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Bridal Creeper
Botanical name: Asparagus asparagoides
Noxious Weed Category: Class 4
Special note: Bridal Creeper has been declared a "Weed of National Significance"
Photos: Ku-ring-gai Council
Description
Also known as Myrsiphyllum asparagoides. Originating in South Africa, Bridal Creeper is a dense woody scrambler or climber up to 3m long. Leaves reduced to scales. Its fern-like or leaf-like stems are small and lance-shaped to 3cm long.
Sprays of sweet smelling white to pink flowers. Each petal has a distinctive central green stripe.
Fruit is a small red to black berry. The root system is a complex of white starch-storing tubers attached to a horny flat crown.
Dispersal
Escape from garden sites. The attractive berries are widely dispersed by birds, but infestations in bushland often occur from dumping along bushland edges.
Impact on bushland
Invades hind-dunes, bushland and rainforest. Bridal Creeper is a large problem in southern states of Australia.
Control
Manual: Asparagus species are best removed manually. Cut away stems and carefully bag all berries. Be sure to remove the whole root system including the flattened horny crown
See Manual Weed Control Techniques.
Chemical: Please contact your local control authority for advice on chemical control.
Similar species
May be confused with the native species Wombat Berry (Eustrephus latifolius). Wombat Berry has larger non-glossy leaves and produces a larger round green berry ripening to yellow. See the Look-a-likes booklet.
Suggested alternatives
- Native Rubus species (Rubus parvifolius, Rubus hillii)
- Loganberry and Boysenberry (Rubus hybrids), but runners need to be controlled.
References
Attack of the Killer Weeds, Coastcare
Wildthings around Sydney, Sainty and Associates