THE history of the invasion of the moth vine (Araujia sericifera) in Australia is similar to so many of our other Rogues Gallery weeds – it was brought in as a garden plant.

Attractive flowers in abundant clusters, fast growing, able to acclimate rapidly to new environments, an appealing plant when not in flower, a hardy robust climber or equally robust as a ground cover – those are the features that won the gardeners.

Adding to the willing distribution by unsuspecting gardeners, are the features that make it a highly successful weed – each seed pod produces up to 400 viable seed. The plants are long lived and the seed can remain viable in the soil for up to five years.

The fruit pod splits while still attached to the vine and the silky tufts of hair on each seed give it flight capabilities when caught on the wind, help it float on water or give it a mild velcro-like capacity to attach to passing bodies like cattle or wildlife or clothing.

It was first recorded in Victoria around the 1850s where it was brought in as a garden plant. Perhaps it was imported direct from its natural habitat in South America but it is more likely to have come to Australia via France where it was introduced as a garden and textile plant.

In Australia, the moth vine found a home-away-from-home the further north it spread, particularly along the eastern seaboard as it was not frost hardy and preferred a warm temperate or sub-tropical climate and grew best, when first nurtured in moist soil.

It’s successful invasion of South East Queensland is more recent than many of the other rogues in the gallery.

Personally, and I do not profess to be an expert, I started noticing a moth vine here and there in the mountain rainforests only about 10 years ago and even more recently, along sheltered waterways on the western side of the Scenic Rim.

Now, while not nearly as prolific as other local rogues, it is not hard to find a specimen of the vine in the lowland areas and even more so in the upper heights of our national parks.

But why the concern?

Moth vine is a draper and a smotherer – it can twine its way up trees and drape down in increasingly heavy tangled growths – it blocks out sunlight, competes for moisture and nutrients with its ‘host’ and with smaller trees and shrubs, can kill them in a few years. It’s capacity to kill the trees it uses as a trellis is amplified by its ability to twine so tightly around branches that it ‘strangles’ them.

As a ground cover, the moth vine is equally successful in smothering native annuals, herbs and bushes.

The flow on effect to native animals isn’t too hard to imagine.

And to some winged natives, it means a slow death.

While it is most commonly known as the moth plant, it also carries the common name of ‘cruel plant’.

The flowers are usually pollinated by moths, butterflies and bees although it can self-pollinate in their absence.

It can be lethal to its winged pollinators – each flower has a number of wedge-shaped openings that function as insect traps and on occasion the insect’s proboscis is trapped by hooks and only the most robust insects manage to free themselves – a slow death ensues.

It’s not a plant to be taken lightly by humans as the leaves and seeds contain a latex sap that can cause skin and eye irritation and in some cases, breathing difficulties.

It is poisonous to livestock although poisoning is not common.

WE INCLUDE cats claw (Dolichandra unguis-cati) in our article this week even though we have covered this rampant rogue before.

However, we felt that due to its prolific flowering this year, it was worthy of mention.

Cats claw is a long lasting woody vine that can form dense, impenetrable mats across the ground or climb over shrubs and trees and smother them to death.

While moth vine can climb to 10 metres, cats claw will over-top trees as high as 30 metres.

In its first years of growth, cats claw is an insidious invader as its dark green leaves tend to blend into the landscape. It often grows unnoticed until it reaches a mature stage when the distinctive yellow blooms appear.

It is a particularly successful climber due to the three pronged tendrils with stiff hooked tips that can grasp its host and cling on during the worst wind.

The leathery seed pods contain up to 80 papery winged seeds that can float on wind and water for long distances,

And if those characteristics weren’t bad enough in the realm of successful weeds, it is deep rooted and forms multiple tubers along the length of each root branch – those tubers each have the capacity to grow new plants.