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Environmental Weeds
Senna pendula var glabrata - Easter Cassia
Family: Caesalpiniaceae
Vine or shrub to 8 m.
Leaves compound, alternate, leaflests 6-12, 15-50 x 10-25 mm, upperside glabrous, underside glabrous or minute hairs near base visible with a lens, petioles 1-2mm long.
Inflorescence an axillary or terminal panicule.
Flower petals 5, yellow, to 15 mm long, calyx yellow, March to September.
Fruit a tardily dehiscent cylindrical pod, 100-140 mm long x 10 mm wide, glabrous, seeds several, black about 6 mm long, March to September.
Local notes: Scattered but common on the Atherton Tablelands.
Control - cut stump and paint with herbicide.
Solanum seaforthianum - Brazilian nightshade, Climbing Nightshade
Family: Solanaceae
Vine twiner, spines absent.
Leaves compound or simple and deeply lobed, 40-160 x 40 -110, both sides sparsely clothed in simple hairs, petioles 20-40 mm long.
Inflorescence a leaf opposed panicle.
Flower diameter 20-30 mm, petals 5, purple or blue, calyx green December - August.
Fruit a berry, red, 8-12 x 8-12 mm, glabrous, calyx glabrous or minute hairs along outer edge, seeds numerous, red-brown, about 3 mm long February - August.
Other Impacts: The fruit are poisonous to humans.
Local notes: Scattered but common on the Atherton Tablelands.
Control - most plants can be uprooted as it has a shallow root system, or cut stump with herbicide.
Syagrus romanzoffiana - Cocos Palm
Family Arecaceae
Origin: South America
Fast growing palm tree to 21 m. Sturdy ridged trunk. Leaves green to 4.5 m long, long thin leaflets radiating from the central leaf stem. Flowers small and inconspicuous. Fruit a fleshy orange berry up to 2.5cm long.
Reproduction and dispersal: Cocos Palm reproduces from seeds, which are spread by people, birds, flying foxes and gravity.
Local notes: Observed in rainforest remnants around Yungaburra.
Control - removal of entire plant, or cutting out the heart of the palm.
Syngonium podophyllum - Goosefoot
Family: Araceae
Origin: Native to Mexico, Central and tropical South America.
Naturalised distribution: in the coastal districts of northern Queensland.
Habitat: Syngonium prefers moist shady conditions. It is a weed of rainforests, riparian areas and abandoned gardens.
Distinguishing features:
- a creeping or climbing plant with leaves that vary in size, shape and colour.
- The lower leaves are generally arrowhead-shaped and either green or with some white markings.
- The upper leaves are generally green and divided into three segments or 5-9 separate leaflets.
- The flowers consist of an elongated whitish spike that is surrounded by a creamy-white to greenish structure.
- The fleshy fruit are red to reddish-orange.
Reproduction and dispersal: Syngonium species can reproduce vegetatively.
Local notes: Scattered infestations around Yungaburra.
Control - removal of entire plant.
Turbina corymbosa - Christmas Vine
Family Convolvulaceae
Vine twiner; exudate clear.
Leaves simple, 30-140 x 20-110 mm, glabrous, petioles 15-75 mm long.
Inflorescence an axillary to terminal many flowered panicle.
Flower diameter 20-30 mm, greenish-cream, or white with yellow band and brown markings in throat, calyx green, May to October.
Fruit a capsule, brown, about 9 mm long x 5 mm wide, 1 valved glabrous, calyx glabrous, seeds 1 brown, 4-5 mm long, minutely hairy, June to November.
Distribution: now naturalised in rainforest, monsoon forest and open forest from Mt Molloy to Malanda.
More weeds
Weeds Why bother? - Declared and significant weeds in Queensland - Lantana - Local Law Declared weeds - Stevia ovata
Environmental Weeds - A - C - D - K - L - R - S - Z (this page) - Weed glossary