Each year weather conditions, together with rainfall amounts and sequences, lead to variety in the herbaceous weeds commonly found in gardens and on nature strips around the region. Once native plant diversity was altered after European settlement, seed banks of introduced plant species built up in the soil. The seeds wait for ideal germination conditions. I’ve not included grasses (except Wild Oats), though African Lovegrass is rampant on suburban nature strips.
Species in bold are over-successful this year!
The species listed are those I’ve noticed in north Belconnen. Other areas may report additional or different species. In 2020 these weed species area also present in the territory’s reserves. Plant species are known as weeds when they have no predators, grazers or harvesters to control their numbers. Some species are edible for humans, at least when the plants are young. See The Weed Forager’s Handbook for details.
RED
- Red-flowered Mallow Modiola caroliniana Horizontal suckering stems
- Scarlet Pimpernel Anagallis arvensis Occasionally has blue flowers
- Poppy Papaver dubium Has a capsule where seeds are shaken out
- Sorrel Acetosella vulgaris Said to favour acid soils. Suckers grow through soil.
- Bartsia Perentucellia latifolia Crimson rather than red.
- Fumitory Fumaria muralis Pinky-crimson.
- Centaury Centaurium erythraea
- Proliferous pink Petrorhagia naneuilli Thousands of seedlings germinating in bush & reserves
- Onion-grass Romulea rosea Grass-like leaves from bulbs dug up by Galahs & Cockatoos
- Cranesbill geranium Geranium molle
- Storks-bill Erodium species Seed capsules are shaped like a stork’s bill.
- Mallow Malva neglecta & M. nicaeensis. Very prolific after the rains came.
- Sandspurry Spergularia rubra Tiny plant likes bare or stressed ground
- Haresfoot clover Trifolium arvense Pinkish flowers embedded in fuzziness.
- Willow herb Epilobium species
- Common vetch Vicia sativa
- Broomrape Orobanche minor Pinkish-beige. No chlorophyll. Parasitic on plants’ roots.
- Small flowered opium Poppy Papaver somniferum
- Periwinkle Vinca major Canberra’s “favourite weed”. Strong suckering stems
- Salsify Tragopogon porrifolius Huge seed-heads. Seeds blow away like dandelions’
- Paterson’s
Curse – Salvation Jane Echium
plantagineum Significant pasture weed.
Toxic to horses. - Wild Sage Salvia verbenaca Might be mistaken for Paterson’s Curse though more purple than blue.
- Creeping Speedwell Veronica persica Low-growing small plant.
- Dandelion Taraxacum Often amongst grass. Flower-heads can have 170 seeds each.
- Flatweed Hypochaeris radicata Similar flower-head to dandelion, thinner stalks. More numerous.
- Catsear Hypochaeris glabra Similar to Flatweed but smaller.
- Capeweed Arctotheca calendula Pale yellow daisy-flowers. Massive numbers. Use for daisy-chains!
- Milk Thistle and other thistles.
- Creeping Buttercup Ranunculus repens
- Caltrops Tribulus terrestris Summer, path-side weed. Spikes of seed-capsules penetrate soles & tyres.
- St John’s Wort Hypericum perforatum Orange-yellow masses spreading from paddocks.
- Hairy Mustard Hirschfeldia incana Lemon-yellow flowers. Cabbage family.
- Great Mullein Verbascum Thapsus Tall flower-stem grows from rosette of ‘furry’ leaves.
- Oxalis species Also other colours. Bulbs are difficult to completely remove.
- Prickly Lettuce Lactua serriola. Germinating prolifically by October 2016.
- Evening Primrose Oenothera stricta Pale yellow
- Skeleton weed Chondrilla juncea Appears to have few leaves.
- Goat’s beard Tragopogon dubius Huge seed-heads. Seeds blow away like dandelions’
- Hop clover Trifolium campestre Small clover-like cushion-plants.
- Mexican poppy Argemone ochroleuca
- Pigweed Portulaca oleracea Germinates in late summer. Succulent-like. Low-growing.
- Californian poppy Eschscholzia californica Brilliant colour but very invasive.
- Common bitter cress Cardamine hirsuta Small white flowers. Disturbed ground
- Chickweed Stellaria media Weak-stemmed spreading annual in veg. gardens etc.
- Mouse-eared chickweed Cerastium fontanum Similar to chickweed but hairy.
- French Catch-fly Silene gallica Increasingly common by 2020.
- Nightshade Solanum nigrum Has red then black berries when they’re ripe.
- Shepherd’s Purse Capsella bursa-pastoris Smallish plant with semi-heart-shaped capsules
- Fleabane Conyza bonariensis. One of several species whose seeds easily blow away.
- Ivy Hedera helix Has enough berries for birds to spread them. Tough, climbing stems.
- Sticky weed Cleavers Goose grass Galium aparine. Weak stems & round capsules fasten-on clothing.
- Petty spurge Euphorbia peplus Has caustic white sap. Can grow to 15cm tall.
- Euphorbia species Popular feature plants which are “going bush” from gardens.
- Common cotula Cotula australis Tiny plants which grow in spaces on bare ground.
- Fat hen Chenopodium album Bluish-green foliage. Tiny, gritty seeds.
- Wild Oats Avena species Grow 1m tall in good seasons & ripen, being a bush fire risk in reserves.
- Wireweed Polygonum aviculare Slightly reddish flowers & gritty seeds.
- Dock Rumex species Reddish small flowers. Some are native species.
- Plantain Plantago lanceolata Blackish blob flower-heads on long stalks. Ribbed leaves.
- Goosefoot Chenopodium carinatum Tends to appear in later summer.
- Stonecrop Crassula sieberiana Minute succulent of bare ground. May be reddish-orange.
- Chilean Whitlow wort Paronychia brasiliana Small, lush-looking plants in bare spaces.
- Purple Cudweed Gamochaeta purpurea & Euchiton species. Greyish foliage.
These
weeds are accepted for high-temperature composting at the Green Waste sites…such
as Corkhills’ and Canberra Sand & Gravel’s yards.
At
home: if the weeds have set-seed put the seed-heads in a black plastic bag to
‘cook’ in the sun rather than putting them in a home compost bin or heap that
may not be hot enough to kill the seeds.
Many
households now have green bins to which weeds can be added for commercial
composting.
Rosemary
Blemings August 2020.
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