FOUND A PLANT THAT YOU THINK IS A WEED? THE NEWA TEAM IS HERE TO HELP YOU IDENTIFY IT!
The NEWA team are available to assist you with identifying weeds and advising best practice control methods. Here are a few tips on what you need to do to give our Biosecurity Officers the best possible chance of identifying a plant:
First, take a general photo of the plant in its location to indicate size, shape, and form. Make sure you're taking the photo in full sun with no shadows.
Next, collect a weed specimen. Specimens should be as complete as possible. A typical branch or portion of the stem about 20-30cm long, showing the leaves in position and with flowers, is required. If there is a variation in leaf form apparent, include different parts of the same plant to represent this. In the absence of open flowers, buds should be included. Fruit and/or seeds can be useful in the identification of plants and should be included with the specimen if available.
All specimens must be collected and stored in plastic or paper bags, and brought into the office as soon as possible. If possible, provide the GPS coordinates for an accurate location of the collection site. Take note of other plant species growing around the weed to combat any adverse effects on those plant species if a Biosecurity Officer recommends a chemical weed control method.
Please note – to conserve the biodiversity of species, collection of all plants should be undertaken with care. Before collecting plant specimens, permission from the land holder and/or manager of public or private land should always be sought. Licences are required to collect from threatened species, populations and ecological communities listed under the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016.
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