Can a wattle be a weed?
Yes.
When is a wattle a weed?
When it invades natural vegetation and displaces native flora.
Botanists call such weeds 'plant thugs' of the environment.
Some Australian acacias have become environmental weeds both inside and outside of Australia. Some have been planted for economic use such as tannin production and then gone bush. Tough long lived seeds, prolific seedling recruitment after fire, the absence of their natural insect and fungal control, can lead to a wayward wattle.
Some serious environmental wattle weeds such as Acaciasaligna (Coojong) and Acacia cyclops (Western Coastal Wattle) are in Portugal, South Africa and Chile. Inside Australia, Acacia baileyana (Cootamundra Wattle), Acacia dealbata (Silver Wattle) and even our national floral emblem Acacia pycnantha (Golden Wattle) are considered environmental weeds in some parts of the country.
Are there any thugs in your garden?
Wattle you know wattle you do?
- What is a weed? How could a lovely wattle be sometimes considered a weed?
- Visit to find out more http://www.worldwidewattle.com/infogallery/utilisation/weeds.php
