Melianthus major

(Cape Honey Flower)

Not only are all parts of this plant poisonous, it's also a weed throughout Australia, except the Northern Territory and the ACT.

This South African evergreen shrub grows to about 3 metres tall, and has very distinctive foliage and dark red flower spikes (which smell unpleasant).

The leaves are very large, waxy, grey-green and are divided into 9 to 11 folded and toothed leaflets, which are each about 120 mm long. The leaves smell very strong when crushed. It is the unusual leaf size and texture that has made Melianthus a popular garden plant, plus it grows very rapidly.

The plant flowers from late winter through to autumn, followed by sharply angled paper pods that are up to 50 mm long.

There are 8 species of Melianthus and all are from South Africa. In Australia, M. cosmosus is also a weedy species. In agricultural land it forms dense stands that exclude livestock.

It spreads by seeds and suckers, and is especially spread via water and in dumped garden waste. Melianthus produces massive amounts of seed too.

It's drought tolerant, and grows in full sun or part shade and in most soils (especially rich soils). It's even tolerant of frost down to -15 degrees. These attributes, in conjunction with its fast growth rate and its toxicity make it a formidable weed.

Control

Don't plant in your garden!

The entire plant has to be removed as it can regrow from rhizomes.

Be careful with garden waste. For example, make sure your trailer is covered when taking to the tip, and do not dump garden waste 'over the back fence'.

References:
www.weeds.crc.org.au
Environmental Weeds - A field guide for SE Australia, by Kate Blood, CRC Weed Management Systems (CH Jerram Science Publishers).

Click here to return to the invasive plants list.

The information contained on this page is Copyright © SGA and intended for personal use only.
You may not use the information for any other purpose without the express written permission of SGA.