Hibiscus trionum, Bladder Ketmia

         Hibiscus trionum,  Bladder Ketmia

It is always interesting when a new weed makes an appearance in the garden as you wonder not only as to how it got there but also its origins in the plant world.

Apparently this is a fairly widespread summer annual weed occurring along much of the mainland Australian coastline as well as inland. It is of Middle Eastern origin but is widespread in cultivated land throughout America and parts of Europe (eastern Spain). 

I think this came from a bird dropped seed or from potting soil of a newly planted adjacent Lilly-Pilly. Either way it has a fairly innocuous presence as it is only about 17cm high and quite fragile in appearance. The pastel coloured flowers are quite pretty and give rise to the common name of 'flower-of-an-hour', while the seed pods are bladder or balloon shaped.

 

Paspalum dilatatum

 Paspalum dilatatum (Poaceae)

One of my treasured books is Pasture Legumes and Grasses which was published by The Bank of New South Wales in Sydney in June of 1961. It gives the botanical history of this South American native grass which was introduced into Australia in the 1890's by German Australian botanist Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller (1825-1896). This "tough as" pasture grass 'provided a foundation for the dairying industries' of both New South Wales and Queensland and of course eventually made its way into the suburban backyards of coastal cities and towns. By mid-twentieth century mischievous boys had learnt that if you tied the flower stalks together you could easily trip up a few of your opponents in a backyard game of footy or cricket.
Present day applications for its use could include as a 'scratch proof' ground cover for chicken pen/'ranch' and it is probably goat grazing proof as well.
The only down side to that suggestion is that the developing flower heads and seed can be affected by ergot fungus which, by reputation, can lead those who have ingested it to imagine they have entered the world of an Heironymus Bosch painting.

Meanwhile, my lawn, which consists of at least 45% Paspalum, needs mowing.

Geranium molle, Dove's Foot Cranesbill

Geranium molle (Geraniaceae)

 Dove's Foot Cranesbill

The appearance of this weed had me fooled into thinking it was a seedling G. sanguineum as the leaves are remarkably similar to that species. It came up first in a hanging basket which had contained one and also in the garden. For a moment I thought I was on to a sure fire winner with possibly a new and different flower colour. However as soon as it flowered I knew it was a weed species and a quick check of an ID book confirmed it as this species of European origin which is said to only make a rare appearance in gardens and is of no significance. It gets my vote as the most clever weed of the year looking as it does like a respectable garden perennial and able to grow cherished until maturity when its true identity was revealed.

Like many weeds it has an ancient and useful herbal remedy past. The famous astrologer-physician of the early 17th Century, Nicholas Culpeper (1616-1654) probably had it in his medical practice in Red Lion Street, Spitalfields in London in 1640 where he recommended it be applied directly to 'green wounds' ulcers and sores as it 'healeth them quickly'; and for use in a 'decoction in wine' for internal hurts and bruises or to relieve joint-ache.

Published by W Foulsham & Co., LTD

Slough, Bucks, England

Crassula multicava 'Purple Dragon'

Crassula multicava 'Purple Dragon'

The plain green form of this succulent is quite weedy. It is called a 'sleeper weed' as in 'one to watch', for it has the potential to become a 'transformer weed' by changing a habitat and displacing native vegetation. Able to grow in shade and spreading rapidly in sandy soils it has been noted in littoral rainforest and I suspect that it has been introduced as a result of being used in those coastal holiday parks where owners with a cabin or caravan may create a small garden to enhance their surrounds or define a boundary. "I want to plant a garden which survives when we are not here", the story goes. The appeal is the sprays of fluffy pink flowers, general neat appearance and ability to grow in sand.

It remains to be seen whether this red form follows suit into the weed category. A nursery colleague who grows it for sale in hanging baskets told me "it seeds and comes up in trays all along the benches."    Warning bells?

I am growing it in a pot as it is a nice foliage contrast to silver foliage plants nearby. The less water it gets the more the leaves curve back to reveal their attractive purple/red side. It grew rapidly and has stayed compact and is now topped with attractive dark pink flowers, and that said I won't be growing it commercially.

Ludwigia longifolia, Long-leaf Willow Primrose

Ludwigia longifolia

  Long-leaf willow primrose

The appearance the other day of a large flock of pelicans circling overhead was an awe inspiring sight. Were they looking for a spot to land on nearby Lake Illawarra or did they have their sights set on somewhere further down the coast? Gardening in a location frequented by migratory water birds means you get the occasional appearance of weeds which have been deposited by these feathered friends. Long-leaf willow primrose has become one of the more serious weed species which is making its mark on our environment by displacing native vegetation. Most of my weed books don't even mention so it has obviously spread and become more serious as the years have gone by since its introduction as an aquarium or water garden plant. (It is South American in origin). You know it is serious when the advice given if you find it growing in your garden or property is to burn it or bury it deeply. Here is the link for the full story:

 Weed Profile: Long-leaf willow primrose | NSW Department of Primary Industries

Neem tree, Azadirachta indica

I have been using Neem oil as an insecticide on and off for years.

It sticks to the leaves and continues to work for some time after spraying. It is especially good to repel white fly which congregate on the underside of cabbage or broccoli leaves.

 Recently I came across this book, Neem: A tree for solving global problems which was published in the early 1990's by The National Academy Press in Washington D.C. It is a comprehensive guide to the use of Neem worldwide up to the date of publication. 

 Now it seems that the current opinion is that the Neem tree has serious weed potential in most regions of the dry tropics where it has been planted, including Australia. Birds find its fruit desirable and thus spread the seed far and wide.

 Pest plant risk assessment:Neem tree—Azadirachta indica - IPA-Neem-Tree-Risk-Assessment.pdf

Ox-eye Daisy, Leucanthemum vulgare

 Leucanthemum vulgare, Ox-eye daisy

The old fashioned garden perennial Shasta daisy has this as a parent and while this ox-eye is lumbered with the species name vulgare meaning common, the Shasta hybrids are given the title of superbum or superb, and given their large size compared to this one they truly are. What I like about this little perennial however is that it forms a completely dense mat of foliage through which weeds are not able to penetrate. Herein lies the problem, as this plant has been given noxious weed status in southern Australia and in many other parts of the world because it out-competes lots of native plants for space and habitat. My plant came from the garden of a lady who grew up in Hungary and came to Australia after the War. It probably reminded her of cool damp summer meadows where she played as a child.

In our relatively mild climate it always seems to be in flower and has not proved weedy but given its status elsewhere I keep it in the 'not for commercial propagation or sale area'.

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Tweedia caerulea

 Tweedia caerulea syn Oxypetalum caeruleum ( Asclepiadoideae, Apocynaceae)

Neither a shrub nor a climber, Tweedia is hard to place in a garden. It grows as a few lax stems to about 90cm topped with the most beautiful cerulean blue flowers from spring to summer. Though worth growing for that unique flower colour alone, it is the soft as velvet arrow shaped leaves and stems which make it a candidate for inclusion in a garden for the visually impaired, perhaps as an 'edger' spilling over a garden wall where visitors are able to stroke the leaves. In some parts of the world Tweedia is grown as a summer bedding plant. It is frost tender and though mine did not lose its leaves, I kept it in a warm spot out of the cold and a little on the dry side over winter. It is one of those plants which tolerates dry conditions quite well, having milky sap, though it shares this characteristic with a couple of trouble maker cousins, namely the dreaded Moth vine (Araujiia hortorum) and Balloon or Swan plant (Asclepias physocarpa). It originates from southern Brazil and Uruguay

 The colour, pale Cerulean blue, was made famous in the film The Devil Wears Prada when  Miranda Priestly, played by Meryl Streep, corrects her assistant Andrea Sachs, played by Anne Hathaway, over this far from ordinary shade of blue.

For me the most interesting aspect about this plant is that it celebrates the life of the great Scottish gardener and plant collector John Tweedie (1775-1862). At age fifty he uprooted his wife Janet and their six children from the banks and braes o' bonnie doon and set sail aboard the Symmetry, in May 1825, from the port of Leith bound for Argentina (arriving in August) with 200 fellow passengers, all having been persuaded by the enterprising Robertson brothers John and William Parish, of Kelso to help settle a new Scottish colony at Monte Grande some 30km south of Buenos Aires. (1825 was also the year Britain granted recognition to Argentina as a nation and established diplomatic relations.)
By all accounts the voyage was a bit of a hoot with much merriment and singing from Tweedie's fellow passengers who were all at least half his age and full of enthusiasm for the new life ahead at what became known as the Santa Catalina Farm. The colony was very successful for a few years until civil war broke out and the residents dispersed with Tweedie setting up shop, literally, in Buenos Aires while travelling throughout Latin America on plant hunting expeditions, the booty from which he sent back to Britain to botanical institutions and wealthy patrons, as well as describing and assessing the local flora for his growing band of Argentinean followers. He is remembered for the introduction of species of Petunia and Verbena which were used in the development of modern hybrids we know today as well as for Pampas grass which became hugely popular in Victorian England.
In Argentina, John Tweedie is much revered today for his contribution to botany and horticulture. He became known there as Juan Tweedie and has a street named after him in the district where he lived and gardened. In the English speaking world, which, in Britain at least, still remains hung up on status and class, we await the publication of Northampton University Professor Jeff Ollerton's book: 'A considerable collection of new things: the life and travels of John Tweedie, gardener and plant collector' to give us a greater insight into the life of this famous Scot.
The Santa Catalina farm where he first gardened and apparently grew the most delicious peaches is now an eighty hectare Agricultural College. The pictures below show its transformation from Juan Tweedie's time to the present day.

Nasturtiums on the march

Don't be fooled by those seed packets of compact growing Nasturtiums or the variegated variety 'Alaska' with its pretty marbled leaves, after a couple of years of self seeding they revert to the wild type and in mild climates they spend winter sending off long runners topped with large round leaves to cover as much ground as possible before the return of hot days which shrivels their leaves. By then, when those sweetly scented flowers have appeared, all is forgiven and you hardly notice that beneath the leaves there are hundreds of their large crinkly seeds littering the ground. They are usually light enough to float and in a summer downpour they may end up a long way from where they were originally planted. Clever evolution at work to ensure survival of a species.

Despite this 'weed potential' warning, the humble Nasturtium is much revered in French gardens, and in art for that matter, where it is know as Capucine.  In Monet's garden at Giverny a central walkway is roped off to allow them to spread across the path from both sides. In Marcel Proust's A la recherche.....a gardener is described pruning the leaves from ones allowed to grow up a trellis to window height against a wall. 'Fauve' artist Henri Matisse painted pagan rhythmical figures swirling around a central vase of nasturtiums in Capucines a la Danse .

Capucines a la Danse 1912

Henri Matisse (1869-1954)

'Danse' version 1,left, Metropolitan Museum of Art New York and 'Danse' 2 from the Pushkin Museum of Fine Art, Moscow.

 (As an aside about the Pushkin Museum, the recent sacking of the Director, Irina Alexsandrovana Antonova, at the age of 91, gives us all inspiration for a long and fruitful career in a chosen profession whatever the outcome.)

Weed or groundcover worthy of a place in the garden?

'Boulevard des Capucines'

Nasturtium bright colours in this French poster

White Lightnin' Lantana montevidensis

Lantana montevidensis  'White Lightnin'

Banned but not forgotten, this ground cover Lantana weaves its way between the curved spiked leaves of some big Agave plants and the delicate white flowers look quite charming. Though it does not set seed, it is thought that the pollen from this species may contribute to the continually evolving weed species L.camara which costs the country billions of dollars each year by degrading agricultural land and by causing loss of habitat for native flora and fauna.

Cardoon, Cynara cardunculus

Cardoon, Cynara cardunculus (Asteraceae)

A not for the faint-hearted vegetable garden: Cardoon with Comfrey (Symphytum officinale) and Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare)

In recent years the vegetable garden has become both a productive and ornamental feature of many gardens. In some cases it has made the switch from backyard to front garden, possibly at the expense of many flower displays of Petunias and Phlox. Driving around at this time of year I see tee-pees of climbing beans and the tasseled flowers of sweet corn peeping over the front fence of many homes.  
For those looking for a dramatic foliage plant, architectural even, with huge flowers, it is hard to go past the Cardoon. Related both to the globe artichoke and the scotch thistle, it has more in common with the latter as it is a spiny and prickly customer. It also can be a bit weedy. When the purple flowers have finished, hundreds of fluffy wind borne seeds are sent into space and hence it has weed status in many parts of the world. It was even noted as such back in 1845 by Charles Darwin writing in his Journal of the Voyage of the H.M.S Beagle for in the chapter Banda Oriental (del Uruguay) he noted 'very many, probably several hundred, square miles are covered by one mass of these prickly plants and are impenetrable by man or beast. Over the undulating plains where these great beds occur nothing else can now live.' This sounds very similar to the problem faced in Australia by the 'prickly pear' (Opuntia sp) menace of the late 19th and early 20th Century.
Cardoon is weedy both in central Victoria and around Adelaide. However it is 'harvested' and used as a forage plant by many who are partial to the delicate flavour of the peeled and blanched stems and flower bases. Both of the related familiar garden weeds, the spear thistle (Cirsium vulgare) and the true Scotch thistle (Onopordum acanthium) can be used in this way, though thick gloves and possibly a suit of armour are recommended when handling them.

Pitanga, Brazilian Cherry

Pitanga fruit (photo from Wikipedia)

Fluffy white flowers of Pitanga (Eugenia uniflora)

Photo courtesy of Claudia G.

This native tree of Brazil which grows to about 4 metres has developed a reputation for becoming a bit of a weed in warm climates across the world. The small fluted cherry like fruits which turn red when ripe are attractive to birds which spread the seeds far and wide including native bushland. To stop this happening it is advisable to net the tree at fruiting time.

 I am not a huge fan of the flavour of the fruit. I recall it has both a hot and sour taste. As an ornamental plant it has attractive red new leaves and was once recommended as a hedge plant  by David Herbert writing in Brisbane in the middle of last century. It is now less grown commercially as our native species in that family have become hugely popular.

Cape Gooseberry, Physalis peruviana

 Cape Gooseberry Fruit

Before I get arrested by the weed police for growing a plant which is prohibited from sale or commercial propagation in New South Wales and Queensland, I should make it known that I bought my Cape Gooseberry bush from a grower in Victoria. I have it growing underneath a couple of lime trees and it has already made good use of their branches to scramble up into the canopy, spreading and climbing in all directions. Today I have been foraging underneath all this tangle for the fruit which lie on the ground quietly protected by a papery calyx without interference from bugs or slugs.They are delicious when eaten fresh as they have a good balance of tart and sweet flavour and the more golden coloured they are the better they taste. The papery husk becomes almost like lace after a time and that is a good indication of when the fruit is at its best. I guess they are no longer a commercial crop here because harvesting them is fairly labour intensive and not all the fruit on a bush ripens at once. However old timers such as myself who grew up in Brisbane will remember the wonderful cape gooseberry jam produced by Mason's Jam factory in the Brisbane suburb of The Gap up until the early 1970's. A fantastic artisan product in the days before farmers' markets and organic growers.

The fruit has more of a tradition of use in Europe. In France where it is known as coqueret du Perou, the fruit is glazed, cut in half and used on top of cream iced petit fours thus resembling a charming miniature fried egg. The tart fruit flavour perfectly balanced with sweet cream. No such imaginative use here, even though it is recorded as having been grown in Sydney as early as 1802, appearing under the name of Physalis pubescens ,a reference to the soft downy stems and leaves.

Because it is a weed I won't give any horticultural cultivation notes for growing it but happy foraging for those who live on the warm east coast. The NSW online Flora database gives all the districts where it can be found.  Remember to always to get positive identification of a wild plant from an expert before eating anything if you are not sure whether it is ok.

Chickweed, Stellaria media

Chickweed,  
Stellaria media (Caryophyllaceae Carnation Family)

Chickweed makes an appearance every winter in the garden and in potted plants. It forms quite a thick mat of loose succulent leaves topped by starry white flowers and seed capsules containing many orange seeds. Wild food foragers may be familiar with this universally occurring plant, using it as a tasty addition to salads and soups. I find the taste a bit bland and because the stems are covered with tiny hairs it is not always easy to swallow without inducing a coughing fit. As a herbal plant it is useful for making a poultice to sooth irritated skin. Apparently it is also possible to make a salve from Chickweed as well where it is mixed with beeswax so it can be applied for a longer period. I am not a regular user of herbal remedies but this one seems to work and from such a common garden plant.
As the common name suggests it is adored by chickens who love to scratch and pick out the oil rich seeds.

Shoo-fly plant: Nicandra physalodes

Nicandra physalodes
 Shoo-fly plant or Apple of Peru

This weed of summer, which has its origin in South America, has had a good year with all the rain and I have noticed in some areas that it is reaching up to 2 metres in height. It occurs in all States except NT and is easily recognized by the bell shaped pale blue flowers emerging from a green calyx. The fruits which form are round berries like wild gooseberries enclosed in the 5-parted calyx which turns papery and brown. These are not edible unlike many other members of the Solanum family, eg tomato and potato. I am not sure where the common name shoo fly plant comes from but it reminds me of that summer song we all sing: shoo fly don't bother me....

It is fairly easy to control if you get onto it early but growth is so rapid it could be above your head in the space of a week.

Galinsoga parvifolia, Yellow weed

Galinsoga parvifolia, Yellow weed or Potato weed

This is a fairly common weed of gardens and cultivated areas and is found in over thirty countries, being of South American origin and brought to Kew Gardens from Peru in 1796. It is not normally seen growing as such a dense patch as in this photo but I came across it in a place where a vegetable crop had been harvested several months ago. Normally it appears as an isolated specimen, often working its way through other plants and reaching about 40 cm in height. What I did not know about it until recently is that it has a culinary use as a dried herb in South American cooking. In Colombia it is called Guasca and is used as an ingredient in a traditional soup called Ajiaco which normally includes chicken.

Ruellia brevifolia

Ruellia brevifolia syn R. amoena syn R. graecizans
Red Christmas Pride

This small (60cm) shrub from South America has gone a bit feral across the Pacific Islands and north Queensland since being introduced as a garden ornamental. In these cooler southern parts of the country it is more well behaved and provides a decorative addition to the summer floral display with its crown of tubular red flowers. It needs a frost free position in sun or light shade, in average garden soil, at the front of garden borders or as a container plant amongst other tropical style plants. It stays quite neat and compact and the floral display is continuous over the summer months.
2017 update: It is too weedy to recommend growing and even comes up in the cracks of pavement.

Ruellia brevifolia planted in front of Pleomele reflexa 'Song of India' and bordered by Echeveria

Amaranthus viridis

Amaranthus viridis

It is more of a European thing to go foraging for wild weeds to use as food. There is a tradition in Greece to search out this Amaranth in Spring when the young shoots are at their most flavourful .It goes by the name of vrasta or vlita and is cooked and dressed with olive oil and lemon juice. However it is much more easy to identify in late summer when the green tassel like flowers begin to appear.

Heliotropium europaeum

Heliotropium europaeum

This is the first time I have come across this weed growing near the coast. It is normally found in southern inland New South Wales, northern Victoria and the southern parts of South Australia growing mainly in the summer months on fallow ground or amongst pasture grasses. It is a significant weed because it is poisonous to sheep and cattle, with leaf samples indicating the presence of pyrrolizidine alkaloids ( helitrine, lasiocarpine and 3 others). Grazing and consumption of the plant causes liver damage which may not manifest itself until the second year. Damage to the liver by the alkaloids leads to an abnormally high uptake of copper from the pasture. When the animals are stressed by say, sudden cold, droving or fright, the copper is suddenly released and they develop the haemolytic crisis of chronic copper poisoning; dropping dead due to kidney failure. Cattle are more susceptible than sheep. Nasty weed indeed.

Wild bird seed

Red-browed Finch
Photo:S G Lane Collection
Australian Museum

Flocks of red-browed finches have been hard at work lately making the most of the summer weedy grasses which have been producing lots of ripe seed. I often complain about weeds in the garden because they look untidy and then remember that they provide food for a diverse range of animals, birds and insects.

A patch of barnyard grass (Echinochloa sp), summer grass (Digitaria sp) and Millet (Setaria italica)