Laurestinus/Laurustinus (Viburnum tinus) growing as a novel component in the damaged understoreys of Yarra Bend. Laurustinus was a core component of the Victorian garden toolkit, … Read the full post
Common Catchfly (Silene gallica)
Common Catchfly (Silene gallica), a species of southern European origin distributed around the world as a contaminant in imported crop seed. Common Catchfly was recorded … Read the full post
North African Catchfly or Mountain Carnation (Silene pseudoatocion)
North African Catchfly or Mountain Carnation (Silene pseudoatocion), an obscure member of the genus, originating in Spain and Algeria, which has been distributed around the … Read the full post
Hairy Abutilon (Abutilon grandifolium)
Hairy Abutilon (Abutilon grandifolium), a South American plant similar in appearance to various South Asian Abutilons, hence another common name ‘Hairy Indian Mallow’. Although there … Read the full post
Wild Sage (Salvia verbenaca)
Wild Sage (Salvia verbenaca), a Mediterranean steppe perennial introduced to Australia as a casual medicinal herb and a likely contaminant of imported seed or stock. … Read the full post
Boneseed (Chrysanthemoides monilfera ssp. monilifera)
Boneseed (Chrysanthemoides monilfera ssp. monilifera), this time profiling the presence of this invasive shrub aster in the inner metropolitan. The photographs here show the species … Read the full post
Cherry Plum (Prunus cerasifera)
Cherry Plum (Prunus cerasifera), a stone fruit native to the Balkans and to Western Asia, adopted and selected for its ornamental qualities (as well as … Read the full post
Boneseed (Chrysanthemoides monilifera ssp. monilifera)
Boneseed (Chrysanthemoides monilifera ssp. monilifera), a South African coastal shrub aster now more widespread in Australia and New Zealand than in its native range. Boneseed … Read the full post
Geraldton Carnation Weed (Euphorbia terracina)
Geraldton Carnation Weed (Euphorbia terracina), a Mediterranean perennial established across southern Australia as a weed of pasture, roadsides and bushland. Also called False Caper Spurge … Read the full post
Oval Heron’s-bill (Erodium malacoides)
Oval Heron’s-bill (Erodium malacoides), a ‘mallow-leafed’ geranium native to the Mediterranean basin but spread to similar climates around the world as a contaminant of seed … Read the full post
Dove’s-foot Crane’s-bill (Geranium molle)
Dove’s-foot Crane’s-bill (Geranium molle), a Eurasian annual introduced to 19th century Australia as a contaminant of grain and fodder seed. This geranium has been noted … Read the full post
Trailing African Daisy (Dimorphotheca fruticosa)
Trailing African Daisy (Dimorphotheca fruticosa), a showy South African aster that has springboarded back into ruderal ecology in an increasing number of Mediterranean climates around … Read the full post
Large-flower wood-sorrel (Oxalis purpurea)
Large-flower wood-sorrel (Oxalis purpurea), a South African perennial bulb adopted as a garden ornamental. Typically flowering a bright magenta as seen here, white and pale-pink … Read the full post
Large Mediterranean Spurge (Euphorbia characias)
Large Mediterranean Spurge (Euphorbia characias), another beloved Eurasian garden filler with gloriously alien inflorescences and caustic latex sap. Tolerant of drought and high salinity levels, … Read the full post
Tree Aeonium (Aeonium arboreum)
Tree Aeonium (Aeonium arboreum), a Canary Islands native widely adopted into horticultural use and available in Melbourne from at least the 1850s. Aeonium is inherent … Read the full post
Cape Wattle (Paraserianthes lophantha)
Cape Wattle (Paraserianthes lophantha), a Western Australian relative of Acacia that has been distributed in European cultivation across the rest of the continent. Widely purported … Read the full post
Rambling Dock (Acetosa sagittata)
Rambling Dock (Acetosa sagittata), a long-lived perennial creeper from Southern Africa, naturalised in Australia and NZ. Rambling Dock was recorded in NSW from 1896, where … Read the full post
Inkweed (Phytolacca octandra)
Inkweed (Phytolacca octandra), a toxic Central American colonist of disturbed and low-nutrient sites. Similar to the American pokeweed that was popular as a medicinal tincture, … Read the full post
Annual Saltmarsh Aster or Aster-weed (Symphyotrichum subulatum)
Annual Saltmarsh Aster or Aster-weed (Symphyotrichum subulatum), naturalised on brackish wetland areas, riparian banks, irrigation canals, and seasonally wet sites throughout Victoria. Native to saline … Read the full post
Wireweed or Hogweed (Polygonum aviculare)
Wireweed or Hogweed (Polygonum aviculare), a European annual weed of roadsides, disturbed and trampled ground, and tilled fields. Usually presenting as a mostly prostrate clump, … Read the full post
Common Chickweed (Stellaria media)
Common Chickweed (Stellaria media), an annual Eurasian microgreen, herbal remedy and fresh chickenfeed. Stellarias can be distinguished from the related Cerastiums—the Mouse-eared Chickweeds—by the shape … Read the full post
Ruby Saltbush (Enchylaena tomentosa)
Ruby Saltbush (Enchylaena tomentosa), a native perennial groundcover growing as a pavement weed in outer Northcote. Ruby Saltbush is a drought and salt-tolerant, mat-forming groundcover … Read the full post
Indian Hawthorn (Rhaphiolepis indica)
Indian Hawthorn (Rhaphiolepis indica), a slow-growing, evergreen horticultural shrub from eastern Asia (and notably not from India). Tolerant of saline environments and disturbed soils, this … Read the full post
Climbing Groundsel (Senecio angulatus)
Climbing Groundsel (Senecio angulatus), another winter-flowering climbing aster from Southern Africa. Climbing varieties like this one were likely included in early horticultural imports of unidentified … Read the full post
Jade (Crassula ovata)
Jade (Crassula ovata), a staple succulent of topiary and floriculture, and a relatively unusual adventive colonist of rock exposures in Melbourne’s coastal and riparian hinterlands. … Read the full post
Cape Ivy (Delairea odorata)
Cape Ivy (Delairea odorata), a sickly sweet smelling smotherer of fencelines, coastal dunes and riparian understoreys. An environmental weed known elsewhere as Ivy-leaved Groundsel, this … Read the full post
Necklace Fern (Asplenium flabellifolium)
Necklace Fern (Asplenium flabellifolium), thriving on the bluestone-walled dry moat of a government building. A native fern of southern Australia and New Zealand, this is … Read the full post
Gorse (Ulex europaeus)
Gorse (Ulex europaeus), brilliant with golden spangles, Western European nitrogen-fixer and destroyer of worlds. Furnishing a fresh fodder for stock (palatable once milled of its … Read the full post
Variegated Ribbon Fern (Pteris cretica var. albolineata)
Variegated Ribbon Fern (Pteris cretica var. albolineata) kerbside in a Northcote drainage pit. Sold in Melbourne as early as 1873, the variety remains widely cultivated … Read the full post
Arum Lily (Zantedeschia aethiopica)
Arum Lily (Zantedeschia aethiopica), favoured Southern African cut flower and damaging invader of drainages, riparian edges and boggy landscapes. Not a lily at all, Arum … Read the full post