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| Parkinsonia (Parkinsonia aculeata) is one of the particularly iniquitous weeds threatening bio-systems and pastoral lands in the Lake Eyre Basin.
For those who do not know the woody weed, it is a spiny tree usually between two and three metres tall, but has been known to grow to eight metres. Prickly spines (seven to 12 mm long) grow along its branches. Its main distinguishing features are the leaves and green stems. Tiny oval leaflets occur along either edge of a flattened leaf stalk while the green bark allows the plant to photosynthesise even without leaves. |
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| Parkinsonia is a fast growing tree that flowers in early summer of its second or third year. The predominantly yellow flowers are fragrant, have 5 petals, and occur on individual, slender drooping stalks. Pods are straw-coloured, 5-10cm long and constricted between the seeds which are oval, hard, and about l5mm long. Pods mature in late summer and can float on water. | ||||
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A project is currently under way in the Lake Eyre Basin with funding of $295,000 through the National Weeds Program to control the declared pest plant. With the bulk of the Basin’s infestations in the north-eastern sector, pastoral production and the environment stand to benefit greatly from this latest initiative of the Coordinating Group. |
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