Noxious Weeds’ Display At Show

Northern Advocate, 18 March 1939, Page 11

Noxious Weeds’ Display At Show

Attracting considerable interest at the Whangarei A. and, P. Society’s Stock Show is a special display of noxious weeds commonly seen in Northland.

Special attention focussed- on a sample of eupatorium, or Mexican devil weed, this species of weed having become very prominent in Northland this year. Bidens tripartita, another unpleasant weed, has also been reported in several parts of the Nortft, and farmers visiting the show paid much attention to this weed, realising its destructive nature once it obtains a hold on pastures. Although ragwort is looked upon as being one of the commonest of noxious weeds, the .actual identity of the weed is often mistaken. A fine sample of this specie was on show and, fortunately, was in flower, so that both foliage and flower could be studied.

The range of weeds displayed included: Broad-leaved dock, curled ■dock, staggerweed, St. John’s wort, eupatorium, red root, bushy starwort, Californian thistle, ox tongue, celeryleaved buttercup, black nightshades, twin cress, fat-hen, portulaca weed, old witch grass, pelagonium inodorum, summer grass, fumitory, plantain, willow herb, broad-leaved plantain, ox-eye daisy, fleabane, cudweed, fireweed. cleavers, wireweed, rock cress, pinkwood sorrel, shining crane’s bill, sheep sorrel, hawkweed, loose strife, speedwell, borage, vervain, toatoa, doab, barnyard grass, ocylobium callictcchys. inkweed, selfheal, fennel, bidens tripartita, groundsell, giant groundsell and ragwort.