Pest plant - Lincoln weed
- Fact sheet
- August 2015
Lincoln weed (Diplotaxus tenuifolia) is an erect branching perennial herb found mainly in neglected areas, roadsides, railway easements and pastures of South Australia.
Description
- erect branching herb 30cm-1m high
- leaves are dark green and fleshy, mainly on the lower stems
- lower leaves 10-15cm, are slender, hairless end in segments, upper leaves are smaller and less divided
- flowers are bright yellow with four petals 8-15mm long, at the end of the stems in small clusters
- fruit is a cylindrical pod 2-5cm x 1-2mm containing 50-80 egg-shaped seeds in two rows.
Why is it a problem?
- invades poor-quality pastures and reduces the quality of cereal crops by discolouring the harvested grain
- rarely eaten by stock except occasionally when in flower
- poisonous to stock and humans
- if grazed it has the potential to taint meat and dairy produce.
Distribution
- Eyre Peninsula
- Yorke Peninsula
- Upper North
- Murray Mallee
- Kangaroo Island
- Fleurieu Peninsula
Ecology
- the long-lived, deep taproot is often branched, from which new growth stems each year
- reproduces by both taproot and seed
- rarely invades established, undisturbed sites.
How it spreads
- seed is transported by vehicles, machinery, hay and fodder products
- seed is also transported by animals, on human clothing, in mud and water and occasionally by wind.