Family: Asteraceae (daisies)

Status:

Description:
An erect annual herb, usually about 1m high and single stemmed but large plants may reach 2m and be branched. Stems and leaves are finely hairy. Leaves are grey green and narrow. Flowers carried in branched heads with each cluster of tiny flowers being enclosed in a series of narrow green bracts. Typical daisy spherical clusters of small seed with a parachute of fine hairs.

Preferred habitat and impacts:
One of the most common and widespread weeds, with the occasional plant often found even in quite undisturbed bush. However, fleabane is most common in disturbed sites such as road verges, where it can be quite prolific.

Dense stands can smother native vegetation, particularly in grassy remnant vegetation of farming areas. This weed is relatively palatable to livestock and native browsers such as wallabies, which do reduce its seeding to some extent. Parrots feed on the seed (and may be killed along roads as a consequence).

Dispersal:
Wind and roadworks.

Look-alikes
Stinkwort (Dittrichia graveolens ), another weed in the daisy family, is superficially similar, but is easily distinguishable by its strong camphor smell. There are several species of Conyza, difficult to tell apart, but all weeds.

Control
Hand pull or chip prior to seeding.