- Published on
The harlequin flower is just the latest in a long line of bush invaders.
By Catherine Watson
EVERY spring Strongs Reserve in Wonthaggi’s south is a picture as it blooms with brilliant tulip-like flowers.
So striking is this spring display that passers by stop to take photos of their children and dogs gambolling in their midst and the council leaves the reserve unmowed for a couple of months so the locals can enjoy it.
Except this flower is an invader and it’s marching across Bass Coast. Harlequin flower (Sparaxis bulbifera) is regarded as a significant environmental weed in Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia.
Of course a weed is a perfectly good plant that just happens to be in the wrong place. But why are our weeds so damned beautiful?
Because they started as garden ornamentals before their seed was dropped by birds or some lazy gardener chucked their green waste over the back fence.
Like most of our worst environmental weeds, the harlequin flower hails from South Africa. It was imported as a garden flower, before escaping into the wild.
It’s already reached the Wonthaggi Cemetery and it’s beginning to invade the nearby Tank Hill Bushland Reserve, where at least it will face stiff competition from the other beautiful invaders: watsonia, morning glory, oxalis, agapanthus, Christmas lilies, Cape ivy, asparagus vine and angled onion.
Anyone ever grappled with an invasion of wandering trad? That's the worst, surely.
A few angled onions appeared in Tank Hill a few years ago. Not enough to worry about, amongst all the other weeds.
I wish we’d paid more attention back then because now the reserve is infested with the smelly pest and nothing short of 10 blokes in hazard suits spraying jets of extremely dangerous poison will rid us of this pestilence.
And now we have a new invader, another kind of lily or tulip. Yes, like all the others, it’s beautiful. Anyone recognise this bad boy?
The latest escapee to set down roots in Tank Hill Reserve.
Is that a weed?
The council puts out a guide to our most common weeds. It’s telling that it’s 48 pages long.