More Weeds of Blue Mountains Bushland

Other Blue Mountains Bush Invaders

Woody Weeds

African Olive Olea europea ssp africana

Berberis, Barberry Berberis aristata
	family: BERBERIDACEAE A spiny deciduous shrub with yellow flowers in drooping clusters followed by pearly berries. Invades undisturbed forest and forms impenetrable thickets. Berberis darwinii (orange flowers) is also weedy.

Bird Cherry Prunus padus
	family: ROSACEAE A fast growing medium height deciduous cherry tree with thin finely-toothed leaves. Prolific pea-sized fruit are highly attractive to birds, especially the Crimson Rosella. Invades moist forest and creeklines.

Black Locust, False Acacia Robinia pseudoacacia
	family: FABACEAE Deciduous thorny tree, 20 - 25m tall, with flowers and leaves resembling Wisteria. Pods contain long-lived seeds. Suckers freely, is poisonous.

Box Elder Acer negundo
	family: ACERACEAE Fast growing deciduous tree to 15m with 3-7 toothed or lobed leaflets. Female trees produce huge numbers of winged 'keys' in autumn. Invades sensitive bushland, crowds and shades out native plants.

Cassia Senna pendula var. glabrata
	An erect spreading fast-growing shrub with masses of bright yellow flowers followed by long brown pods which resemble beans. Invades bushland edges, gullies and creeklines. Seeds prolifically, and reshoots if cut or damaged.

Cockscomb Coral Tree Erythrina crista-galli

Evergreen Dogwood Cornus capitata
	family: CORNACEAE Evergreen spreading tree to 10m. Also known as Himalayan Strawberry Tree. Edible red fruits resemble strawberries. Spread by birds and animals. Invades moist, sensitive forest.

Firethorn Pyracantha spp.
	Fiercely thorny shrubs with massed white flowers and dense clusters of yellow to orange-red berries attractive to birds, especially the Pied Currawong. Invade forests, woodland and creeklines, sucker and form thickets. Easily distinguished from Cotoneaster by the presence of long spines.

Hawthorn Crataegus monogyna
photo: © Allison Roy	family: ROSACEAE Thorny shrub to small tree, with white to pink fragrant flowers and clusters of red berries attractive to birds. Can form dense impenetrable thickets.

Honey Locust Gleditsia triacanthos
	family: FABACEAE Large deciduous tree with ferocious branched thorns and fern-like leaves. Inconspicuous flowers are followed by clusters of long brown pods. Suckers prolifically, animals spread seed into bushland.

Mickey Mouse Plant Ochna serrulata
	Erect shrub with dense foliage. Yellow flowers in spring are followed by bright red sepals (these resemble petals) and 4 to 5 black black berries, attractive to birds like the Pied Currawong which transport the seeds into undisturbed bushland. Reshoots vigorously from the base if damaged.

Poplar Populus spp

Lombardy Poplar Populus nigra 'Italica'
	family: SALICACEAE A narrow, erect, fast growing deciduous tree with rough grey bark. Spreads vegetatively by suckering, and has invasive roots.

White Poplar Populus alba
	family: SALICACEAE Large deciduous spreading tree, suckers to form dense thickets. Leaves white-woolly to silver underneath. Female trees produce 'cotton' with tiny seeds embedded. These can travel long distances on the wind.

Queensland Silver Wattle, Mt Morgan Wattle Acacia podalyriifolia
	family: MIMOSACEAE Shrub or small tree native to Queensland with oval silvery-grey leaves and spectacular bright yellow flowers in spike-like clusters. Once used by the RTA for GWH landscaping in the Lower Mountains, it has spread widely to neighbouring bushland. See Acacia baileyana for more information on weedy wattles.

Common Rhododendron, Pontic Rhododendron Rhododendron ponticum
	Large shrub rhododendron with a dense suckering habit. Violet-purple flowers are produced in large clusters, followed by a capsule with numerous seeds. It has become highly invasive in Western Europe, Great Britain and Ireland, and in New Zealand. Once widely planted in Upper Mountains gardens, it is now invading moist sensitive bushland in considerable numbers.

Sycamore Acer pseudoplatanus
	family: ACERACEAE Medium to large deciduous tree with pale flaky bark and large 5-lobed dark green leaves. Seeds are winged 'keys'. Prolific seeder, invasive in moist forest.

Sykes's Coral Tree Erythrina x sykesii
	A fast growing thorny deciduous tree to 15m. Large clusters of scarlet flowers are produced on bare branches before the leaves appear. Grows readily from fallen branches, and should not be used as mulch.

Tree Lucerne, Tagasaste Chamaecytisus palmensis (syn. C. proliferus)
	family: FABACEAE Large shrub to small tree: drooping branches, leaves with three leaflets, masses of cream-white pea flowers in winter followed by pods containing poisonous seeds. Originally grown for fodder, Tree Lucerne is now an invader of degraded land, forest, heath and creeklines.

Tree of Heaven Ailanthus altissima
	family: SIMAROUBACEAE Also known as "Tree-in-a-hurry"; a rapidly growing deciduous tree to 15m or more, leaves up to 1m long. Suckers widely to form dense thickets, also spreads by seed. Flowers of male trees have a rank, unpleasant smell. Difficult to control.

Umbrella Tree Schefflera actinophylla
	family: ARALIACEAE Fast growing many-branched small native tree, with long-stemmed clusters of umbrella-shaped leaves and octopus-like masses of bright red flowers on long stems. Berries are attractive to birds. Invades rainforest and creeklines in the Lower Mountains.