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Senegal Tea Plant
Botanical name: Gymnocoronis spilanthoides
Noxious Weed Category: Class 1
Aquatic Weed Regional Management Plan
Description
Also known as Temple Plant. Originating from Europe, Senegal Tea Plant is a sprawling aquatic shrub with rough-edged shiny dark green leaves and hollow stems, allowing it to float on the water surface and obstruct flow.
Produces running stems in water or mud, forming mats along edges of water courses. A perennial plant, it is dormant in winter and dies in exposed areas, reshooting from protected crowns in spring. Conspicuous white ball-shaped flowers approximately 1.5cm in diameter, flowering in late spring/summer.
Dispersal
The plant produced roots at the nodes and will propagate new plants from broken pieces of stem or from seed.
Impact on bushland
Senegal tea is an invasive aquatic plant that can quickly spread over the surface of fresh, slow-flowing streams.
Control
Chemical: Please contact your local control authority for advice on chemical control.