Family: Asteraceae (daisies)

Status:

Description:
A tall erect unbranched perennial herb, with deeply lobed, greyish-green leaves spread up the stems. The underside of the leaf is white. Flowers are very small, in elongated branched terminal spikes. Flowering is in late summer. The plant dies back to the rootstock over winter.

Preferred habitat and impacts:
Sandy river banks, such as the Bega River, close to Bega. The plant has a spreading system of underground runners (rhizomes), which can fill the top layers of soil, out-competing other plants for soil moisture. The density of stands smothers other groundcover plants, and prevents regeneration of native trees and shrubs. The sand stabilising effects can cause the formation of islands and influence river behaviour.

Dispersal:
Seed is wind-spread, or spread in contaminated soil. Removal of sand from the river for building projects or surfacing dirt roads has the potential to spread this weed more widely. Local spread of clumps is by rhizomes.

Look-alikes:
When not flowering the plant has a chrysanthemum-like appearance. It can be mistaken for perennial ragweed (Ambrosia psilostachya ) but this species lacks the white leaf underside, and is not yet known from the south coast.

Control:
Hand-pull small plants. Well established infestations will need to be sprayed.