Cirsium arvense

Cirsium arvense
“Canada thistle”
ASTERACEAE

Herbaceous Perennial – Invasive Noxious Weed

Zone: all zones
Native habitat : Eusasia

Conditions
Soil: any, will handle a wide range, saline conditions too, not peat
Moisture: wide range (moist to dry)
Light: full sun to part shade
Exposure: general; tough
Plant size (h x w): 3′ – 5′ x 2′
Other: most commonly seen in cultivated fields

Aesthetic
Shape/stem: erect green stem, branched, prickly, stiffly upright
Leaf: spiny-toothed leaves, prickly
Flower: numerous small flowers in clusters, white to pink to purple, separate male and female flowers
Bloom: June to August
Other: each seed is attached to a feathery pappus; rhizomes spreading (deep, off-white)

Treatment (how to…)
This plant will seed itself prolifically as well as spread by roots.  One plant can easily form a massive colony with in a few years or less.  It is best to get rid of this weed when it is young; as soon as you see a seedling, dig it up and dispose of it.  If it is too late for this, it is much harder to remove.  Dig up as much of the whole plant and as much of its roots and dispose.  Be sure to wear gloves as the plants stems and leaves are painfully prickly.  The roots do not tend to live that long (2-3 years) in the soil but the seeds can travel far in the wind making removal difficult to control.  Repetitive treatment will be needed.  Always remove before it goes to seed.

Vulnerabilities
Pests and disease: none significant
Deer resistant: deer resistant
Other animals: is toxic to grazing animals (they tend to avoid it)

Interest
Local info.: serious, noxious, invasive, introduced weed; will overwinter in Victoria as a rosette
Nature: invasive
Identification (key features): creeping and deep off-white roots; flowers male and female parts, smaller thistle flower, narrow, upright petals in tubular formation, pink to violet to white; Leaves simple and pinnate with spines on margins
Interesting facts: 
Comments: 

Sagina procumbens

Sagina procumbens
“Pearlwort” “Birdseye pearlwort”
CARYOPHYLLACEAE

Evergreen Perennial Weed

Zone:
Range: Europe, North America, parts of South America

Conditions
Soil: any
Moisture: grows larger with more moisture
Light: full sun to part shade
Exposure: general
Plant size (h x w): 1/2″ – 6″ x 1/2″ – 6″
Other: will grow generally everywhere; more commonly found in coastal areas; spreads and establishes itself often in turf, beds, brick and wood paving

Aesthetic
Shape/stem: dense mat; roots at internodes;
Leaf: linear, 1-2cm, green, hairless, opposite, stockless
Flower:  solitary, 4-5 sepals, 4-5 petals white, petals can be abscent
Bloom: April to September; quick to go to seed
Other: resembles moss

Treatment (how to remove…)
Deal with quickly.  Once it is strongly established can be a difficult weed to get rid of.
Dig it out (preferred method) or if you choose to applying a herbicide will be effective in repetitive doses.  Likely will take soil with it when digging out (as root systems is dense) which aesthetically can be a problem (especially in turf or grass).

Spreads quickly by roots and seed.  Will go to seed very quickly so take care to remove it quickly.  Seeds can easily spread place to place by foot traffic or mowing.

Vulnerabilities
Pests and disease: none significant
Deer resistant: yes, likely
Other animals:Interest
Local info,: commonly found around Victoria
Nature: spreading mat-like and moss-like weed
Identification (key features): moss-like green mat
Interesting facts: |
– it is said to be the first plant Jesus stepped on or to be blessed by Christ in the highlands of Scotland and other areas
– when hung across your door it is said to protect against fairies
– when eaten by cattle it is said that the cattle and all those who drank its milk would be protected against fairies and ills
Comments: 

Euphorbia maculata

Euphorbia maculata
Syn. Chamaesyce maculata
“Prostrate spruge” “Spotted spruge”
EUPHORBIACEAE

Annual Weed

Zone: no
Native habitat : Native to North America

Conditions
Soil: any
Moisture: any
Light: full sun to full shade
Exposure: general
Plant size (h x w): low (almost flat) growing to 16” in width.
Other: thrives in harsh, hot, poor or rich soil

Aesthetic
Shape/stem: spreading, mat-forming, prostrate, branching from central point; hairy
Leaf: small, oval, opposite, dark green, marron spot
Flower: tiny, white-pink, recognizably euphorbia in look
Bloom: summer
Other: tap root which small fiborous roots; spread by seed; appears in summer

Treatment (how to…)
Easy to pull, especially if the soil is damp.  You can also spray them with herbicide if you choose with good success.  Mulch can be a somewhat effective preventative measure.  Let dry in the sun before discarding.

Spreads by seed. Prolific seed production; each plant can produce up to several thousand seeds.  Seeds can lay dormant for a number of years till the right conditions appear. Seeds produced in summer can germinate immediately; Seeds produced in late fall will wait until late spring.

Sap is phototoxic so take care in touching it.

Vulnerabilities
Pests and disease: none significant
Deer resistant: yes
Other animals: toxic to livestock

Interest
Local info: native; doesn’t like competition which is good for our other native plants
Nature: invasive annual summer weed
Identification (key features): appearing in June; white sap; leaves often are marked with a black dash in the center; spreading out in a low mat from a central point; small leaves and flowers

Interesting facts: 
Comments: 

Calystegia sepium

Calystegia sepium
prev. Convolvulus sepium
“Hedge bindweed”
CONCOLCULACEAE

Herbaceous Perennial – Noxious Weed (class 1)

Zone: all
Native habitat : Europe and Asia

Conditions
Soil: all; specifically clay
Moisture: any
Light: full sun
Exposure: general;
Plant size (h x w): rapidly grows up to 10′ in a year (heading for the sun)
Other:

Aesthetic
Shape/stem: spreading, thin twining stem (counter-clockwise)
Leaf: large, heart-shaped, pale matte green, arranged spirally, simple, 5–10 cm x 3–7 cm broad
Flower: all white, trumpet flower,
Bloom: summer
Other: doesn’t produce too many seeds

Treatment (how to…)
Nearly impossible to get rid of this weed.  It root systems like to hide in other plants making it all the more challenging.  Tenacity is the key.  Pull it out whenever you see it.  The earlier the better, and the more of the root system the better. Once removed should be put in the trash.  Can also try diluting 1:10 solution of herbicide in a stable jar.  Place the tips of the vine in the solution nearing the end of the summer.  The plant will puck it up as it goes dormant into its root system and die.  May need to do this for more than one year. Strong rhizomatous root system.  Through it doesn’t produce as much seed, it spreads itself around and will root from any piece of rhizome left behind.  .

Vulnerabilities
Pests and disease: none significant
Deer resistant: no
Other animals:

Interest
Local info: Introduced weed; can out-compete native species
Nature: invasive weed spreads by seed and rhizome
Identification (key features): sprawling vine , heart shaped leaves, summer bloom of white trumpet flowers (refer to photo)

Interesting facts: 
Comments: 

Convolvulus arvensis

Convolvulus arvensis
“Field Bindweed”
CONCOLCULACEAE

Herbaceous Perennial – Noxious Weed (class 1)

Zone: all
Native habitat : Europe and Asia

Conditions
Soil: any;
Moisture: any
Light: full sun to part shade
Exposure: general;
Plant size (h x w): rapidly grows up to 5′ in a season
Other:

Aesthetic
Shape/stem: spreading, carpeting, hugs the ground when there is nothing to climb up; weak prostrate stem from central root
Leaf: spirally arranged, linear/arrowhead-shaped, 2–5 cm, alternate, 1–3 cm petiol, green-grey
Flower: Small trumpet shaped flowers, white to tinged pink
Bloom: summer
Other: seeds freely,

Treatment (how to…)
Takes tenacity to remove this weed.  Once it is established in an area it is very difficult to remove, especially in grasses.  Pull it out where ever you see it and starve it if possible.  Will likely take years.  If you pull it and see no rootlets, you havn’t gotten the whole root.  Easiest when young and the soil moist.

Seeds can lay dormant but still viable in soil for 20 years. A single plant can produce up to 500 seeds. Deep root system is ddifficult to fully remove and Convolvulus arvensis will sprout from any fragments of rhizomes left behind.

Vulnerabilities
Pests and disease: none significant
Deer resistant: no
Other animals:

Interest
Local info: Introduced weed; can out-compete native species
Nature: invasive weed spreads by seed and rhizome
Identification (key features): sprawling almost vine like, around shaped leaves, summer bloom of white to pink trumpet-esque flowers (refer to photo above)
Interesting facts: 
Comments: 

Rumex acetosella

Rumex acetosella
“Sheep sorrel”
POLYGONACEAE

Herbaceous Perennial – Weed

Zone: hardy to zone 4
Native habitat : Europe

Conditions
Soil: any; sandy, impoverished,
Moisture: likes moisture
Light: full sun to part shade
Exposure: general; is tough
Plant size (h x w): 4″ – 8″ x infinity
Other: *often found in gardens, roadsides, waste places, places with poor sandy soil (poor growing conditions)

Aesthetic
Shape/stem: spreading, mound
Leaf: green, small, arrow or spear-shaped, taste sour, basal
Flower: erect flower stem with leaves on it, small, raceme, reddish, not showy, 3-10 flowers off short pedicels (to 2 mm) jointed immediately below the flower; 3 scale-like sepals, 3 petals; male flowers yellow-green, female flowers are red-maroon
Bloom: spring
Other: spreads by seed and rhizome; rhizomes are very branches, elastic and skinny

Treatment (how to…)
Rhizome roots are thin and elastic-like making it difficult to remove the full root.   Ideally dig up or hang pull as much of root as possible before goes to seed.  Will need to do this a number of times.  It is always best if you can get on this weed early.  Cultivating the soil with say a stirrup hoe many times over the course of the seasons will eventually starve the plant to death.  Can use herbicides effectively if you so choose.

Seed are wind pollinated, therefore making it difficult to control in a garden setting.  One plant will produce up to 1,600 seeds a year of which have a high survival rate (buried seeds can lay dormant for up to 80 years). Germination occurs from spring to fall.  Rumex acetosella spreads primarily though by rhizomes which will develop very quickly and create dense colonies that can persist for up to 20 years,

Uses
Medicinal: edible in small quantities

Vulnerabilities
Pests and disease: none significant
Deer resistant: no
Other animals:

Interest
Local info: Introduced weed; can out-compete native species
Nature: invasive weed spreads by seed and rhizome
Identification (key features): most leaves are basal, shaped like arrows, green, taste sour; stem leaves alternate, have almost no stalk, reduce in size up the stem

Interesting facts:  now naturalized in most of Canada and the USA
Comments:  200 species of Rumex; all of them generally spread; including Rumex acetosa, garden sorrel, and 5 species of Dock (also Rumex)

Ranunculus repens

Ranunculus repens
“Creeping Buttercup”
RANUNCULACEAE

Evergreen Perennial – Invasive Weed

Zone: 4 – 9 (likely wider)
Native habitat : Europe, Asia, NW Africa; meadow plant

Conditions
Soil: any, likes acidity
Moisture: likes moisture
Light: full sun to full shade
Exposure: general; is tough
Plant size (h x w): 1′ x 1′
Other:** Is often a sign of poor drainage (as well as acidic moist soil)

Aesthetic
Shape/stem: spreading, clumping, stems hairy and soft
Leaf: 3 leaflets, stalked and deeply cut, often with white spots, hair underneath, veiny
Flower: bright, shiny, yellow, 5 waxy petals
Bloom: spring through summer
Other: spreads by seed and runners: sub-lateral runners develop to form a vigorous, firmly anchored network of stems; roots: strong white, deeply penetrating, branch from each leaf node

Treatment (how to…)
Since this plant spread by both seed and runner it can be difficult to eradicate.  Commercial mowers are a big culprit of spreading the seed; carrying it from one lawn to the next.  This weed will easily take over a lawn.  It is hard to get rid of.
Removal: Remove before it goes to seed whenever possible by digging it out.  Ideally remove out of a lawn in spring before you mow and when you are able to reseed.  Be persistent in your weeding! (will need to do this a number of times) If you don’t have anything planted in the bed you can smother it with sheet mulches of black plastic left for the whole summer.  You can also weed out and then how and turn the bed (less effective).  Chemical controls such as common lawn weed killer or glyphosate based weed killers will work fairly effectively.

Uses
Medicinal: toxic, do not eat, some traditional medical uses, young leaves are edible once cured.

Vulnerabilities
Pests and disease: none significant
Deer resistant: deer resistant
Other animals: is toxic to grazing animals, they avoid it

Interest
Local info,:Extremely invasive, introduced weed.  There is a native buttercup but it is not invasive.
Nature: invasive weed partial to damp acidic soil, spreading by seed and stolon, tenacious
Identification (key features): classic glossy-yellow flowers, 5 petals, 3 leaflets

Interesting facts:  was sold in many parts of the world as an ordamental plant
Comments: 

Cytisus scoparius

Cytisus scoparius
“Scotch Broom”
PAPILIONACEAE (previously Rosaceae)

Deciduous Shrub – Noxious Weed
(Evergreen in warmer conditions)

Zone: every
Native habitat : Europe

Conditions
Soil: average – any –
Moisture: drought tolerant
Light: full sun to part shade
Exposure: easily grows in disturbed areas
Plant size (h x w): 3′ – 10′ x 10′
Other: can grow in many poor conditions

Aesthetic
Shape/stem: stiffly upright, round, angular stems and branching,
Leaf: small, compound, alternate, flexible, lancolate, entire, trifoliate, green
Flower:  solidary, perfect, 5 petals, yellow, fragrant, pea-like
Bloom: May to June
Other: deep taproot

 

Treatment (how to remove…)
If you see it, dig it out or dig a small hole around stem (at least 2-3″)and cut it bellow the surface of the soil, likely for a few years in a row.  (If you just cut it down, it will only grow more.) Then be sure to treat it as toxic waste and burn it or throw in garbage.
Pull any seedlings as you see them.
Always try to remove before seed it set.
Propagate: introduced weed; seed profusely

Uses
Medicinal: may be some traditional medical uses; toxic if ingested
Other: broom, baskets, dyes, thatch

Vulnerabilities
Pests and disease: none significant
Deer resistant: yes
The lack of vulnerabilities is a big reason this shrub is so invasive; there is nothing to stop it.  Some biological controls are being introduced to try to stop it: beetles and mites and goats are some examples.  Also release a phototoxin in soil that kills what grows near it.


Interest
Local info,: introduced noxious weed; will take over native plants
Nature: tough, invasive, adaptable, hardy, prolific seeder with no pests, disease, or threats to stop it
Identification (key features): Invasive weed; stems angular; leaves small, trifoliate; flowers bright yellow, very abundant in May-June; fruit is legume, long white hairs when immature.

Interesting facts: Highly aggressive and invasive all the way from New Zealand to California; Was sold as a landscape plant well into the 80’s as a hwy plant and to stabilize slopes.
Comments: Out competes on a global scale with such a deep tap root, ability to grown in disturbed places, prolific seeds, and general lack of pests and threats.

Senecio vulgaris

Senecio vulgaris
“Common Groundsel” “Old man of the spring”
ASTERACEAE

Annual or Winter Annual Weed

Native habitat : Europe, North Asia, North Africa

Conditions
Soil: average
Moisture: average
Light: full sun
Exposure: general
Plant size (h x w): 2″ – 8″
Other: will always go to seed no matter the conditions or size of plant; prolific during the cooler times

Aesthetic
Shape/stem: upright, slender, hollow stem
Leaf: upper leaves alternate and sessile, two rounded lobes at base of stem and subclasping above, leaves pinnately lobed, sharp/ saw toothed, smaller in size as you get higher on the plant, green, hairy
Flower:  inconspicuous, yellow, tubular, disk flowers, no outer ligulate flowers (or rays), usually hidden by bracts which are black tipped, in cluster of 10 – 22 flowers
Bloom: winter / all year
Other: downy, white, achene seeds, that have a pappus and are sticky when wet, seeds up to 25000 per plant (though usually around 1000 per plant), can go to seed very early in its life cycle;
shallow taproot

Removal
Remove by pulling out before it goes to seed ensuring you have taken the taproot
So many seeds per plant that are easily taken by the wind (so even if you get it out it may spread itself back in from another area)
Propagate: seed

Uses
Landscape: introduced; weed
Medicinal: none known, toxic
Other:

Toxic to livestock:  will cause liver damage if eaten in raw form by grazing animals (especially important in relation to areas with grazing cattle) 

Vulnerabilities
Pests and disease: alternate host for hollyhock rust
Deer resistant: yes
Other: 

Interest
Local info,: not the worst of all weeds in victoria
Nature: winter annual weed
Identification (key features): daisy family; central tube disk flowers only, bright yellow, not showy, black tips on bracts, narrow wavy leaves smaller as you go up the stem   
Interesting facts:
Comments: may be resistant to some common overused pesticides

Poa annua

Poa annua
“Annual bluegrass”
POACEAE

Annual Weed

Native habitat : Europe

Conditions
Soil: average; better conditions bigger plant
Moisture: average
Light: full sun to part shade (will ripen and die sooner in full sun)
Exposure: general
Plant size (h x w): 1″ – 8″
Other: germinates fall to spring in cool moist weather,
dies down leaving a hole in summer heat

Aesthetic
Shape/stem: clumping, grass
Leaf: canoe shaped, green, blunt at end, long sheath clasping stem, smooth, finely serrated edges
Flower:  panicle open, triangular in shape, spikelets stalked, awnless, loosely arranged on pairs or branches, tingled lightly purple at end or else beigey green
Bloom: will flower from winter to spring, vigorous seeder all year around till it dies down for hot dry summers,
each plant can produce around 100 seeds
Other: shallow fibrous root, disappears leaving a hole in the summer

Removal
Remove by easily pulling out before it goes to seed ensuring you have taken the root too (may want to water lawn or area night before (esp. clay soil) to make it easier/quicker to pull
*once its established itself in a area it can be hard to get rid of because it is a prolific seeder
Propagate: seed; will naturally spread itself around

Uses
Landscape: introduced; weed; often found invading lawns, golf courses and garden beds
* often seeds itself around by attaching its seeds to shoes so keep that in mind
Medicinal: none known
Other: indicator plant (of soil)Vulnerabilities
Pests and disease: none significant
Deer resistant:
Other animals: 

Interest
Local info,: introduced but has naturalized itself around most of north america now
Nature: invasive cool season weed
Identification (key features): triangle arrangement of flower and broad canoe shaped leaves
Interesting facts:
Comments: can be a big problem on golf courses and leaves and ugly hole in yards for the summer