The “Grow me instead” initiative in Australia
In Australia, an illustrated booklet has been prepared to explain to the inhabitants of the region of Sydney how to use non-invasive ornamental plants instead of invasive ones. This is the result of a unified effort by local nurseries and government agencies to protect the Australian bushland.
A few suggestions for using native or non-native alternative species are made and the reader is invited to ask garden centres and nurseries for more choices.
The reader is also encouraged to follow good practices such as:
- to identify invasive plants in their garden and replace them by non-invasive ones, and/or only to use non-invasive ones,
- to eliminate seed production of plants that have the potential to become invasive,
- to report plant escapees to the competent authorities,
- to share the garden with wild creatures (lizards, frogs, etc.) and to use plants that provide nectar or seeds for birds and foliage as a protection,
- to join a voluntary bush care group to be aware of environmental issues and to invite friends and family to do so.
Plants which can be used as alternatives to invasive species in Australia and in the EPPO region are presented below. Some alternative plants proposed in the booklet are indigenous in the Sydney area and are therefore not invasive there but may show an invasive behaviour if introduced in the EPPO region. These are not mentioned in the table below.
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Invasive species in Australia
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Family
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Origin
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Considered Inv. in EPPO countries
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Alternatives
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Acacia baileyana
|
Fabaceae
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Australia
|
ES, PT
|
Acacia covenyi
|
|
Acer negundo
|
Aceraceae
|
N-Am.
|
BE, DE, CZ, EE, ES, FR, HU, IT, LV, LT, NL, PL
|
Acer negundo cv. "sensation" (fruitless form)
Fraxinus oxycarpa Nyssa sylvatica |
|
Acer pseudoplatanus
|
Aceraceae
|
Eur.
|
GB, IE
|
Liriodendron tulipifera
Quercus coccinea |
|
Buddleja davidii
|
Buddlejaceae
|
E-Asia
|
ES, FR, IT, GB
|
Rondeletia amoena
Ceanothus papillosus "Blue Pacific" |
|
Croscomia x croscomiiflora
(=Tritonia x croscomiflora) |
Iridaceae
|
S-Af., hort
|
ES, IE, GB
|
Valotta speciosa
Dianella caerulea |
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Lantana camara
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Verbenaceae
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Neotrop.
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ES, IL, IT, PT
|
Cistus x hybridus
Hebe cultivars |
|
Zantedescia aethiopica
|
Araceae
|
S-Af.
|
ES, IT
|
Zantedeschia calla
Crinum pedunculatum Eucharis x grandiflora |
Sources
Grow me Instead! http://www.ngia.com.au/home_gardeners/growme_instead.asp