We have an invasive danger to our shrubs and trees here in South Africa, that was brought in as an ornamental plant.
Greetings to all and today I will show you a stranger in a place where it does not belong.
Wherever this plant grows, it strangles support structures such as trees and shrubs and due to it's lightweight seed distribution properties, it grows prolifically in abundance.
Come and have a look.
Here one of the fruits was in it's natural opening process in order to release it's seeds.
Araujia sericifera is a perennial vining plant in the genus Araujia, of the family Apocynaceae. The species was described in 1817 by the Portuguese botanist Félix Avelar Brotero. The synonym Araujia hortorum is in more frequent use in New Zealand.Its common names include moth plant, white bladderflower, common moth vine, cruel vine and false choko.
Seeds that are lightweight and distributed by the wind.
Look at this! I call it a mess of seeds and they were all over the place.
The fast-growing vines can cover a tree canopy in two or three years, competing with the tree for light, water, and nutrients. They damage trees by this competition and by twining so tightly around their branches that it girdles them.
The yellow leaves on the ground are from a Mulberry tree that has shed it's leaves, as it is now winter here.
The plant is native to South America. It was introduced to Europe and other areas as an ornamental plant, but it is now considered a noxious weed. Nowadays its geographical distribution includes southern Europe, South Africa, North America (California, Georgia), South America (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay), Australia and New Zealand.
Source of all sections in Italics.
Another amazing fact that you can read about in the source article is that the Monarch butterfly caterpillars also visit this plant.
Like I said, it's an invasive plant and when found it should be removed immediately. A very big task here as they are all over the place.
And That's All Friends!
Photos by Zac Smith-All Rights Reserved
Camera: Canon Powershot SX60HS
We hope that you enjoyed the pictures and took note of the information.
