Beautiful yet harmful to the environment, invasive plant species are a threat to indigenous plants, but they can be controlled.
City Parks and Zoos encourages landowners to remove category 1(b) plant species from their land to control the spread of alien plants. Category 1(b) species are plants that must be controlled or removed and the trade and planting of these species is prohibited.
The most common species from this category found in most gardens are:
- Queen of the night – A cactus type plant from South America that produces large white flowers and red bulbs that contain black seeds
- Moon flower – From tropical America, this plant’s flowers open during the evening and are either white or pink and have leaves that are shaped like a long heart
- Inkberry – An evergreen shrub that has long dark green leaves and tubular yellow flowers that are open between May to October
- Formosa lily – A bulbous plant with a hairy-based stem, which is normally almost purple in colour. Leaves are then, dark and shiny and have fragrant white flowers with red or purple edges
- Ginger lily – Long stems with bright green leaves near the top that hold clusters of pale yellow or red flowers
- Pampas grass – Long grass with stalks that hold yellow or purple feathery flowers
- Triffid weed – A hairy shrub that can form dense thickets of light green leaves and yellow or blue tubular flowers and pale yellow fruit. The crushed leaves produce a smell of paraffin
- Yellow bells – Bright green evergreen shrub with bright yellow trumpet shaped flowers
- Bugweed – Small tree with white velvety leaves and stems that hold clusters of small purple flowers
- Pompom weed – Long, thin green or brown stems with pink or purple feathery flower-heads
- Lantana – A creeper shrub with hairy stems, dark hairy leaves with pale undersides and compact pink, red, orange, yellow or white flowers, with several colours in one head.
Landiwe Mashige, City Park’s manager for integrated catchment management, said other larger plants and trees in category 1(b) that are common in Johannesburg include the syringa tree, blue gum, black wattle and the silver wattle.
Details: Department of Environmental Affairs, AIScompliance@environment.gov.za or 012 399 9679.
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