What is a weed?
A weed is a plant that grows outside its natural environment and adversely impacts the environment in which it grows. This can include weeds which have come from another country as well as native Australian species which are now living outside of their natural range.
Weeds invade natural areas in a number of ways and invasion is usually opportunistic with some sort of disturbance in the vegetation. This could be in the form of a bushfire, clearing of the land, earthmoving equipment, trampling or vandalism by people using the land, nutrient enrichment through fertilisers or other influences from surrounding properties such as increased runoff, and dumping of garden rubbish.
Seed from weed species is distributed in a number of ways and it is important to consider dispersal mechanisms when applying weed control, to minimise further spread of the weed into nearby areas. Mechanisms for weed dispersal include:
- wind blown
- carried in by humans and animals on clothing or fur
- distributed by birds and other animal droppings after fruits have been consumed
- water dispersed
- spread by mowing or slashing and also on machinery used on site
- imported with poor quality mulch or soil brought on-site
- dumped as garden waste.
Common Coastal Weeds of the Illawarra (downloadable pdf) This booklet is a good introduction to common weeds in the Illawarra.
Recent resource sheets on regional priority weeds from Illawarra District Weeds Authority:
- Biosecurity Act Regional Priority Weeds – Containment
- Biosecurity Act Regional Priority Weeds – Eradication
- Water Weeds Fact Sheet
- Alligator Weed
- Boneseed
- Coral Creeper
- Frogbit
- Gorse
- Kidney Leaf Mud Plantain
- Ming Asparagus
- Sticky Nightshade
For more information on weeds in the Illawarra, including links to government websites and resources click here
