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Wetlands not weedlands
Weednote no.1 [Replaces Weed note 1/97] [Reviewed December 2006]
Protecting agriculture and the environment is everyone's business. Report any suspect declared plants to your nearest office of Department of Agriculture and Food
The aquatic weeds presented in this Weednote are banned throughout Western Australia. However Agriculture Westen Australia has recently found several of them in cultivation. Most finds have been around Perth, but salvinia and water hyacinth have been found as far afield as Kununurra and Albany.
These plants must not be kept or sold, and must not be imported. If you have any of these plants in a pond or aquarium, they must be destroyed.
Senegal tea, alligator weed and horsetails have also been found in cultivation in Perth. Alligator weed has been mistakenly cultivated as a leafy vegetable or herb. It has been confused with a similar looking plant known as mukunuwenna or ponnsnhsnni (Sri Lanka), ran den (Vietnam), tsurunoge ito (Japan), phak pet thai (Thailand), and kozhuppa or majriya (India). Alliagtor weed can grow in water, on the banks, or in gardens - it has even been found infesting lawns in eastern Australia.
These weeds all have the potential to block rivers and water ways and pose a serious threat to irrigation channels. A common feature of all these weeds is their ability to spread rapidly and form a dense mat above or below the water. This mat stops light entering the water and depletes the water body of oxygen. Fish and other creatures will die and all the native plants will be shaded out.
Horsetails or scouring rushes (Equisetum spp.) are primitive relatives of ferns. Horsetails have deep, invasive rhizomes and have become serious weds in other parts of the world. They grow in damp soil and are a threat to wetlands, water courses, irrigated pastures and horticulture. Horsetails are also toxic to livestock. All Equisetum spp. must be destroyed.
How can you help?
If you see any of these water plants, or others appear to be spreading rapidly, note their location and notify the nearest office of Department of Agriculture and Food.
Aquarium and pond owners
Do not dispose of any plant from your aquarium or pond in or near any waterway or drain.
Apart from horsetail, all of these plants can be killed by being dried out on newspaper. When the plants are dead, bury them or dispose of them with other green waste in accordance with Council by-laws. Salvinia and water hyacinth can also be killed by composting. Horsetails are extremely difficult to kill. seed advice on disposal from Department of Agriculture and Food if you have any horsetail (Equisetum spp.) plants.
Aquatic weeds cost!
Apart from environmental damage they cause, aquatic weeds are extremely expensive to eradicate. It cost more than a quarter of a million dollars to eliminate hydrocotyl from Western Australia's Canning River. In Barren Box swamp near Griffith in NSW over $1 million has been spent to eradicate a two year old infestation of alligator weed.
Prevention is the cheaper option! Report suspect plants.
REPORT THESE PLANTS TO YOUR NEAREST Department of Agriculture and Food OFFICE
(See the White Pages of the Phone Book)
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Submit suspect plant samples to the Weed Science Group at
Department of Agriculture and Food,
3 Baron Hay Court South Perthor by post to:
Locked Bag No. 4
Bentley Delivery Centre, WA 6983
More information
Internet
- See Agriculture Western Australia's Weed Science Website for the latest information.
- Visit the State Weed Plan
- University of Florida Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants website
- For more information about our waterways contact the Water and Rivers[Expired] on (08) 9278 0300 or visit their web-site.
- For the Swan and Canning Rivers, contact the Swan River [Expired] on (08) 9278 0400 or visit their web-site
Books:
- Hussey, BMJ et al. (1997) Western weeds : a guide to the weeds of Western Australia. Plant Protection Society of WA, Perth.
- Sainty, GR and Jacobs, SWL (1994) Waterplants in Australia. 3rd ed. Sainty and Associates, Sydney.