Purple beauty is a noxious weed

The wild grass and many wild flowers that are seen in the open spaces of Springs popped up because of the good rain season. However, these plants pose a threat to the environment.

Among these is the purple beauty of the Pompom weed that is a declared noxious weed.

This plant is a tall erect perennial herb, up to 1,3m high, with purple fluffy flower heads and leaves concentrated around the base of the plant.

Its stem is green, covered with rough bristles and the leaves are light green and lance-shaped with serrated margins, becoming small and more distant upwards.

This plant was introduced to our country for ornamental purposes but is now a noxious weed.

It is native to Central and South America and it is currently becoming invasive in the grassland regions of Gauteng, Kwazulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and the Eastern Cape Provinces. According to the website www.invasives.org.za the plant spreads easily by seed and it can also regenerate from underground rhizomes.

It is a problem to open spaces, such as next no the Paul Kruger Highway, because it causes serious degradation of the grassland.

The plant also lowers the biodiversity of the grassland and reduces grazing capacity for animals, because it is unpalatable to large herbivores.

The South African National Biodiversity Institute says on its website www.sanbi.org that herbicides to eradicate the pompom weed are currently under investigation.

They request anyone who sees these plants to report it to Alex Marsh at alienplants@sanbi.org.za.