Weeds of Sydney

[philinsydney]

Ligustrum lucidum   large-leaved privet

[philinsydney]

Sida rhombifolia     Paddy's lucerne      At one time this was thought to be native, but no longer.

[philinsydney]

Tradescantia albiflora    trad

[philinsydney]

possibly Solanum seaforthianum

[philinsydney]

possibly Yucca filamentosa

[Palmensammler]

4 hours ago, philinsydney said:

possibly Yucca filamentosa

H,

Yucca filamentosa does not form a trunk. Possibly Y. elephantipes or aloifolia.

Eckhard

[Silas_Sancona]

On 5/22/2021 at 11:21 PM, Palmensammler said:

H,

Yucca filamentosa does not form a trunk. Possibly Y. elephantipes or aloifolia.

Eckhard

Would agree with Eckhard.. 

Imagine this plant was dumped and has maintained itself, rather than started off from seed.  Yucca are pollinated exclusively by one or two specific Genera of moths that -unless introduced there in Aus.-  only occur in the Americas, -Mexico and areas further north specifically-  W/ out them ( unless something there figures out how to pollinate them ) any feral yucca seen in habitat there shouldn't be able to reproduce.. w/ out someone intentionally spreading clones of a given specimens ( cutting off and rooting stems off the " mother " plant ) 

The nasty Asparagus fern looking thing growing below it has much more potential to spread ( more things pollinate / spread seed of it )

[philinsydney]

Thanks for that insight,  Nathan.

re the asparagus: sometimes it can be useful as a stable ground cover that prevents other weeds such as grassy weeds from moving in.

It is a major pest, though: bridal creeper is probably the scariest species due to its multiple stems (A, asparagoides).

[Palmensammler]

21 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

Would agree with Eckhard.. 

Imagine this plant was dumped and has maintained itself, rather than started off from seed.  Yucca are pollinated exclusively by one or two specific Genera of moths that -unless introduced there in Aus.-  only occur in the Americas, -Mexico and areas further north specifically-  W/ out them ( unless something there figures out how to pollinate them ) any feral yucca seen in habitat there shouldn't be able to reproduce.. w/ out someone intentionally spreading clones of a given specimens ( cutting off and rooting stems off the " mother " plant ) 

The nasty Asparagus fern looking thing growing below it has much more potential to spread ( more things pollinate / spread seed of it )

Hi Nathan, 

In southern Europe it's very common that Y. aloifolia and even elephantipes are pollinated by other insects, typically ants.  I grow a small Y. aloifolia from seeds collected on the island of corsica.  For all others human power is needed for pollination.

Eckhard

[Silas_Sancona]

44 minutes ago, Palmensammler said:

Hi Nathan, 

In southern Europe it's very common that Y. aloifolia and even elephantipes are pollinated by other insects, typically ants.  I grow a small Y. aloifolia from seeds collected on the island of corsica.  For all others human power is needed for pollination.

Eckhard

Any properly documented research on this?

[Palmensammler]

22 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

Any properly documented research on this?

Hi,

didn't find anything on the internet. But I heard about and saw fruits during my several trips to Italy, France, Spain, Malta etc. Attached a picture from a Spanish Botanical Garden on the island of Mallorca. I asked a gardener and he told me that fruits only happen when ants visit the plants. They don't pollinate them manually by their own. This is Yucca aloifolia variegata and their were tons of seed pots.

Also in my garden two years ago I had a fruit on a Y. filamentosa which unfortunately was stolen (near to the fence) before it was ripe.

Eckhard

 

[Silas_Sancona]

7 minutes ago, Palmensammler said:

Hi,

didn't find anything on the internet. But I heard about and saw fruits during my several trips to Italy, France, Spain, Malta etc. Attached a picture from a Spanish Botanical Garden on the island of Mallorca. I asked a gardener and he told me that fruits only happen when ants visit the plants. They don't pollinate them manually by their own. This is Yucca aloifolia variegata and their were tons of seed pots.

Also in my garden two years ago I had a fruit on a Y. filamentosa which unfortunately was stolen (near to the fence) before it was ripe.

Eckhard

 

Interesting, Only thing i found was a research paper on how certain populations of Aloifolia can be passively pollinated by Honey Bees. Found nothing regarding elephantipes. That sp. has been a landscape staple in CA. since at least the 70's  & have never seen a single fruit on any specimens in yards / commercial landscapes where i grew up -and there are plenty of bees and ants galore there.   Ants are likely not able to pollinate simply because pollen is too sticky / ants too small and not able to pack the pollen into the stigma correctly.

[philinsydney]

Andropogon virginicus   whiskey grass  This one is interesting because it was used as packaging for bottles of American whiskey.

[philinsydney]

Agave Americana?

[Silas_Sancona]

49 minutes ago, philinsydney said:

Agave Americana?

Tough to tell from the distance in the picture, but think i see some teeth on a leaf or two, so yes, possibly A. americana.. leaves are too floppy for A. tequilana for sure.

[philinsydney]

I guess it spreads vegetatively?

[Silas_Sancona]

13 minutes ago, philinsydney said:

I guess it spreads vegetatively?

Yes, the species can offset quite vigorously..  w/ " pups " sometimes popping up several feet away from the mother plant. Can flower and set seed as well ( but usually takes several decades to do so ) An absolute ( and painful ) nightmare to try and keep contained. Many people here in the states allow them to form massive clumps. Very attractive to a species of Weevil that attacks various Agave here as well.

[philinsydney]

Hydrocotyle bonariensis  Kurnell curse Don't even bother removing this; just learn to live with it if you live in a coastal area. The stems under the sand will just snap off if you try to remove the plant.

[Palmensammler]

On 5/27/2021 at 12:26 AM, Silas_Sancona said:

Interesting, Only thing i found was a research paper on how certain populations of Aloifolia can be passively pollinated by Honey Bees. Found nothing regarding elephantipes. That sp. has been a landscape staple in CA. since at least the 70's  & have never seen a single fruit on any specimens in yards / commercial landscapes where i grew up -and there are plenty of bees and ants galore there.   Ants are likely not able to pollinate simply because pollen is too sticky / ants too small and not able to pack the pollen into the stigma correctly.

Hi Nathan,

Here's a picture of my Y. karlsruhensis x "Elena Star" with a seed pot. As I did not pollinate this one as it was raining all day I assume the ants,  cultivating the aphids on the flower stem, must be responsible for seed pot. I would rule out bees as it rained nearly all the time and flowers had been nearly closed during the day (picture was made in the early evening). The whole flower stem was filled by ants during the day.

Seed pot:

Regards

Eckhard

 

Edited July 11, 2021 by Palmensammler

[Kim]

Interesting survey. While I have weeds in my California garden, they are relatively easy to control in my small space and dry climate. However, in my Hawaii garden, the challenge cannot be overstated. Anything left to grow to "see what it is" can soon become a 30-ft tree, and vines are quick to smother everything within reach. Even desirable plants must be kept in check, as nearly every dropped seed will sprout. It's a dream climate for growing palms -- and everything else! The entire year is the growing season.

Interestingly, I don't recognize the majority of your weeds. The world of plant diversity is deep and wide. What is a weed in one climate can be a well-behaved ornamental in another -- that's how so many beautiful but horribly thuggish plants arrived in Hawaii -- well-meaning intentions gone very wrong.

Happy weeding to all!

[Silas_Sancona]

On 9/12/2021 at 9:49 AM, Kim said:

Interesting survey. While I have weeds in my California garden, they are relatively easy to control in my small space and dry climate. However, in my Hawaii garden, the challenge cannot be overstated. Anything left to grow to "see what it is" can soon become a 30-ft tree, and vines are quick to smother everything within reach. Even desirable plants must be kept in check, as nearly every dropped seed will sprout. It's a dream climate for growing palms -- and everything else! The entire year is the growing season.

Interestingly, I don't recognize the majority of your weeds. The world of plant diversity is deep and wide. What is a weed in one climate can be a well-behaved ornamental in another -- that's how so many beautiful but horribly thuggish plants arrived in Hawaii -- well-meaning intentions gone very wrong.

Happy weeding to all!

A good sign of our wet summer, well, lol, most of it.. as i start the clean up out front.  Pile represents roughly about 3/4ths of what is out there to pull, trim, etc from what came up this summer.  After the weeding, comes blowing through the gravel to get up the hard to rake out stuff that remains that i don't leave behind to break down into the soil through the stone.. 

Rough estimate in terms of total volume of what came up / is being removed in 2.5 months  is close to what i'd remove after wet winter ( from say mid- November - late March here during a wet year ) Luckily, the summer stuff breaks down quite easily after drying in the sun for about a week after being yanked.



@Swolte  A couple examples of the * Bleepin' * Bermuda i have to deal with ( from what i'd mentioned in another thread )..  Hard to see but the stones represent the respective lengths of each piece of Bermuda. One measures just shy of 64". Other reaches just beyond 71" ..Just shy of 6ft. 

Keep in mind it is pretty dry most of the year, and this area only received water from the summer's rain.  Had pulled the last " batch " of Bermuda from where this stuff was growing about 3 weeks ago.

Edited September 13, 2021 by Silas_Sancona
edit

[Kim]

Oh my, @Silas_Sancona! Easy work for you. Your pile represents perhaps less than 1 hour of a typical 3 hours of weeding at my place in Hawaii, 7 days a week. Many wheelbarrow loads to the compost heap, not including the fallen fronds from palms. I must climb the compost heap to deposit more debris each trip, as it is taller than I am. (I will admit to being on the short side, about 5'2") Would you believe I enjoy it? There is a certain zen to weed removal, lots of time for the day's thoughts to roll around in an otherwise empty brain. 

[Silas_Sancona]

7 hours ago, Kim said:

Oh my, @Silas_Sancona! Easy work for you. Your pile represents perhaps less than 1 hour of a typical 3 hours of weeding at my place in Hawaii, 7 days a week. Many wheelbarrow loads to the compost heap, not including the fallen fronds from palms. I must climb the compost heap to deposit more debris each trip, as it is taller than I am. (I will admit to being on the short side, about 5'2") Would you believe I enjoy it? There is a certain zen to weed removal, lots of time for the day's thoughts to roll around in an otherwise empty brain. 

No doubt  the amount of weeds i have to yank, esp. after a wet summer or winter, is a drop in a deep bucket compared to Hawaii ..or FL..  except when i decided to tackle the Brazilian Pepper in the green space between my house and the neighborhood behind us at the time when i lived in Bradenton ( before the county finally came through and did their own work ).  That took a few days and numerous trips to the dump ( and a trip to the hospital when i nearly took out my left eye ).  Other than that,  just chop and drop when mowing the yards. Do the same when cutting the grass / weedy stuff that pops up out back when it rains here.

On the other hand, at the nursery i worked at in Sarasota?  couldn't keep up w/ the weeds,  and that's with a staff to help pull / owner spraying some sort of Herbicide / pre- emergent once every 2 or 3 weeks March - November.. Think spraying actually made the weeds worse.

Agree, aside from when it is 105F+, weeding is an enjoyable activity and a good way to hit the pause button on everything on mind,  at least while focused on the weeds, and avoiding Black Widows / Bark Scorpions ( which i thankfully don't have to deal with in this part of town ). 

[Emman]

On 5/22/2021 at 9:35 PM, philinsydney said:

Ligustrum lucidum   large-leaved privet

I'm pretty sure this is the evergreen tree I've tried to ID that grows like a "weed" in Augusta, it is usually growing along side prunus caroliniana(carolina cherry laurel)

[greysrigging]

A pretty looking plant, but is a Declared Weed in Australia. Called 'Patterson's Curse' or 'Riverina Bluebell'  or 'Salvation Jane' , (Echium plantagineum) is a weed of national significance. Often thought of as a saviour during a severe drought, it is actually poisonous to some stock, causing long term liver damage in horses and sheep.
https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/biological-control/patersons-curse-what-you-should-know

[amh]

On 9/18/2021 at 4:39 PM, Emman said:

I'm pretty sure this is the evergreen tree I've tried to ID that grows like a "weed" in Augusta, it is usually growing along side prunus caroliniana(carolina cherry laurel)

Both Ligustrum lucidum and Ligustrum japonicum are fairly common invasives in the US. I usually see the various ligustrums around our black cherries (Prunus serotina var. eximia).

[philinsydney]

A nice cactus weed in an industrial area.