Look out for alien invasive shrub on North Coast

The South African National Biodiversity Institute (Sanbi) calls on North Coast residents to inform them should they spot an alien shrub commonly called Mauritius hemp (Furcraea foetida).

It is known to already growing in parts of the North Coast, and has even been spotted along the Ballito promenade.

An evergreen perennial sub-shrub from the Caribbean and South America, it can be identified by its sword-shaped leaves which span about 1-1.8m in length and 10-15cm in breadth at its widest point.

Sanbi’s Vusi Mkhize said the shrub is listed under the National Environmental Management Biodiversity Act as a category 1a plant, meaning it requires eradication.

Anyone spotting the invasive plant can contact Mkhize at invasivespecies@sanbi.org.za..

Sanbi is mandated to conserve South Africa’s rich biodiversity, with its Directorate on Biodiversity Evidence (DBE) aiming to reduce the threat of biological invasions.

Mauritius hemp is a threat especially to coastal sites and cliffs, gullies and open woodlands, where it crowds out indigenous plant species.

It reproduces through numerous small bulbils which form at the top of a tall, flowering stal reaching up to 12 metres..

They are spread over large distances by among others by animals or in dumped garden waste.

Each mature plant can produce up to 1 250 new plants in one reproductive cycle which can severely affect grazing lands.

“It has already become naturalised in KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and the Eastern and Western Cape,” said Mkhize.

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