The Cursed Cassia

Over the last couple of weeks, our local area has been decorated with golden highlights. This “golden glory” is in fact classed as a noxious weed in NSW. Introduced from South America, Cassia (Senna pendula var.glabrata) has invaded our whole coastline.

It is a fast growing plant that can suppress the growth of native species and displace them. It produces huge amounts of long-lived seeds contained in long beans. One mature tree can be surrounded by a small forest of its own offspring in no time at all.

We can really help prevent the spread of this pest by gathering the green pods before they ripen.

Luckily, young plants are quite easy to uproot. Mature plants are best controlled by lopping just above ground level and then painting the stump immediately with undiluted Roundup. They can also be sprayed with Roundup, at a rate of 20ml per litre, but beware of spray drift onto other plants.

Happy cassia culling!