Pretty but invasive: Gazania flowers threaten the environment

The Canberra Times

The spread of Gazania flowers, native to South Africa, poses a far greater threat to Australian landscapes and farm productivity than previously understood.

Transcript

00:00Gazanias, they might look pretty when they're in flower, but their rapid spread is wreaking

00:06havoc in our environment.

00:08Check out this vision of the spread of the plant, regarded as an invasive weed here on

00:15a farm in Loxton, South Australia, where some of the farmer's paddocks are no longer worth

00:20replanting with crops.

00:24Experts are aghast and refer to the spread of Gazania, native to South Africa, through

00:28cuttings, communal garden bays, and seed dispersal as an insidious cancer, spreading to the point

00:36where its widespread impact on our environment is being compared to that of carp, cane toads,

00:43and even rabbits.

00:45The Invasive Species Council warns that the popular ornamental plant, still sold in many

00:51Australian nurseries, including here in Canberra, poses a far greater threat to native landscapes

00:58and farm productivity than previously understood.

01:02Here's an indication of their spread on road verges closer to home in Queanbeyan and also

01:10in Jindabyne, where the local council receives requests from the community not to mow them,

01:18because they look so pretty, especially at the town's entrance.

01:22Dr. Ali Bhagawa of La Trobe University is urging councils, communities, and legislators to stop planting

01:33Gazanias just because they look pretty, and where possible, to destroy any existing plants and replace them

01:42with natives.

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