Weedy notes: Boneseed
Published in
3 min readOct 16, 2022
COMMON NAME
Boneseed
BOTANIC NAME
Chrysanthemoides monilifera.
Subspecies:
- boneseed (Chrysanthemoides monilifera monilifera)
- bitou bush (Chrysanthemoides monilifera rotundata).
FAMILY
Asteraceae
GROWTH FORM
- perennial woody shrub two to three metres in height and width
- shallow rooted
- oval-shaped leaves with irregularly toothed margins tapering to the base
- bright yellow daisylike flowers between August and October
- six to eight millimetre fruit appears between spring and autumn; light brown when dry.
CENTRE OF DIVERSITY
South Africa.
Introduced to Australia as an ornamental garden plant in the mid-nineteenth century.
HABITAT
- found in a wide range of vegetation communities including coastal dunes, estuarine, heath, woodland, eucalypt forest
- establishes on nutrient-poor soils and in areas exposed to salt, such as coastal environments.
REPRODUCTION
- seed
- spread by birds — the main means of distribution—and other animals via animal droppings due to hardness of undigested seed
- seed germinated by soil disturbance, weathering
- transported by water and in soil stuck to vehicles and equipment
- seedbank remains viable for ten years or more
- individual plants can produce up to 50,000 seeds per plant.
USES
Planted to stabilise coastal sand dunes between the mid-1940s to the 1960s, mainly in Victoria. The related bitou bush was similarly used in NSW.
MANAGEMENT
Can be removed by physical removal or via herbicide.
STATUS
A declared weed in the eastern states.
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