Alien Invader Plants
Izihlahla Zokufika Ezhlaselayo
Uitheemse Probleem Plante

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CONTROL:
Manual: Coppices readily, so try to avoid cutting.  Hand pull seedlings.  In some situations can be controlled by veld burn.
Chemical: Basal stem: try Garlon® 4 (200ml/10l diesel).  Paint or spray mixture to all the bark from ground to about 0.25m.

DESCRIPTION: Strong mango smell when leaves are crushed.  Perennial evergreen shrub or tree 3 to 6m(- 15m) tall; forks near the ground producing a number of tangled wide-spreading branches; compound leaves dark green above and paler below with winged mid-ribs; small, creamy white flowers; male and female flowers found on separate trees; fruits slightly fleshy and berry-like, green at first then changing to pinkish-red to bright red when ripe.  Flowering time: September to March.

ORIGIN: Introduced from Brazil.

WHERE FOUND/PROBLEMS CAUSED: Mainly along the KZN coastal belt. Has been used fairly extensively as a road screen/barrier plant and is still used as an ornamental and screening tree. Invades woodland, coastal bush, roadsides and river banks.  Is particularly troublesome once it gets into wetland or riverine areas.  Competes with and replaces indigenous vegetation. 

DID YOU KNOW: It was originally used as a garden and street tree in old Eastern Cape towns and as a hedging plant in KZN sugar cane fields.  It is the worst invasive plant in the Florida (USA) Everglades.  The bark contains about 10% tannin which is used as a preservative of fishing lines and nets in Brazil.  Sap left on clothes stains.

This page was last edited on 22 April, 2006