Khaki weed
Alternanthera pungens, Fam. Amaranthaceae
Prostrate herb, perennial root system with large woody taproot. Stems annual, silky hairy, rooting at nodes.
| Weed Category: |
Locally Declared Plants Under the Local Law provision of the Local Government Act 1993, Local Government may declare a weed specifically for their Council area and enforce their control.
|
| Weed: | Yes |
| Form or habit: | Herb |
| Family: | Amaranthaceae |
| Leaf: | Simple Opposite Obovate to circular, 8-60 x 6-27mm, tapering into short stem 2-10mm long, glabrous to sparsely hairy, margins entire. |
| Flower conspicuous: | Inconspicuous |
| Flower colour: |
White, Yellow, Cream |
| Flower description: | Small whitish or straw-coloured tufts of barbed hairs at base, apex with very sharp spines, borne in dense chaffy clusters in axils of most leaves. |
| Fruit conspicuous: | Inconspicuous |
| Fruit colour: |
Brown |
| Fruit: | Dry |
| Fruit description: | Brown, indehiscent, broadly obovate about 1-1.5mm, held within the old flower parts, 1-1.5mm long. Seeds vertical, 1mm diameter, brownish, globe-shaped. |
| Habitat: | |
| Distribution | |
| Food source for: | |
| Toxicity: | Toxic or irritant to domestic pets, toxic to native animals. |
| Origin: | Tropical America |
| Notes: | Spread by: contact - spines penetrate ‘everything’, will adhere to tyres, clothing and animals; water; vegetatively from nodes. Invades/threats: colonises and forms a dense mat on bare ground and disturbed areas like lawns, overgrazed and wasteland areas. Spines are a problem with dogs and stock but are particularly troublesome to humans and readily penetrate skin. Reported to cause hay fever, asthma, dermatitis and is believed to be poisonous to animals. |
| Information sources: | Mackay Regional Pest Management Group (2018) Weeds of the Mackay Whitsunday Region Second Edition. |
