Sweet Melilot (Melilotus indicus), an aromatic Eurasian legume introduced as a pasture improver and seed contaminant. Equally useful and disastrous but lacking the technicolor calamity … Read the full post
Tiny Vetch (Vicia hirsuta)
Tiny Vetch (Vicia hirsuta), a miniature Eurasian and African annual introduced to Australia as fodder crop or seed contaminant. In the 1864 Flora australiensis, Kew … Read the full post
Small-flowered Onion Grass (Romulea minutiflora)
Small-flowered Onion Grass (Romulea minutiflora), a minuscule cousin of the standard saccharine Onion Grass (R. rosea). Also originating in South Africa, the Small-flowered Onion Grass … Read the full post
Onion Grass (Romulea rosea)
Onion Grass (Romulea rosea), the ubiquitous magenta stars that adorn Melbourne’s springtime lawns. Onion Grass is a plant that requires many more than 2200 characters, … Read the full post
White Fumitory (Fumaria capreolata)
White Fumitory (Fumaria capreolata), another of a genus of scrabbly annuals from Western Europe which infest the Melbourne springtime. Long treated as another variation of … Read the full post
Tall Fumitory (Fumaria bastardii)
Tall Fumitory (Fumaria bastardii), another from a group of familiar West European annuals which make themselves scrabbly nuisances of gardens, crops and damaged ground. A … Read the full post
Yellow-eye Wood Sorrel (Oxalis obtusa)
Yellow-eye Wood Sorrel (Oxalis obtusa), another of Melbourne’s strikingly coloured infestations from South Africa’s Western Cape province and Namaqualand. A relative of the ubiquitous Soursob … Read the full post
Wall Fumitory (Fumaria muralis)
Wall Fumitory (Fumaria muralis), one of a group of West European annuals which make themselves scrabbly nuisances of gardens, crops and damaged ground. Perhaps mostly … Read the full post
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 (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 (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 (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 (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 (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 (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 (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 (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 (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 (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 (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 (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 (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 (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 (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
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 (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 (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 (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 (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 (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