Keep an eye out for worst weed in world - velvetleaf

AgResearch weed scientist Trevor James says he didn't know what he was looking at, at first. It was a photograph of velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrasti), one of the worst weeds in America and possibly the world.  And it had just been found growing in the Waikato.

Hemlock

Famously known as the poison which killed Socrates, hemlock is alive and living in New Zealand, and is still capable of causing death or at least birth defects in pregnant animals which eat the foliage.

Nightshade

Ranging from low weeds to large bushes the nightshades all have one thing in common – they are definitely not for eating.  

Arums

Do you remember seeing photos of brides from the 1930s each clutching a huge and unwieldy spray of what are commonly called arum lilies?

Fireweed

“Write about fireweed,” said a friend, “I’ve got it growing all over the place”.

Red Dead Nettle and Staggerweed

Despite their alarming names, these are two rather inoffensive weeds, more often found in gardens and crops rather than pasture as they prefer loose, fertile soils.

Barley Grass

Barley grass is one of nature’s survivors.

Control Californian Thistles

Topping two or three times a year, and a follow-up grazing provides very good Californian thistle control.

Thistles

Thistles were already a problem in New Zealand by the 1850s.

Dandelions And Friends

With un-mown lawns and pasture sprinkled with the cheerful yellow flowers of dandelions and other ‘flatweeds’, we look at their names and characteristics.

Yorkshire Fog

These days, with the heavy emphasis on achieving maximum production from our pastures, the ‘preferred’ species are perennial ryegrasses and white clover.

Plantain

When is a weed not a weed?  Well, possibly when it’s a plantain.

Storksbill

As a member of the geranium family the winter weed we know as storksbill was originally labelled by that great name dropper Linnaeus in 1753 as Geranium cicutarium.

Cleavers

Cleavers is that maddening weed which appears everywhere in early summer and climbs through, round and over grasses and low shrubs, trying to smother everything.

Water pepper and willow weed

WATER PEPPER AND WILLOW WEED (Persicaria hydropiper and persicaria persicaria)

These two damp-loving weeds are often confused, so we’ll sort them out for you.

Mallow

Mallow varieties have a variety of botanical names, can grow up to 2 metres tall, or crawl along the ground, or be various sizes in between.

Agapanthus

This tough South African import is not the sort of immigrant that our environment needs.

Brush wattle

A very fast-growing, though thankfully short-lived tree - popping up on cliffs, banks, hillsides, slips, and cuttings. 

Lantana

This smelly South American scrambler is happy sneaking its way through, under, and over whatever plants and trees get in its way.

Jasminum polyanthum

This Chinese climber is loved for its strong scent and delicate white flowers and hated for its tough, vigorous, twining stems that rapidly swamp everything it grows over.

Yellow ginger

This exotic, ginger-scented perennial with massive, taro-like rhizomes close to the surface has shiny leaves and cream-coloured flowers overlapping in cone-like clusters from May to June.

Aluminium plant, also known as artillery plant

Despite its silver-coated leaves, this creeping groundcover is no little treasure. 

Elephant ear

This large, luscious Tahitian interloper has leathery deep green arrow-shaped leaves and thick trunk-like stems, supported by a fleshy underground root system.

Periwinkle

This macho Mediterranean creeper is a hard one to get control of once it is established.

Alligator weed

Originally from Brazil, the exotic-sounding alligator weed is a dangerous invader sneaking into wetlands, rivers, and even subdivisions around the North Island. 

Shrub balsam: Impatiens sodenii

Like a giant version of the much loved busy Lizzies, shrub balsam can reach up to 2m in height.

Japanese honeysuckle : Lonicera japonica

This vine from Asia was first established in the wild in New Zealand as early as 1926.

Chinese privet

Chinese privet was planted extensively throughout towns and rural areas as hedging. It has small, glossy, bright green leaves with smooth edges, and it produces tiny, smelly, creamy flowers from October to January.

Cutting vines and climbers down to size

One of the most destructive groups of weeds is vines and climbers that in many cases started life as ornamental garden plants.

Jerusalem cherry : Solanum pseudocapsicum

Jerusalem cherry tends to turn up in shady places – under trees, grazed bush remnants, along river and stream banks, behind old sheds, and along hedgerows.