Environment
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Banana passionfruit
Forms large masses, growing rapidly and smothering the forest canopy.
Bat-wing passionflower
Named after its batwing shaped leaves and flowers that are very similar to the passionfruit flower.
Blackberry
Can quickly invade pasture, reducing area for grazing and breaking fences that it grows over.
Blue morning glory
Pantropical plant naturalised in 1950. Introduced to New Zealand as an attractive garden plant that flowers year round.
Bushy asparagus
A dense scrambler with small pinkish-white flowers (October to March), red berries, long prickly stems, and sharp spiny scales.
Cathedral bells
Native to Central and South America. Introduced to New Zealand as an ornamental garden plant. Also called cup-and-saucer vine as the flowers resemble tea cups and the base of the flower looks like a saucer.
Chilean flame creeper
A climbing plant with coiling tendrils that allow it to climb up into the tree canopy.
Chinese knotweed
A highly invasive plant that quickly smothers other plants and trees.
Chocolate vine
Clusters of brown-purple flowers with a vanilla fragrance from August to October.
Climbing asparagus
A slender, scrambling climber with green, twining stems up to 2m long.
Climbing dock
Scrambling or low climbing plant with kumara-like woody tubers with yellow flesh.
Climbing spindle berry
A deciduous, woody stemmed climber which grows up to 15m into trees.
Creeping gloxinia
Native to Mexico, its seeds have wings to help them to be carried along in winds.
English ivy
Rampant climber with stout woody stems that will attach to almost anything.
Germany ivy
Scrambling vine with thin, soft, glossy, hairless leaves that are ivy-shaped.
Japanese honeysuckle
A vigorous climber with long, wiry stems that twine clockwise. It can grow up to 15m a year.
Jasmine
Very tolerant and extremely hard to kill, Jasmine can live up to 15 to 20 years in the wild.
Kudzu vine
Kudzu is a high climbing, woody vine which can grow from 10 - 30m high.
Mexican Daisy
A sprawling perennial daisy which grows up to 40 cm tall.
Mignonette vine
Evergreen, climbing, woody vine with fleshy rhizomes and usually reddish stems.
Mile-a-minute
Originally from South Africa it is aptly named because it can rapidly choke and smother other plants.
Moth plant
Butterflies feeding on moth plant can die from starvation due to feeding parts becoming gummed up.
Old man’s beard
Named after its seed clusters that look similar to an old man’s white woolly beard.
Smilax
Also known as bridal creeper as it has been widely used for bridal bouquets.
Wild kiwifruit
An unfortunate by-product of commercially grown and exported kiwifruit.
Agapanthus
Attractive blue or white flowers form umbrella-shaped clusters of small flowers December to February.
Arum lily
A clump forming lily with large arrow-shaped leaves. Has a white, funnel shaped flower with a yellow spike.
Asiatic knotweed
Listed as one of the world’s worst invasive species by the World Conservation Union.
Bears breeches
Has large, glossy dark green leaves and white / purple tubular flowers on the stem of a spike.
Beggars tick
Produces barbed seed which can be easily transported on clothing or by animals.
Canna lily
Pinkish-red to reddish-yellow and occasionally yellow or orange-red flowers.
Chilean rhubarb
A giant rhubarb-like plant up to 2m. Both the leaves and leaf stalks are covered in rubbery red prickles.
Elephant’s ear
Large leaves have the appearance of an Elephant’s Ear, hence the name.
Field horsetail
Considered a 'living fossil' as the species has been around for over 300 million years
Formosa lily
A large lily with a simple stem up to 1m tall. Spreads quickly as seed is wind dispersed.
Giant knotweed
Can grow up to 4m with an extensive root system that can be up to 3m deep and up to 7m across.
Giant reed
Massive clump-forming perennial with thin leaves that tend to droop at the edges of clumps.
Green goddess lily
A clump-forming, evergreen plant with large glossy, leathery, dark green, arrow shaped leaves.
Himalayan balsam
Competes with native species for light, space and pollinators and can dominate vegetation on stream banks.
Male fern
A fern with fronds up to 1.5m in length and are dark green above and pale green below.
Mistflower
A many-stemmed herb that has clusters of small white flowers from August to January.
Montbretia
Orange or crimson flowers appear from January to February on stems that give it zig-zag shaped appearance.
Noogoora bur
Forms clusters of burs that can stick to animal fur and its seeds are toxic to stock.
Palm grass
Originally from India. Dense, hanging palm-like leaves are pleated and taper to a point.
Pampas
Large-clump forming grass up to 4 metres tall with erect fluffy, white pinkish or purplish flowerheads.
Purple nutsedge
Named due to its tubers that look like nuts. It is considered an invasive species in over 90 countries.
Rough horsetail
Primarily found in damp habitats and is considered a "living fossil" species.
Royal fern
Royal fern is deciduous (dies back in winter) and has large fronds growing up to 3m long.
Thistles
Thistles invade large areas of pasture, unpalatable to stock and reduce pasture productivity.
Tuber ladder fern
It is the only fern with tubers, which are round, potato-like up to 2cm.
Variegated thistle
Large purple flowers (November to January) are surrounded by spines.
Wild ginger
Introduced as an ornamental plant due to its lush foliage and pleasant smelling flowers.
African feather grass
Identified by the straw yellow flowers with a purplish tinge that are present from December to April.
Chilean needle grass
The sharp, needle-like tips of the seeds can penetrate skin and their backward-pointing bristles make them hard to remove.
Himalayan fairy grass
Brought to New Zealand as an ornamental garden plant. Gardeners loved it for its ever-present flowers year round and hardiness.
Marram grass
Initially introduced for dune stabilisation but instead causes large, steep dunes.
Mexican feather grass
An extremely tough, thin densely tufted, perennial tussock grass that grows up to 70cm tall.
Nassella tussock
Native to South America and was accidentally introduced to NZ in the late 1800’s.
Reed sweet grass
Erect grass which grow aggressively to form large dense mats, usually found in nutrient-rich water and wet ground.
Saltwater paspalum
Originally from the Americas it was introduced to New Zealand primarily as a turf grass for coastal golf courses.
Spartina
A clumping grass that is found in inter-tidal zones of coastlands and wetlands.
Stout bamboo grass
A tufted perennial grass with whorled branches that are bamboo-like in appearance.
African club moss
A small, fern groundcover with long, fine roots and creeping, slender, irregularly 'stems'.
Aluminium plant
Grows rapidly to cover large areas of ground with a thick mat of hairy, silvery-grey patched leaves.
Cape ivy
A scrambling perennial, forming a dense tangled shrub, with wiry woody stems.
Heather
Bushy evergreen tough shrub with woody, wiry stems and pink to pale purple flowers.
Horse nettle
Horse nettle is extremely invasive and hard to kill and all parts of the plant are poisonous.
Houttuynia
Heart shaped leaves that are variegated cream, green, bronze, and scarlet.
Mouse ear hawkweed
Pale lemon-yellow flower heads (October to February) with leaves which lie flat to the ground.
Periwinkle
Scrambling with green trailing stems and blue-violet flowers appear from January to December.
Plectranthus
The plant stems covered in purple hairs and it has white flowers with purple dots inside (December to August)
Ragwort
Ragwort has bright yellow daisy-like flowers in spring and also has an unpleasant smell when crushed.
Snow poppy
A low growing, ground cover. Has leaves with scalloped edges that are leathery to the touch.
Spiny emex
This plant is a major pest in parts of Australia where it is commonly called ‘doublegee’.
Tradescantia
Originally from south-east Brazil and Argentina, it will grow almost anywhere, making it very invasive.
Apple of Sodom
A poisonous shrub that grazing stock will avoid, therefore reducing available grazing land.
Boneseed
Originally from South Africa Boneseed is named due to the white, bone-like appearance of its seeds.
Buddleia
Buddleia often forms in riverbeds which can alter water flow, causing silt build-up and flooding.
Cestrum species
Forms dense mats that shade out native species and is extremely toxic to farm animals.
Chinese privet
Produces a large number of seeds that are spread by birds to form dense stands which prevent native species from establishing.
Chinese windmill palm
A single straight trunk with leaves that are fan-shaped and divided into narrow leaflets.
Coastal banksia
A fast growing tree, rapidly maturing and producing a lot of seeds that are released in late summer.
Coast tea tree
Waves flush sand from underneath the tree roots causing erosion and creating steep dune slopes.
Cotoneaster
Has masses of shining red or orange berries and matures very quickly to form dense stands.
Crack willow
Shoots snap with an audible crack, hence the name ‘crack’ willow.
Darwin’s barberry
Named after Charles Darwin – who discovered it in South America in 1835. It was brought to New Zealand for hedging.
Elaeagnus
Originally introduced as a hedge to contain stock and provide a wind break.
False acacia
Can reach 30m in height. It's flowers have a fragrant smell and hang in droopy clusters.
Firethorn
Evergreen, spiny shrub which spreads to form dense thickets and produces orange berries.
Gorse
Large, very prickly, woody, evergreen shrub growing up to 2-4m.
Grey willow
A deciduous shrub or small tree, spreading or thicket forming with suckering roots and smooth bark.
Italian buckthorn
Popular as a hedging plant due to its hardy nature and exceptionally fast growth rate.
Japanese spindle tree
Produces many seeds that are well dispersed by birds and possibly possums.
Japanese walnut
A wide spreading deciduous hardwood tree found throughout the Bay of Plenty.
Kauri dieback disease
Kauri dieback disease is both incurable and fatal in kauri trees - potentially threatening the existence of whole kauri forests.
Lantana
Considered one of the world’s worst invasive weeds, Lantana seeds can be deadly if eaten.
Monkey apple
An evergreen tree with smooth bark and whitish flowers which are followed by bunches of berry-like fruit.
Phoenix palm
The Phoenix palm can grow up to 18m tall with sharp spines and originates from the Canary Islands.
Prickly pear cactus
Leaves are big paddle-like structures, fleshy and heavy with spikes dotted over them.
Rice paper plant
Gets its name from the widespread (incorrect) belief that the plant is used to make rice paper.
Strawberry dogwood
Grows rapidly and produces a large number of seeds, which birds eat and disperse widely.
Sydney golden wattle
Native to Australia where, even in its native habitat, it is considered a pest of some coastal areas.
Taiwan cherry
The Taiwan cherry crowds out neighbouring plants and shrubs and dominates a habitat.
Tree of Heaven
All parts of the tree have a strong smell similar to peanuts or cashew nuts.
Tree privet
Tree Privet is found in coastal and lowland forests, shrubland, cliffs and coastline.
Tutsan
Has pale yellow flowers in bunches at the end of each branch.
Velvet groundsel
Large woody shrub with the stems often being reddish, and coated with hairs.
White edged nightshade
A member of the nightshade family, dust from the plant can cause respiratory irritation.
Wilding conifers
A conifer tree bears cones and has needle-like or scale-like leaves.
Woolly nightshade
Also known as tobacco weed or kerosene plant because of its strong kerosene-like smell.