Join Boneseed spy network to remove weed from Mid North

The Northern and Yorke Landscape Board is seeking help from vigilant community members to remove the damaging environmental weed Boneseed from the Mid North.

Northern and Yorke Landscape Board Officer Ben Page is appealing for weed spies in the community to help uncover remnants of the South African-introduced species.

“With relatively few sightings of Boneseed in the Mid North, a concerted effort would give us a chance to remove - and in discrete locations, eradicate - this pest plant from the area,” said Mr Page. “We’re currently aware of Boneseed patches in Sevenhill, Clare’s old Police Station Paddock and also in some Clare gardens, so we’re calling on the Mid North community to keep their eyes peeled and report any sightings to us at the Northern and Yorke Landscape Board.

“As Boneseed germinates in autumn, it’s an ideal time to hand pull any seedling plants which stops them in their tracks.”

Boneseed (Chrysanthemoides monilifera) is known as a voracious pest plant that invades native vegetation and steals summer moisture with its shallow root system.

It has a woody-branched stem, oval-shaped leaves with irregularly-serrated edges and produces bright yellow, daisy-like flowers in late winter and spring, before fruiting in early summer.

A long-lived shrub that grows to 1.5m high, Boneseed is a prolific seeder that can produce up to 50,000 seeds each year, with the seeds remaining viable for more than 10 years.

Mr Page, who is also involved in Boneseed control at Sandy Creek Conservation Park as a Friends Group volunteer, has seen first-hand the benefits of seedling removal.

“The Park’s population of Boneseed has been drastically reduced from a thick, dense infestation to smaller sites,” he said. “We hope to one day remove all Boneseed from the Park by keeping on top of seedlings and exhausting the seedbank by removing any older plants.”

Populations of Boneseed vary greatly across the Northern and Yorke region, ranging from 12 known sites on Yorke Peninsula to no current known sites in the Southern Flinders Upper North district. Like the Mid North, landholders or community members that spot Boneseed in northern parts of our region can report sightings to the Northern and Yorke Landscape Board on 8841 3444.

While an invasive pest plant, Boneseed is relatively easy to control by hand pulling seedlings, using herbicides, physical removal or burning to control larger plants. Landscape Officers can help identify pest plants and provide free advice about the most effective pest management options for your property.