Download Sweet pittosporum - Cardinia Shire Council

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Environmental Weed Fact Sheet 6
Sweet
pittosporum
Botanical name: Pittosporum undulatum
Common names: Sweet pittosporum, native daphne
Origin: Eastern Australia
How it
spreads
Sweet pittosporum
reproduces by seed and
is spread into gardens
and bushland by small
animals, such as birds
which eat the berries.
Rabbits, foxes and black
rats eat the seeds and
transport them on their fur.
The seeds also stick to
people’s shoes and can be
present in dumped garden
waste and soil.
How to
identify
Environmental
impact
Sweet pittosporum occurs
naturally in south east
Australia and has spread far
beyond its natural range.
Plants can readily colonise
large area of natural bush.
A fast growing plant, it
produces large numbers
of seeds in early spring,
contributing to
its invasiveness.
This plant is drought and
shade tolerant, with
seedlings germinating and
establishing underneath tree
canopies where indigenous
species cannot survive.
• Light to grey brown bark.
• Green stems which turn,
reddish brown then light grey.
• Dark green leaves, 5–5cm
long, 2–5cm wide, light
green underneath with a
prominent mid-vein and wavy
undulating margins.
• Very fragrant, cream
flowers, with 5 folded back
petals. Plants have either all
male or female flowers,
flowering in mid winter to
early spring.
• Sticky orange berries with
many seeds.
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Environmental Weed Fact Sheet 6
How to control
sweet
pittosporum
Removal
by hand
Sweet bursaria
Replacement
planting
Sweet bursaria (Bursaria
spinosa), blackwood (Acacia
melanoxylon) and swamp
paperbark (Melaleuca ericifolia)
are all suitable alternatives to
sweet pittosporum. For more
information on indigenous
plants or for a list of
indigenous plant nurseries
please contact the Council.
Cardinia Shire Council
offers a subsidy to
landowners who
undertake a farm
chemical users course.
Please contact
Council for more
information on
1300 787 624.
Information supplied in this pamphlet is
intended as a guide only. While all due care
has been taken, Cardinia Shire Council
accepts no responsibility for the use of the
information or for any errors or omissions.
Remove fruit bearing
plants. Dig small plants
out. Remove large plants
by chainsaw. Hot fire can
be used to control some
infestations, however
consult with local experts
to minimise possible
damage to the
surrounding ecosystem.
Chemical
control
Drill and fill sweet
pittosporum at the
exposed crown of the tree,
or cut and paste, with an
appropriate herbicide.
Search the PUBCRIS
database for
registered products at
www.apvma.gov.au or
use a licensed
herbicide contractor.
Read the label of any
chemical before use
and ensure that you
follow the
manufacturer’s
instructions.
Disposal
Cut material can be
mulched when fresh as
long as there are
no seeds. Sweet
pittosporum can also be
disposed of in regular
green waste collections
or burned in a hot fire.