Eldo’s residents rid area of Pompom weed
"The earliest record in the Pretoria National Herbarium is of a specimen collected in Johannesburg in 1962 and is currently most prominent in Gauteng."
Community members of Eldoraigne took to an area on Ruimte Road in Centurion to rid it of pompom weed.
The initiative was taken by members of the Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus) of ward 69, who dedicated their Saturday to cleaning up a vacant area of land on Ruimte Road.
Community member Anton Joubert said most residents of the area “were tired of waiting on the metro to deliver these services and residents started taking on tasks themselves”.
According to the Agricultural Research Council’s website, the pompom weed is a South American herb belonging to the daisy family, Asteraceae. It is rapidly becoming the most serious threat to the conservation of grasslands in South Africa.
It is listed as an invasive species in terms of legislation.
“It is illegal to harbour, plant, propagate or sell pompom weed. Landowners are, therefore, compelled to control pompom weed by whatever means are deemed appropriate.”
It states further that infestations become conspicuous when the plants are in flower between December and April.
“The plant initially establishes itself in disturbed sites such as roadsides, but then invades natural grasslands, open savanna and wetlands. This weed displaces native species, reducing both the biological diversity and carrying capacity of wetlands and veld.
“How or when the plant was introduced into South Africa remains unknown.”
Although it was thought to have come from Argentina in bales of imported hay, the South African National Biodiversity Institute website indicated the Pompom weed was probably introduced in South Africa as an ornamental plant.
“The earliest record in the Pretoria National Herbarium is of a specimen collected in Johannesburg in 1962 and is currently most prominent in Gauteng.”
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