Weeds of Australia - Fact Sheet

Top Scientific Name Family Common Names Origin Naturalised Distribution Notes

Scientific Name

Montanoa hibiscifolia Benth.

Family

Asteraceae (Queensland,New South Wales, the ACT, Victoria, Tasmania, Western Australia and the Northern Territory)

Compositae (South Australia)

Common Names

Anzac flower, bush daisy, montanoa, tree daisy, treedaisy

Origin

Native to Mexico and Central America (i.e. Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua).

Naturalised Distribution

Widely naturalised in the coastal districts of Queensland. Possibly also naturalised on Norfolk Island and in the coastal districts of northern New South Wales. Naturalised overseas in South Africa and on islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans (e.g. La Réunion, French Polynesia and Hawaii).

Notes

Anzac flower (Montanoa hibiscifolia) is regarded as an environmental weed Queensland and as a "sleeper weed" in other parts of Australia. It is deliberately cultivated as a garden plant, but has escaped cultivation and become a weed of roadsides, riparian areas, gullies and rainforest margins in the warmer parts of eastern Australia.

This species is of particular concern in northern Queensland and is listed as an undesirable plant in the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area. It is also a declared pest plant under local law in Eacham Shire and is regarded as a serious weed invading the margins of Picnic Crossing Reserve in Atherton. It is also becoming a problem species in south-eastern Queensland, where it often grows in riparian vegetation or in forest gaps and margins in coastal districts.