New weed species

New naturalisations for Queensland

Each year, botanists, biosecurity officers and weed spotters find and document new weed species for Queensland.

Some new weeds may previously have been recorded as cultivated garden plants in Queensland. Others may already have been listed as emerging weeds (‘doubtfully naturalised’) for a period of time. Some may be listed as priority invasive species under Queensland’s Biosecurity Act 2014 and must be reported to Biosecurity Queensland.

Naturalised plants are those which have both been introduced to Queensland by human intervention, and have established populations by reproducing outside of cultivation or without other human intervention.

Species recorded as doubtfully naturalised or naturalised in Queensland for the first time in 2023 are listed in the Introduction to the Census of the Queensland flora and fungi 2023.

These include:

• Arthrostemma ciliatum (pink fringe)
• Ludwigia peruviana (Peruvian primrose) This species is listed as Prohibited under Queensland’s Biosecurity Act 2014

All records of new weed species are verified with a Herbarium ‘voucher specimen’.