Chicory (Cichorium intybus), perhaps more familiar today in cultivated forms as the edible greens Endive and Radicchio, but a historically significant coffee substitute or adulterant. … Read the full post
Mexican Fleabane, Seaside Daisy (Erigeron karvinskianus)
Mexican Fleabane, Seaside Daisy (Erigeron karvinskianus). Infinitely spreading, this is a favoured Melbourne fence and border floss, but also a covert weed that has made … Read the full post
Cat’s Ear or Flatweed (Hypochaeris radicata)
Cat’s Ear or Flatweed (Hypochaeris radicata), a globalised temperate zone weed from Europe, and among the most prevalent weeds of Southeastern Australia. Superficially similar to … Read the full post
Common or Field Bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis)
Common or Field Bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis), a Eurasian morning glory and a persistent weed of cereal crops and urban waste grounds. Also comes more strongly … Read the full post
African boxthorn (Lycium ferocissimum)
African boxthorn (Lycium ferocissimum) in all its dread angles, a declared weed of national significance. A nightshade native to the Cape provinces of South Africa, … Read the full post
Purple-top, or Argentine, Tall or Wild Vervain (Verbena bonariensis var. conglomerata)
Purple-top, or Argentine, Tall or Wild Vervain (Verbena bonariensis), an infamous presence in the lowland pastures of NSW and QLD from the 1850s or earlier, … Read the full post
Bear’s Breeches, Oyster Plant (Acanthus mollis)
Bear’s Breeches, Oyster Plant (Acanthus mollis), saccharine ancestral totem of the Victorian garden, and another adventive discard that successfully makes its own way in the … Read the full post
Flax-leaf Fleabane (Erigeron bonariensis)
Flax-leaf Fleabane (Erigeron bonariensis), a South American colonist of paddocks and grain fields, and a persistent exploiter of pavement cracks and lightly trafficked waste grounds … Read the full post
Purple Salsify (Tragopogon porrifolius)
Purple Salsify (Tragopogon porrifolius), a taproot-forming biennial flower from Europe, and an occasional casual food crop that like so many others became a weed in … Read the full post
Smooth Cat’s-ear (Hypochaeris glabra)
Smooth Cat’s-ear (Hypochaeris glabra), with hoverfly. Reported in Tasmania from 1844, SA from 1847, and Victoria from 1867 when it showed up in the Midlands … Read the full post
Slender Vervain (Verbena rigida)
Slender Vervain (Verbena rigida) on the cusp of weediness at Boroondara (Kew) General Cemetery. Verbana rigida was an early introduction to Victoria as a popular … Read the full post
Coastal Gazania (Gazania rigens)
Coastal Gazania (Gazania rigens), a major component of Melbourne’s fluorescent coast although it is the less extensively established of Victoria’s two weed Gazanias. Native to … Read the full post
Parsley (Petroselinum crispum)
Parsley (Petroselinum crispum), growing beneath an overhanging structure, at the boundary wall of the ground floor car park of a multi-unit residential building constructed c. … Read the full post
Hemlock (Conium maculatum)
Hemlock (Conium maculatum), a toxic Eurasian and North African carrot. AgVic’s public file suggests the plant was deliberately introduced to Australia, however as Hemlock is … Read the full post
Pimpernel (Lysimachia arvensis)
Pimpernel (Lysimachia arvensis) of the scarlet variety. Commonly known to past generations as the shepherd’s or poor man’s weatherglass (for its weather-responsive flowers), this is … Read the full post
Bachelor’s Buttons (Cotula australis)
Bachelor’s Buttons (Cotula australis), a native Australian colonist of damp areas where rocks or other obstructions exclude taller-growing plants, and a weed of similar urban … Read the full post
Red Valerian (Centranthus ruber ssp. ruber)
Red Valerian (Centranthus ruber ssp. ruber) about to bloom from within the sunken foundation well of a former food processing complex in the Ballarat area. … Read the full post
English Daisy (Bellis perennis)
English Daisy (Bellis perennis), dainty evocations of sweet nostalgia, and environmental invaders of coastal, riparian and alpine communities. At Yarra Park, English Daisy is a … Read the full post
Capeweed (Arctotheca calendula)
Capeweed (Arctotheca calendula), fearsome, tiny, glorious invader of just about anywhere with sun, destroyer of worlds. In Yarra Park, and anywhere else you might choose … Read the full post
Ivy-leaved Toadflax (Cymbalaria muralis)
Ivy-leaved Toadflax (Cymbalaria muralis), a nearly ubiquitous temperate weed of stone and brick structures. Originating in the European Alps, the plant was spread across Europe … Read the full post
Greater Periwinkle (Vinca major)
Greater Periwinkle (Vinca major), one of the true ornamental scourges of the world’s temperate environments, thanks to the influence of first the Romans (I suspect) … Read the full post
Garden Marigold (Calendula officinalis)
Garden Marigold (Calendula officinalis) flowering outside my building last weekend. Too showy for its own good, I came home to find that it had been … Read the full post
Common Centaury (Centaurium erythraea)
Common Centaury (Centaurium erythraea), sometimes known as Feverwort. A traditional medicinal and bittering herb in its home range through the Mediterranean and Central Asia, it … Read the full post
Tall fleabane (Erigeron sumatrensis)
Tall fleabane (Erigeron sumatrensis), sometimes known as Horseweed. Thought to have originated in South America, this is another very successful pantropical weed that achieves as … Read the full post
Pampas Lily of the Valley (Salpichroa organifolia)
Pampas Lily of the Valley (Salpichroa organifolia) is a scrambling plant capable of smothering small trees and wire fences alike, and originated in temperate South … Read the full post
Madeira Winter Cherry (Solanum pseudocapsicum)
Madeira Winter Cherry (Solanum pseudocapsicum) masquerading as an ornamental shrub in a church forecourt. Its position, crowding out an Aeonium from the kerb edge of … Read the full post