Soap Aloe (Aloe maculata), established across approximately 50 metres of railway embankment at Spring Street. From the beginning, aloes and other succulents were made a … 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
Sweet Alyssum (Lobularia maritima)
Sweet Alyssum (Lobularia maritima), growing in a novel and heavily sprayed weed ecology on the Jolimont railway embankments, alongside agaves, soursob and various weed grasses. … Read the full post
Lesser Celandine (Ficaria verna)
Lesser Celandine (Ficaria verna) ground zero at Lake Wendouree in Ballarat. Since appearing there in the early 1980s, this Eurasian plant has become a ubiquitous … Read the full post
Tall Willowherb (Epilobium ciliatum)
Tall Willowherb (Epilobium ciliatum), in fact known variously as Tall, Slender, Glandular, Fringed, Hairy or Northern Willowherb. Although there are a number of indigenous Epilobiums … Read the full post
Pale wood-sorrel (Oxalis incarnata)
Pale wood-sorrel (Oxalis incarnata), making its second appearance on the channel this year to acknowledge its complete annexation of this Northcote residential yard. The house … Read the full post
Long-headed Poppy (Papaver dubium)
Long-headed Poppy (Papaver dubium), also known distastefully as Blindeyes, growing in its natural Australian environment: railway ballast. A European native, it was reported naturalised in … 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
Sourgrass or Pink-sorrel (Oxalis articulata)
Sourgrass or Pink-sorrel (Oxalis articulata), a South American colonist brought to Victoria by 1855 (thanks J. and J. Rule, Richmond), recorded naturalised in NSW from … Read the full post
Freesia (Freesia leichtlinii x.)
Freesia (Freesia leichtlinii x.), South African-origin crocoids that occasionally find favour as spreading spring bulbs in Melbourne cottage gardens. Descendants of horticultural hybrids, they are … Read the full post
Four-leaved Allseed (Polycarpon tetraphyllum)
Four-leaved Allseed (Polycarpon tetraphyllum), in various growth forms and densities, another European microherb with colonies around the world. A ubiquitous weed of Melbourne’s urban margins … Read the full post
Mouse-eared Chickweed (Cerastium glomeratum)
Mouse-eared Chickweed (Cerastium glomeratum), one of Melbourne’s’s ubiquitous weed microherbs, which gush from every cracked surface and unconquered margin before anything larger can take over. … Read the full post
Spanish Bluebells (Hyacinthoides hispanica)
Spanish Bluebells (Hyacinthoides hispanica), in this instance resembling the cultivar ‘Excelsior’. Famous as a horticultural armada that has jeopardised the future of England’s native bluebell … Read the full post
Dwarf Mallow (Malva neglecta)
Dwarf Mallow (Malva neglecta) in its tiny, shy glories. Originally from Europe and Western Asia, this prostrate or sprawling plant does about the same thing … Read the full post
Fairy Crassula (Crassula multicava ssp. multicava)
Fairy Crassula (Crassula multicava ssp. multicava), a common and ‘bulletproof’ succulent of Melbourne’s domestic gardens, and a capable coloniser of dry woodlands and rocky exposures … Read the full post
Fishtail Wood-sorrel (Oxalis latifolia)
Fishtail Wood-sorrel (<em>Oxalis latifolia</em>). Only recorded in Victoria from the 1940s, although it was present in other states from at least a somewhat earlier date, … Read the full post
Silene (Silene pseudoatocion)
Silene (Silene pseudoatocion) possibly referred to in its home range as Mountain Carnation. This is a plant which has naturalised sparingly under ideal conditions in … 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
Shepherd’s Purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris)
Shepherd’s Purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris), one of the world’s most ubiquitous cosmopolitan weeds, presenting here in a truly exceptional infestation on unit pavers. Recorded in Victoria … Read the full post
Tree Lucerne (Cytisus proliferus)
Tree Lucerne (Cytisus proliferus), a nefarious shrub brought to Australia as a fodder plant from the Canary Islands, and also sold in Melbourne from 1882 … Read the full post
Pale wood-sorrel (Oxalis incarnata)
Pale wood-sorrel (Oxalis incarnata), spilling out of a front garden in Northcote. A late arrival from Southern Africa, the species (also known by common names … Read the full post
Small Nettle (Urtica urens)
Small Nettle (Urtica urens), a cosmopolitan Eurasian weed naturalised and recorded in Victoria from 1883. The species most likely arrived in contaminated seed, although we … Read the full post
Angled Onion (Allium triquetrum)
Angled Onion (Allium triquetrum), a noxious weed and riparian invader, and a plant that surprisingly does not seem to have a record in Australia prior … 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
Wild radish (Raphanus raphanistrum)
Wild radish (Raphanus raphanistrum) is a winter and spring-growing annual with somewhat unusual four-petaled flowers which vary in colour and venation. The species would have … Read the full post
Onion Weed (Asphodelus fistulosus)
Onion Weed (Asphodelus fistulosus), a noxious weed of Victoria’s northwest cereal growers and other similar areas of Australia, but a plant that is also present … 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
Musk Storksbill (Erodium moschatum)
Musk Storksbill (Erodium moschatum), also known as Whitestem Filligree, a Eurasian weed geranium of lawns, wastelands and pasturage. Widely distributed along Victoria’s main pastoral belts, … Read the full post