Skip to content
Weeds of Melbourne
Compiling a visual glossary of the weedy heritage of Melbourne, Australia.
  • View All
  • Browse by Classification
  •  
  • Paddocks
  • Pavements
  • Infrastructure
  • Riparians
  • Coastal
  • Environmental
  • Residential
  • On structure
  • Native weeds?
  •  
  • About this project
  • Key references + acknowledgements
  • Get in contact
Search for:
  • Instagram
  • Email
Copyright © 2025 .
All rights reserved.
Green Alkanet (<em>Pentaglottis sempervirens</em>)

Green Alkanet (Pentaglottis sempervirens)

Format ImagePosted on August 19, 2021by Weeds of MelbourneLeave a comment on Green Alkanet (Pentaglottis sempervirens)

Green Alkanet (Pentaglottis sempervirens), an evergreen perennial relative of Forget-me-nots, true Alkanet (Alkanna) and other members of the Borage family. The species is distinguishable from  …  Read the full post

Spanish Heath (<em>Erica lusitanica</em>)

Spanish Heath (Erica lusitanica)

Format ImagePosted on August 10, 2021by Weeds of MelbourneLeave a comment on Spanish Heath (Erica lusitanica)

Spanish Heath (Erica lusitanica), shining springtime fixture and prominent invader of Victoria’s acidic hill country. Introduced to England from Spain and Portugal at an early  …  Read the full post

Wood Forget-me-not (<em>Myosotis sylvatica</em>)

Wood Forget-me-not (Myosotis sylvatica)

Format ImagePosted on July 23, 2021by Weeds of MelbourneLeave a comment on Wood Forget-me-not (Myosotis sylvatica)

Wood Forget-me-not (Myosotis sylvatica), a member of a diminutive genus long prized for its free-seeding, wild character on neglected English country estates. Numerous temperate Forget-me-nots  …  Read the full post

Lesser Snapdragon (<em>Misopates orontium</em>)

Lesser Snapdragon (Misopates orontium)

Format ImagePosted on June 3, 2021by Weeds of MelbourneLeave a comment on Lesser Snapdragon (Misopates orontium)

Lesser Snapdragon (Misopates orontium), a minuscule Mediterranean annual naturalised across Europe and in similar climates around the world. Reportedly a weed of English cornfields, Lesser  …  Read the full post

Cretan Trefoil (<em>Lotus creticus</em>)

Cretan Trefoil (Lotus creticus)

Format ImagePosted on May 28, 2021by Weeds of MelbourneLeave a comment on Cretan Trefoil (Lotus creticus)

Cretan Trefoil (Lotus creticus), a silvery, silken-leaved denizen of the Mediterranean strand, lately translocated to Melbourne’s exurban vacation dunes. Other than a scattering of more  …  Read the full post

Sicilian Sea Lavender (<em>Limonium hyblaeum</em>)

Sicilian Sea Lavender (Limonium hyblaeum)

Format ImagePosted on May 18, 2021by Weeds of MelbourneLeave a comment on Sicilian Sea Lavender (Limonium hyblaeum)

Sicilian Sea Lavender (Limonium hyblaeum), a cushion-forming endemic to Sicily’s rocky south-east coasts, only described as a separate species in 1980, by which time it  …  Read the full post

Narrow-leaved Cotton Bush (<em>Gomphocarpus fruticosus</em>)

Narrow-leaved Cotton Bush (Gomphocarpus fruticosus)

Format ImagePosted on March 30, 2021by Weeds of MelbourneLeave a comment on Narrow-leaved Cotton Bush (Gomphocarpus fruticosus)

Narrow-leaved Cotton Bush (Gomphocarpus fruticosus), a South African milkweed and accidental host for the Monarch (Wanderer) butterfly. Known here as Swan Plant (floated in water,  …  Read the full post

Peruvian Lily (<em>Alstroemeria aurea</em>)

Peruvian Lily (Alstroemeria aurea)

Format ImagePosted on March 25, 2021by Weeds of MelbourneLeave a comment on Peruvian Lily (Alstroemeria aurea)

Peruvian Lily (Alstroemeria aurea), one of a group of tuberous flowering plants native to South America which have been widely adopted into horticulture and floriculture  …  Read the full post

Square-stalked St. John’s Wort (<em>Hypericum tetrapterum</em>)

Square-stalked St. John’s Wort (Hypericum tetrapterum)

Format ImagePosted on March 24, 2021by Weeds of MelbourneLeave a comment on Square-stalked St. John’s Wort (Hypericum tetrapterum)

Square-stalked St. John’s Wort (Hypericum tetrapterum), a moisture-loving wort (i.e. medicinal root) from Europe. This plant has also been known as St. Peter’s Wort, although  …  Read the full post

Prickly Paddy Melon (<em>Cucumis myriocarpus</em>)

Prickly Paddy Melon (Cucumis myriocarpus)

Format ImagePosted on March 19, 2021by Weeds of MelbourneLeave a comment on Prickly Paddy Melon (Cucumis myriocarpus)

Prickly Paddy Melon (Cucumis myriocarpus) a bitter Southern African cucumber producing a myriad of tiny fruit. von Mueller made the first Australian collection of Paddy Melon  …  Read the full post

Banana Passionfruit (<em>Passiflora tarminiana</em>)

Banana Passionfruit (Passiflora tarminiana)

Format ImagePosted on February 17, 2021by Weeds of MelbourneLeave a comment on Banana Passionfruit (Passiflora tarminiana)

Banana Passionfruit (Passiflora tarminiana), an expert climber with edible fruit. Formerly planted more widely for the fruit (although this is often described as somewhat insipid),  …  Read the full post

St John’s Wort (<em>Hypericum perforatum</em>)

St John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum)

Format ImagePosted on January 6, 2021by Weeds of MelbourneLeave a comment on St John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum)

St John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum), a Eurasian perennial and herbal remedy widely established across temperate Australia. It is impossible to tell the story of St John’s  …  Read the full post

Italian Arum Lily (<em>Arum italicum</em>)

Italian Arum Lily (Arum italicum)

Format ImagePosted on December 17, 2020by Weeds of MelbourneLeave a comment on Italian Arum Lily (Arum italicum)

Italian Arum Lily (Arum italicum), known to past generations as the ‘Cuckoo-pint’, a green-flowering Mediterranean bulb of deep shade, and minor relative of the ubiquitous  …  Read the full post

Tutsan (<em>Hypericum androsaemum</em>)

Tutsan (Hypericum androsaemum)

Format ImagePosted on December 2, 2020by Weeds of MelbourneLeave a comment on Tutsan (Hypericum androsaemum)

Tutsan (Hypericum androsaemum), a striking Eurasian St. Johns Wort with a shrubby aspect and attractive red fruits turning black at maturity. Naturalised in New Zealand  …  Read the full post

Pelisser’s Toadflax (<em>Linaria pelisseriana</em>)

Pelisser’s Toadflax (Linaria pelisseriana)

Format ImagePosted on November 13, 2020by Weeds of MelbourneLeave a comment on Pelisser’s Toadflax (Linaria pelisseriana)

Pelisser’s Toadflax (Linaria pelisseriana), a slender purple-flowering member of Plantaginaceae originating in Southern Europe and the Mediterranean. Pelisser’s Toadflax was first recorded growing freely in  …  Read the full post

Devil’s Apple (<em>Solanum linnaeanum</em>)

Devil’s Apple (Solanum linnaeanum)

Format ImagePosted on November 6, 2020by Weeds of MelbourneLeave a comment on Devil’s Apple (Solanum linnaeanum)

Devil’s Apple (Solanum linnaeanum), a nightshade from Southern Africa adopted into ornamental use on the strength of its radiant, toxic fruit. Traditionally called Apple of  …  Read the full post

Blanket Fern (<em>Asplenium subglandulosum</em>)

Blanket Fern (Asplenium subglandulosum)

Format ImagePosted on October 2, 2020by Weeds of Melbourne4 Comments on Blanket Fern (Asplenium subglandulosum)

Blanket Fern (Asplenium subglandulosum), a tough indigenous ground fern found throughout Australia and New Zealand as an inhabitant of rock crevices, and a very atypical  …  Read the full post

Two-leaf Cape Tulip (<em>Moraea miniata</em>)

Two-leaf Cape Tulip (Moraea miniata)

Format ImagePosted on September 17, 2020by Weeds of MelbourneLeave a comment on Two-leaf Cape Tulip (Moraea miniata)

Two-leaf Cape Tulip (Moraea miniata), one of several South African species of the genus established in Australia and nowhere else in the world. Imported alongside  …  Read the full post

False Strawberry (<em>Potentilla indica</em>)

False Strawberry (Potentilla indica)

Format ImagePosted on July 30, 2020by Weeds of Melbourne1 Comment on False Strawberry (Potentilla indica)

False Strawberry (Potentilla indica), one of a number of species in a Rose-family genus adopted into herbal medicine and ornamental use. Native to monsoon Asia,  …  Read the full post

False Sowthistle (<em>Reichardia tingitana</em>)

False Sowthistle (Reichardia tingitana)

Format ImagePosted on July 9, 2020by Weeds of MelbourneLeave a comment on False Sowthistle (Reichardia tingitana)

False Sowthistle (Reichardia tingitana), a fancy, sand- and salt-loving yellow aster from the Mediterranean and Middle East. A plant of coastal dunes and saline deserts  …  Read the full post

Teasel (<em>Dipsacus fullonum</em>)

Teasel (Dipsacus fullonum)

Format ImagePosted on May 6, 2020by Weeds of MelbourneLeave a comment on Teasel (Dipsacus fullonum)

Teasel (Dipsacus fullonum), a biennial Eurasian colonist of damp ground, introduced to Australia as a textile comb, grain contaminant and occasional ornamental and floriculture selection.  …  Read the full post

Common Thorn-apple (<em>Datura stramonium</em>)

Common Thorn-apple (Datura stramonium)

Format ImagePosted on April 24, 2020by Weeds of MelbourneLeave a comment on Common Thorn-apple (Datura stramonium)

Common Thorn-apple (Datura stramonium), a toxic annual member of the Nightshade family originating in C. America. Also known as the Devils Trumpet, as James Town  …  Read the full post

Stinkwort (<em>Dittrichia graveolens</em>)

Stinkwort (Dittrichia graveolens)

Format ImagePosted on April 15, 2020by Weeds of MelbourneLeave a comment on Stinkwort (Dittrichia graveolens)

Stinkwort (Dittrichia graveolens), an autumn-flowering annual aster with an aggressive aroma and Eurasian origin. Although the first Australian collection dates to 1876, Stinkwort was spreading  …  Read the full post

Cut-leaved Evening Primrose (<em>Oenothera laciniata</em>)

Cut-leaved Evening Primrose (Oenothera laciniata)

Format ImagePosted on March 18, 2020by Weeds of MelbourneLeave a comment on Cut-leaved Evening Primrose (Oenothera laciniata)

Cut-leaved Evening Primrose (Oenothera laciniata), an annual or short-lived perennial from the sand prairies of the eastern United States. Introduced in 1770 to English cultivation  …  Read the full post

White Stonecrop (<em>Sedum album</em>)

White Stonecrop (Sedum album)

Format ImagePosted on March 11, 2020by Weeds of MelbourneLeave a comment on White Stonecrop (Sedum album)

White Stonecrop (Sedum album), a modest European succulent well-established in parts of coastal North America and a rare or perhaps just cryptic presence in southern  …  Read the full post

Trailing Snapdragon (<em>Asarina procumbens</em>)

Trailing Snapdragon (Asarina procumbens)

Format ImagePosted on March 5, 2020by Weeds of MelbourneLeave a comment on Trailing Snapdragon (Asarina procumbens)

Trailing Snapdragon (Asarina procumbens), a perennial snapdragon originating in the south of France where it grows in rock crevices. Broadly adopted as an ornamental selection,  …  Read the full post

Self-heal (<em>Prunella vulgaris</em>)

Self-heal (Prunella vulgaris)

Format ImagePosted on March 3, 2020by Weeds of Melbourne1 Comment on Self-heal (Prunella vulgaris)

Self-heal (Prunella vulgaris), a Eurasian meadow mint turned cosmopolitan homesteader of temperate lawns and roadsides worldwide. Collected at Sydney as early as 1802, in those  …  Read the full post

Lesser Swine’s Cress (<em>Lepidium didymum</em>)

Lesser Swine’s Cress (Lepidium didymum)

Format ImagePosted on February 26, 2020by Weeds of MelbourneLeave a comment on Lesser Swine’s Cress (Lepidium didymum)

Lesser Swine’s Cress (Lepidium didymum), a South American member of the mustard family introduced to Europe by early colonial transfers, and from there to Australia  …  Read the full post

Tree Tobacco (<em>Nicotiana glauca</em>)

Tree Tobacco (Nicotiana glauca)

Format ImagePosted on February 25, 2020by Weeds of MelbourneLeave a comment on Tree Tobacco (Nicotiana glauca)

Tree Tobacco (Nicotiana glauca), an Argentinian perennial related both to cultivated Tobacco and Australia’s native Nicotianas. Highly toxic, it was introduced to Australia as an  …  Read the full post

Green Cestrum (<em>Cestrum parqui</em>)

Green Cestrum (Cestrum parqui)

Format ImagePosted on February 25, 2020by Weeds of MelbourneLeave a comment on Green Cestrum (Cestrum parqui)

Green Cestrum (Cestrum parqui), a toxic South American ornamental shrub that became a notorious killer of cattle in eastern Australia. Its seed is bird-distributed and  …  Read the full post

Older PostsNewer Posts
  • Instagram
  • Email
Copyright © 2025 .
All rights reserved.