Weed or Native – Senecio

Senecio’s are a group of plants that belong to the Daisy (Asteraceae) family. Locally one member of the family Senecio Jacobaea (Ragwort) is well known as a serious pest to landholders and its impact was one of the contributing reasons that many farms in the Strzelecki Ranges were abandoned. There are however a good number of Senecio’s that are native  plants and are an important part of the local environment, particularly as colonisers of disturbed sites, and thus providing ground cover to reduce erosion and keep out introduced weeds.

Three of the local species Fireweed Groundsel (Senecio linearfolius), Variable Groundsel (Senecio pinnatifolius) and Shrubby Fireweed (Senecio minimus) are most common in the wet and damp forest vegetation classes. There are four other species described below, these species are more likely to be encountered at sites that have less rainfall, such as the lowland forest vegetation in Traralgon South Flora and Fauna Reserve.

Rough Fireweed (Senecio hispidulus) grows up to 1 metre tall and has green shiny leaves that have toothed lobes. They are covered in tiny hairs that make them feel a bit like sandpaper to touch.  At the base of the leaves where they attach to the stem there are a pair of lobes with teeth (auricles). The underside of the leaves are covered in longer white hairs. Like all of the four species described in this post the flower heads are surrounded by green bracts, without any of the yellow ray florets that look like petals.

Flowerhead surrounded by green bracts.

The common name relates to the rough textured lobed leaves.

Hairy underside of a leaf.

Fluffy seedheads, ready to disperse in the wind.

Base of the leaves, where they attach to the stem with a toothed lobe (auricle) on either side.

Annual Fireweed (Senecio glomeratus) Annual Fireweed has some features in common with Rough Fireweed, it also has toothed lobes at the base of the leaves and the flowerbuds look similar. It is without the roughly textured leaves, it is usually covered in soft cobwebby type hairs.

Clusters of flower heads.

Underside of the leaves have a fine cottony texture.

Also has a pair of toothed lobes (auricles) where the leaves attach to the stem.

Whole plant

Slender Fireweed (Senecio tenuiflorus) as its common name suggests, Slender Fireweed is a more delicate looking plant. Its lower leaves are crowded with toothed margins, while the leaves further up the plant become narrower and more slender. The upper-side of the leaves are slightly cobwebby, while the back of the leaves are quite hairy, at the base of the plant they are usually purple.

Underside of the basal leaves, hairy and purple.

Leaves towards the base of the plant.

Senecio tenuiflorus – Slender Fireweed

Flower heads are narrow and usually wider at the base.

Where the leave connects to the stem, does not have the toothed lobes like the previous 2 species.

Fluffy seed-heads ready to disperse.

Cotton Fireweed (Senecio quadridentatus) – Cotton Fireweed often grows in the same locations as Slender Fireweed and is also quite slender. It is a widespread species and will come up in disturbed areas where little other native vegetation exists, it can withstand dry conditions. It is covered with dense cottony hairs, which can help with its identification, they give the plant its somewhat grey appearance.

Whole plant with greyish leaves.

Long slender leaves.

Narrow clusters of flowerheads, also covered in grey cobwebby hairs.

Atlas of Living Australia – Resource

If you are keen to get a better idea of what species are native to the area, one great resource that is now available is the Atlas of Living Australia. You can search any area and it will come up with a whole heap of information about what has been found. It is focused on all biodiversity so it covers a whole range of flora and fauna including fungi and fish and it doesn’t just come up with lists, it also includes links to photo galleries and other information about each species. If you are really keen the site also gives you the opportunity to upload your own species records. You can find the atlas via the following link http://www.ala.org.au

Screen shot from the Atlas of Living Australia, showing the search by location tool.

Wet Forest EVC – Ferns

Asplenium bulbiferum – Mother spleenwort (Back view of fertile fronds)

Asplenium bulbiferum – Mother spleenwort

Blechnum chambersii – Lance Water-fern, showing fertile fronds

Blechnum chambersii – Lance Water-fern

Blechnum fluviatile – Ray water-fern

Blechnum fluviatile – Ray water-fern

Blechnum nudum – Fishbone water-fern

Blechnum nudum – Fishbone water-fern

Blechnum wattsii – Hard water -fern

Blechnum wattsii – Hard water -fern, with fertile fronds

Blehnum patersonii – Strap water-fern

Cyathea australis – Rough tree-fern (Showing trunk with rough scales at the base of the old stipes)

Cyathea australis – Rough tree-fern (Showing the back of a fertile frond)

Cyathea australis – Rough tree-fern

Cyathea australis – Rough tree-fern

Cyathea cunninghamii – Slender Tree-fern

Cyathea X maracescens – Skirted tree-fern (showing its distinctive skirt)

Cyathea X maracescens – Skirted tree-fern

Dicksonia anarctica – Soft tree-fern, view of the back of its fertile pinnae

Dicksonia anarctica – Soft tree-fern

Dicksonia anarctica – Soft tree-fern, showing the top side of fertile fronds)

Dicksonia anarctica – Soft tree-fern

Dicksonia anarctica – Soft tree-fern, trunk has soft hairs at base of stipes (not like the rough tree fern)

Histiopteris incisa – Bats wing-fern

Latreopsis acuminata – Shiny shield-fern, showing the underside of fertile fronds).

Latreopsis acuminata – Shiny shield-fern

Polystichum proliferum – Mother shield-fern , (showing the underside of fertile fronds).

Polystichum proliferum – Mother shield-fern

Polystichum proliferum – Mother shield-fern

Pterdium esculentum – Austral Bracken

Pterdium esculentum – Austral Bracken

Wet Forest EVC – Trees

Acacia dealbata – Silver Wattle

Acacia melanoxylon – Blackwood

Acacia melanoxylon – Blackwood

Eucalyptus cypellocarpa – Mountain Grey-gum – Fruit showing a distinctive ridge line.

Eucalyptus cypellocarpa – Mountain Grey-gum

Eucalyptus cypellocarpa – Mountain Grey-gum (Showing its distinctively ridged buds)

Eucalyptus cypellocarpa – Mountain Grey-gum (Showing off its extra large mature leaves)

Eucalyptus cypellocarpa – Mountain Grey-gum

Eucalyptus globulus – Blue Gum

Eucalyptus obliqua – Messmate Stringybark

Eucalyptus obliqua – Messmate Stringybark (Showing the oblique leaf base that gives the species its name).

Eucalyptus obliqua – Messmate Stringybark

Eucalyptus obliqua – Messmate Stringybark

Eucalyptus regnans – Mountain Ash

Squiggly pattern on the branches of this fallen Mt Ash Branch.

Eucalyptus regnans – Mountain Ash – Have to find branches that have fallen down to get a photo of these giant trees.

Eucalyptus regnans – Mountain Ash

Eucalyptus regnans – Mountain Ash (Tiny narrow buds for such a massive tree)

Eucalyptus regnans – Mountain Ash (showing the “skirt” area where the rough bark at the base is peeling away with smooth bark above.

Eucalyptus viminalis – Manna Gum (Buds and fruit are usually arranged in cluster of three)

Eucalyptus viminalis – Manna Gum (Buds and fruit are usually arranged in cluster of three)

Weed Workshop held at Callignee Hall

A weed workshop was recently held at the Callignee Hall where participants were treated to a BBQ meal followed by presentations from Latrobe Landcare Network Co-ordinator Peter Newgreen and Bob Wilson from the Department of Primary Industries.

Key messages on the night included the following tips

• Weeds have a number of adverse affects on a range of things including, productivity, stock health, impact on native flora and fauna.
• It is vitally important to be able to identify the weed you are a dealing with and know about its life cycle.
  1.  Annual species will only last one season, new plants will only grow by seed. They key to their control is to stop the plants producing and releasing seed.
  2. When Perennial plants die off on top, they may still have a healthy root system that is likely to re-sprout. To control them you need to kill the whole plant.
  3. Some species can reproduce vegetatively (e.g by fragments of stem, root or leaf) ploughing in or slashing these species can drastically increase their spread.
• Learing some basic information about plant classification can make it easier to identify weeds. Certain features of a plant can you quickly narrow down the possibilities of what the exact species of weed could be.
• The best way to control weeds is to stop them becoming established in the first place. Key sites to check for new infestations are along watercourses and drainage lines, as well as sites where introduced fodder has been spread, along roadways and traffic areas and around stock camps.
• Integrated Pest Management – (Where a variety of actions are taken to control a weed. e.g use a variety of types of suitable herbicides, good pasture management etc are undertaken) is vital otherwise weeds are likely to become resistant to your control method.
• People tend to notice weeds that are Yellow (e.g. Ragwort) or Purple (e.g. Pattersons Curse) but they don’t pay enough attention to grasses. People need to be vigilant for serious weeds such as Serrated Tussock and African Love Grass.
• Identification of weeds can be difficult, especially as some features used for identification of the plants are not always present e.g flowers/seed pods. If in doubt samples can be taken in to your local DPI office.
• The worst established weeds in the district are Blackberry, Ragwort and there are some patches of Patterson’s Curse. Worst areas for weeds tend to be along watercourses and gullies.
• There is a need for an ongoing education campaign for landholders especially ones that are new to the area and are not aware of the implications of allowing weeds on their property to continue to spread. Landcare can play a big part in this.