Green Cestrum is a highly toxic weed that has been causing havoc in parts of Australia for 150 years. It grows in sub-tropical, warm, urban areas and is particularly visible now as it is currently in flower. Berries will need form from the flowers, and these are the most poisonous part of the plant.
Originally imported from South America in the 1870s by some enthusiastic gardeners, the plant has since spread through eastern and southern Australia.
Not only is the weed invasive, but it contains a deadly poison, carboxyparquin, which is toxic to people, pets, livestock and native animals.
How and where to spot it?
- Green cestrum is a shrub that grows 2–3 m high.
- It usually has many light-green, brittle stems.
- Greenish yellow or yellow trumpet-shaped flowers with triangular petals.
- Berries form in clusters and are shiny and egg shaped with several seeds (dark green or brown) and are green when young and black when ripe.
- You will often find it along waterways, fence lines, forest edges, woodlands and grasslands.
What to do about it?
All parts of the plant are poisonous, especially the berries, and it continues to be poisonous even after it has been cut down and sprayed.
For this reason, it is necessary to keep stock out of the area where the weed is being treated until the plant matter has completely disintegrated.
Kempsey Shire Council Local Government Area is considered a core infestation (containment) zone, which mean that landholders in this area who find Green Cestrum on their land should:
- actively mitigate spread of the plant from their land
- should not buy, sell, move, carry or release the plant into the environment
- should reduce the impact of the plant on assets of high economic, environmental and/or social value.
