seeds.
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Control methods for pampas
Mechanical removal of whole plants – best after rain
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Remove flower heads and bag them before you start
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Hand pull small plants, may need machinery to remove large ones
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Make sure you get all the roots to stop resprouting
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Chemical control for small plants can be wick wiping or spraying with
glyphosate.
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Larger plants can be cut back, allowed to reshoot until they have enough foliage
to apply herbicide effectively, then sprayed with glyphosate.
Monbretia
(Crocosmia x crocosmiflora)
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Perennial hybrid lily
Significant weed of roadsides, and moist fertile areas
Vigorous growth can squeeze out other plants
Leaves die back over winter - resprouts from corms (underground stems)
Mostly spread by dumping of unwanted garden plants and by the disturbance of
existing populations by machinery
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What does monbretia look like?
Broad, soft, strappy leaves ~2cm wide and 80cm long
Grows from small corms (bulb-like stems) ~3cm across, also from long rhizomes
Flowers are trumpet-shaped, yellow-orange and grow in two rows on each
flowering stem
Flower stems zig-zag distinctively
Whole plant dies back in autumn and resprouts in spring.
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Not to be confused with…
Tasmanian flax lily (Dianella tasmanica)
Leaf margins (edges) are finely serrated and rough
Sagg (Lomandra longifolia)
the ends of sagg’s leaves look chewed
Control methods for monbretia
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Small infestations can be dug out, making sure that all corms and rhizomes are
removed, and disposed of appropriately. This is most easily done when the soil is
moist.
Large populations are best treated by spraying the plants prior to flowering with a
mix of metsulfuron-methyl based herbicide (ie; Brush-off®) and surfactant.
Treated areas will need to be followed up.
Cumbungi
(Typha latifolia)
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Common weed of water bodies
Can swiftly spread and choke canals, waterholes and creeks
Spreads by rhizomes, also by seed dispersed by wind and water
Invades slow moving water bodies less than 2 m deep.
Thrives in high-nutrient, low shade conditions.
What does it look like?
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Rigid reed to 3m tall
Flat strappy leaves
Thick, round stem
Flowers held in a distinctive fat dark-brown, velvety cigar-shaped head, maturing
in summer.
Flower heads release fluffy seeds easily transported by wind.
Not to be confused with…
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There are two native bullrush species, which are not very common.
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These can be relatively easily distinguished from cumbungi by their flowers.
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Unlike cumbungi, the native bullrushes have flower spikes that are relatively
slender, paler brown, and the male and female flowers are separated (see picture).
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Typha domingensis (narrow-leaf cumbungi) - native
Typha orientalis (broad leaf cumbungi) - native
Typha latifolia (cumbungi) - introduced.
Control methods for cumbungi
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Cumbungi can be controlled by cutting the stems at least 15 cm below the water
line in spring - causes the plant to decay. Needs to be repeated every 4-6 weeks
until they stop growing back.
Smaller plants can be hand-pulled, but care must be taken to remove all of the
rhizome.
Cumbungi can be controlled in summer by a foliar application of frog-friendly
glyphosate (ie Weedmaster Duo ® or Roundup Biactive ®) at 13ml/L
Brooms
Canary broom
(Genista monspessulana)
English broom
(Cystisus scoparius)
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Both brooms are serious agricultural and environmental weeds
Both produce numerous hard seeds that can stay viable in the soil for many years
Both form dense thickets, out-competing other vegetation by shading it out and
fixing nitrogen from the soil.
Both are easily spread along roadsides by dirty equipment.
Canary Broom
(Genista monspessulana)
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Upright woody shrub to 3 m tall
Stems are ribbed and covered with short hairs
Leaves are divided into three leaflets, up to 2.5 cm long and 1.5 cm wide, and are
hairier on their lower surface.
Flowers are yellow pea type flowers, ~ 1 cm long, and in groups of 3-7 at the end
of short branchlets.
When ripe, seed pods are dark brown, hairy, 1.5 – 2.5 cm long and about 0.5 cm
wide. These pods only have hairs around the margins.
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Seeds are hard, brown to black, ~ 2.5 mm across.
English broom
(Cystisus scoparius)
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Upright shrub to 4 metres tall
Branchlets are five-sided
Leaflets are can be narrow to roughly oval, and are broadest away from where
they connect to the stem. The central leaflet is longer than the side leaflets.
Leaves are 4 – 20 mm long, 1.5 – 8 mm wide.
Flowers grow at the joints between leaf stalk and stem, usually in ones or twos.
Flowers are generally deep yellow, sometimes with tinges of other colours.
Pods are narrow, 25 to 60 mm long , ~ 1 cm wide. They are flattened, silky hairy
all over and turn black when ripe.
Seeds are explosively released from the pods once they are ripe – each pod
contains 6 – 18 seeds.
Not to be confused with...
Goodenia
Control methods for brooms
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The seeds of both brooms germinate in autumn and spring, and are often
present in very large numbers in the seed bank under established plants.
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Where there are few seedlings, and the ground is soft, seedlings can be hand
pulled.
Larger plants can be cut and painted with glyphosate (i.e.; Roundup Biactive ® )
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Where there are many small plants, these can be slashed to decrease the bulk of
the infestation, allowed to regrow and then sprayed.
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Applications of herbicides should occur when the plants are actively growing, and
should be avoided when the plants are stressed.
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Any control works need to be followed up for at least five years, to ensure that
seedlings sprouting from the soil-borne seed bank are eradicated.
Elisha’s tears
(Leycesteria formosa)
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Sometimes known as Himalayan honeysuckle
Aggressive invader of wet forests and watercourses - smothers understorey
species and forms dense stands
Readily sprouts from root and stem fragments - easily dispersed by water,
allowing it to spread rapidly downstream.
Fruit are attractive to birds and other animals, who also help it spread.
Large problem in Victoria and NSW - lesser populations here. Potential for
containment and local eradication.
What does it look like?
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Soft-wooded bushy shrub - can grow to 2-5m tall
Stems are green, hollow, hairless or nearly hairless
Leaves are opposite on stems, much darker on top surface than underneath,
roughly oval with pointed tips.
Deciduous, losing its leaves over winter (sometimes holds them in warmer areas)
Flowers showy and distinctive - generally white or pink, tubular, 10-12 cm long,
hairy, hanging in clusters at the end of branchlets.
Control methods for Elisha’s tears
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Smaller plants can be hand-pulled or dug out.
Larger plants can be sprayed with frog-friendly glyphosate products (ie;
Weedmaster Duo®, Roundup Biactive®)
Larger plants that cannot be effectively sprayed can be cut’and’painted or drilled
and filled as low to the ground as possible from spring through to autumn, using a
1:% frog-friendly glyphosate mix.
Very dense infestations can be slashed in winter before they bear fruit, and then
sprayed with frog-friendly glyphosate products when regrowth occurs in spring.
It is very important that all fragments of Elisha’s tears are removed from
site, to stop fragments striking into new plants
Spanish Heath
(Erica lusitanica)
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Woody weed, producing millions of seeds per year
Can totally swamp areas it invades, pushing everything else out.
Very commonly spread by road works, slashing etc on dirty equipment or in soil.
Loves disturbance, takes off after slashing or fire, and can resprout from roots.
What does it look like?
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Woody shrub 50 cm – 2 m tall
Bright green feathery leaves
Masses of bell-shaped pinkish white flowers mostly in winter and spring
Not to be confused with…
Many of the native heath plants, like the common heath, Epacris impressa, have
similar flowers to Spanish heath, but unlike all the native heaths, Spanish heath has
soft, feathery leaves.
Control methods for Spanish heath
Small plants can be hand pulled if not flowering – try not to disturb soil too much,
and make sure you get all the roots.
- Larger plants – remove with mattock – get all the roots.
- Otherwise, cut’n’paint with a triclopyr-based herbicide (e.g.; Garlon®).
- Large infestations can be sprayed if plants are actively growing
Important
Do not slash Spanish heath while it’s flowering! This will spread the seeds even further.
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Weed ID round-up
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Keep an eye out for new plants behaving unusually
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If you find something you don’t recognize, bring it in, with details of where
you found it.
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Make sure that the plant you’re controlling is the plant you think it is - if in
doubt, get it checked out.
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Keep your machines and equipment clean to avoid creating more work for
yourselves
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Check the DPIPWE website for the latest control methods for weeds in your
area: www.dpipwe.tas.gov.au/weeds
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Many thanks to Hydro Tasmania, who introduced a similar course for their contractors,
which was the base for this information. Also thank you to Nicole Gill, who helped
produce the original version for Hydro, Matt Baker, Sandy Leighton, Karen Stewart,
Micah Visoiu, Tim Rudman, Elizabeth Schrammeyer, Jarrah Vercoe, Cassandra Strain,
DPIPWE, and TLWP.