WATER WEED ALERT IN CAIRNS

Natural Resources Minister Craig Wallace today urged North Queensland garden lovers to become backyard weed warriors after a new Limnocharis weed infestation was identified in an ornamental pond at a Cairns motel.

Mr Wallace said an off-duty Department of Natural Resources and Water (NRW) land protection officer was staying at a city centre motel when he discovered the unwelcomed aquatic visitor.

“I congratulate this officer on their vigilance for the community even when  is not at work,” he said.

Mr Wallace said after the initial discovery the department worked with the Cairns City Council to conduct an official inspection of the site and was now in the process of developing a control plan.

Limnocharis is an exotic weed found in ponds and waterways. Overly enthusiastic gardeners and landscapers unwittingly introduced the plant to Australia in 2001.

“Though this plant looks lovely in water features with its very attractive small yellow cup shaped flowers, it can have devastating impacts on the environment,” Mr Wallace said.

“This aquatic plant is considered to be a major weed in many countries and is a serious agricultural and biodiversity threat to Australia,” he said.

NRW project coordinator for weed eradication Dr Kylie Galway said Limnocharis was listed as a Class 1 declared plant under the Land Protection (Pest and Stock Route Management) Act 2002, similarly in NSW, it is listed as a W1 (notifiable weeds), which means it is an offence to spread and sell these plants and that these plants must destroyed where found.

Dr Galway reported that the initial site inspection also revealed that the motel pond was also harbouring several other Class 2 water weeds such as Salvinia, Water lettuce (Pistia stratiotes) and Cabomba.

Limnocharis is an anchored aquatic weed, colonising shallow wetlands and margins of deeper waterways. It is an erect clump forming herb that can reach 1 m in height and is similar in appearance to water hyacinth.

Flowers have three lobes and up to fifteen flowers on a triangular shaped stem. The leaf blades are rounded on fairly thick triangular stems. It can reproduce both vegetatively and by seed.

Dr Galway said that at present infestations are found only in northern Queensland. However, there was potential for Limnocharis to establish in northern regions of Western Australia and Northern Territory and the northern and coastal regions of Queensland and New South Wales.

A national eradication program has been established for Limnocharis. If you think you have found this plant please contact Travis Sydes (Land Protection Officer) on (07) 4064 1144 or 0428 111 713, or Dr Kylie Galway (Project Coordinator) on (07) 4064 1185.

More information on Limnocharis, including a warning brochure, is available online at: www.nrw.qld.gov.au

Photographs available on request.

For further information contact: Paul Childs, Craig Wallace’s office, on 0407 131 654. Regional Media & Communications Officer Lisa Caffery Tel: 4799 7552 or Email: lisa.caffery@nrw.qld.gov.au