Environmental Weeds of
The Southern Highlands
What are environmental weeds?
Environmental weeds are plants that may invade bushland,
wetlands and natural areas. Environmental weeds may be
native plants from other parts of Australia, but are generally
exotic species.
Environmental weeds are distinct from noxious weeds in that
they have not been declared under the Noxious Weeds Act
1993. Therefore there are no legal requirements to control
environmental weeds.
However, environmental weeds do cause major problems in
the local environment and should be controlled. National Parks,
bushland reserves, roadsides, and bushland on private land
can be severely degraded by environmental weed invasion.
What kinds of plants become environmental
weeds?
The plants that become environmental weeds vary according to
the local climate and soil types. The environmental weeds of
the Southern Highlands are plants that are adapted to cool
climates. These same species in warmer climates may not
invade bushland. Most of
the plants
that become
environmental weeds are commonly grown in home gardens,
and some are still freely available in local nurseries.
Environmental weeds have a number of characteristics that
enable them to infest native vegetation. They:
•
are hardy and grow well, even when left without water or
fertiliser;
•
take over in the garden situation, and require regular
pruning to keep growth under control;
•
reproduce readily from seed, cuttings or suckers;
•
have high viability succulent fruit which birds eat and then
deposit the seeds in bushland;
•
are capable of producing large amounts of wind borne
seeds that germinates quickly.
What are the environmental weeds of the
Southern Highlands?
The table on the back of this brochure lists the most common
environmental weeds. Non-invasive species have been listed
for alternative planting. Other alternative species are available
from local nurseries.
Why are environmental weeds a problem?
Environmental weed invasion