An ACT park ranger spraying the noxious weed Pampas Grass (Cortaderia species)
on a road verge.
ABC News, 29 May 2019:
According to the NSW Dept of Primary Industries:
Pampas grass grows in
clumps about 1 – 1.5 m across, with fluffy flower heads on tall stems. Common
pampas grass is up to 6 m tall when in flower. Pink pampas grass is up to 4 m
tall when in flower.
Pampas grass outcompetes
native vegetation, is a fire hazard, harbours vermin and could threaten
forestry.
Photographer: N. Monaghan
|
However, it has apparently become popular with brides-to-be...............
ABC News, 29 May 2019:
|
Pampas grass is native
to South America and is considered a weed in most Australian states and
territories as it competes with native vegetation and is a fire hazard.
It is a highly invasive
plant, with each flower head producing up to 100,000 seeds that can spread to a
25-kilometre radius, and is banned from sale in the Greater Sydney, Hunter,
south-east and north coast regions of NSW.
Kim Curtis from Rous
County Council said officers had seized the outlawed grass from three locations
in the Byron Bay and Tweed regions over the past two weeks.
"It's scary, the
seeds on pampas grass can travel for kilometres and it could create another
outbreak of a high-priority weed that farmers have to deal with for years to
come," she said.
A wedding planner in
Byron Bay, Che Devlin, said brides started asking for the wheat-coloured
decorative grass for their big days after photos from a Byron Bay hinterland wedding,
featuring the grass, went viral on Instagram in 2017.
Mr Devlin said after the
council had informed florists that the plant was banned on the north coast
there had been an attempt to steer people away from the weed towards native
plants.
However he said it could
be difficult to dissuade a bride who had a certain aesthetic in mind.
"The hard thing is,
a lot of these florists, if they say no to a bride then that bride will go to
the florist who will say yes, so it becomes an economical thing," Mr
Devlin said.
Florist Jaala Mills, who
co-owns Bower Botanicals in Byron Bay, has worked on a number of local pampas
grass weddings.
She said her business
had not been involved in the recent pampa grass seizures and that her team had
made every effort to ensure the grass was not harmful to the environment.
"We imported the
grass in from California," she said.
"It was quarantined
in Australia and it went through a process of irradiation to kill the seeds and
then we had documentation from customs saying we were legally allowed to have
it."
Ms Mills said most
florists wanted to do the right thing but there was confusion in the industry
about whether they were allowed to hire out grass that had been treated to kill
the seeds.
"I wish someone
could come out and say exactly what the deal is," she said.
"We want
clarification. We hear rumours you can be slapped with a fine for $60,000 but
we don't know for sure."....
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.