KAROO ACACIA

Vachellia karroo

PROHIBITED MATTER – REPORT THIS WEED (02) 6623 3800

Description Usually, evergreen growing quickly up to 12 m tall and can form dense thickets.

Leaves Fern-like, with 8–20 pairs of leaflets, up to 12 cm long and 5 cm wide. The leaflets are light green, oblong, hairless, 4–9 mm long and up to 2.5 mm wide.

Flowers Yellow, fluffy and ball-shaped like a pom-pom, 1–1.5 cm wide, sweetly scented, in clusters of 4–6 balls.

Fruit Flattened curved pods, slightly moulded around the seeds, up to 16 cm long and 1 cm wide. Shiny green, turning brown and woody with age.

Seeds Shiny brown, 3.5–9 mm long and 2–7 mm wide, attached to the pod by a thread.

Stems Rough reddish-brown to black, or smooth and greyish when older. Has straight, white thorns, usually 10–25 cm long, grow in pairs and are crowded at the base.

Dispersal Seed dispersed by livestock and other animals eating and excreting the seed and waterways. Short distances dispersal by wind.

Confused with Weed species Mimosa bush (Vachellia farnesiana), Prickly acacia (V. nilotica), Giraffe thorn (V. erioloba), Umbrella thorn (V. tortilis) and other non-native acacias.

Control Please do not attempt to treat or dispose of this weed yourself. Call (02) 6623 3800 if you see this plant anywhere in the Far North Coast region.

Kochia

Bassia scoparia (excluding subsp. trichophylla)

PROHIBITED MATTER – REPORT THIS WEED (02) 6623 3800

Description An annual shrub that grows up to 1.5 m tall and wide. Stems, leaves, and flowers change from green to yellow, red and then brown with age.

Leaves Alternate, up to 5 cm long and 8 mm wide, veined on the underside with 3–5 veins running lengthwise. Often hairy on the edges and usually stalkless.

Flowers Single or in pairs, on hairy spikes 5–10 mm long. Difficult to see.

Fruit Star-shaped, 2 mm wide, and contain a single seed.

Stems Usually has a main stem with many branches. Striped and hairy when young.

Dispersal Seed dispersed when the plant becomes a ‘tumbleweed’. Dead plants break off at ground level and the wind blows them around.

Confused with Introduced subspecies Summer Cypress or Burning Bush (Bassia scoparia subsp. trichophylla)

Control Please do not attempt to treat or dispose of this weed yourself. Call (02) 6623 3800 if you see this plant anywhere in the Far North Coast region.