 Description: A many branched annual to perennial shrub or small tree to 3 metres tall with stalked, large leaves with 5-9 finger like lobes and softly spiny capsules. It has yellow male flowers below the reddish female flowers from spring to autumn. As A Soil Indicator: Low Calcium, Very low Potassium, Very high phosphate, Very high Magnesium, High Manganese, High Iron, High Sodium, High Copper, Very little organic matter. Life cycle: Annual biennial or perennial. Germinates from autumn to spring and grows quickly. They may reach a height of several metres in their first year. Flowers from August-March depending on the area. Seed may be set in the first year. Growth slows or the plants die in winter. Surviving plants commence rapid growth in spring. It behaves as an annual in frosty areas. Beneficial: Castor oil extracted from the seeds for a lubricant and hydraulic fluids because its viscosity is stable as temperature increases. Detrimental: Unpalatable Toxicity: Seeds contain ricin and are poisonous to stock and poultry and humans. Seeds are very toxic to humans and 6-8 seeds may cause death. Seeds produce an allergic reaction in skin. Cases of poisoning in the field are rare. Horses are most sensitive followed by sheep, cattle and pigs and poultry are the least sensitive. Seeds and oil can be made safe by heating to 500C or more. 
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 Description: Blackberry is a semi deciduous, perennial shrub with scrambling, arching, prickly stems (canes) that may form dense, tangled thickets to 4 m high. The stems take root where they touch the ground, often forming dense thickets. The broad leaves are 3-15 cm long and divided into 3-5 toothed leaflets. As A Soil Indicator: Very low Calcium, Low Potassium, High phosphate, High Magnesium, High Manganese, High Iron, Very little organic matter. More abundant on fertile soils Life cycle: Perennial. Flowers November to January. Fruits January to April. Seeds germinate from spring to autumn and grow very slowly in the first year usually reaching 50-70 mm height with 3-6 leaves but have a disproportionately large root system. After 3 or 4 years, they develop into a shrub about 1000 mm round. In winter they loose most of their leaves and grow very slowly. In spring and summer they produce new leaves and canes quickly. First year canes emerge, in late winter, from the central crown that may be up to 200 mm round. The first year canes grow very quickly at 50-80 mm per day. Beneficial: Blackberries are picked for food, preserves, jam, pies, wine, liqueurs. Leaves are used as a tea substitute. Canes are used for securing thatch. Fruit is rich in vitamin C. Pollen and honey are produced from it. It has been used as a hedge plant and for controlling stream bank erosion. Provide a refuge from feral cats for native birds. Used in herbal medicine for coughs, diarrhea and blood cleansing.. Detrimental: Invades pasture land and blocks creeks and rivers. Reduces access to amenity areas and streams. Form impenetrable thickets that harbours vermin such as foxes and rabbits. Old infestations can be a serious fire hazard due to the large number of old dead canes. Sheep can become entangled in the canes and die. Very few companion plants survive in the thickets. It delays or prevents regeneration of forests after thinning or cutting.
 Description: A tall, relatively hairless perennial grass with broad, long leaves with a prominent midrib underneath, jagged membranous ligule and erect stout stems arising from a creeping, rooting, scaly rhizome. It produces a purplish-brown pyramidal, seed head about 25 cm long in summer. It is listed as one of the 10 worst weeds in the world As A Soil Indicator: Very low Calcium, Very high phosphate, Very high Magnesium, High Manganese, High Iron, Very high Sulphur, High Copper, High Zinc, Very high Boron, High Chlorine, High Selenium, Aluminum, High Salt, Very little organic matter, Anaerobic bacteria, Prefers damp soils. Life cycle: Perennial. Flowers November to June. Seeds germinate in spring to early summer. Initially top growth is slow as roots and rhizome develops. Flowering commences about 7 weeks after germination. After flowering the rhizome grows quickly. Flowering is continuous over the summer with a peak in early and late summer. Rhizomes dormant over winter. Top growth dies after frosts in winter. New shoots emerge from rhizomes in spring. Shoots from rhizomes emerge earlier and grow faster than those from seed. Rhizomes are short-lived and are produced in one season, sprout in the next season to form a new plant then die as new rhizomes are formed. Beneficial: Palatable fodder. Detrimental: Aggressive weed, Crosses with sorghum producing weedy biotypes. Toxicity: Toxic when stressed, frosted, wilted or stunted. Cattle, sheep and pigs have been poisoned in Australia. Cattle appear to suffer the worst losses. It may also contain toxic levels of nitrate and cause nitrate poisoning especially during periods of vigorous growth
 SO FAR as we are able to determine this is the first book to be written in praise of weeds. According to Joseph Cocannouer, weeds -- the common ragweeds, pigweeds, pusleys and nettles, to mention four -- perform the following valuable services among others: 1. They bring minerals, especially those which have been depleted, up from the subsoil to the topsoil and make them available to crops. This is particularly important with regard to trace elements. 2.When used in crop rotation they break up hardpans and allow subsequent crop roots to feed deeply. 3. They fiberize and condition the soil and provide a good environment for the minute but important animal and plant life that make any soil productive. 4. They are good indicators of soil condition, both as to variety of weed present and to condition of the individual plant. Certain weeds appear when certain deficiencies occur. 5. Weeds are deep divers and feeders and through soil capillarity they enable the less hardy, surface feeding crops to withstand drought better than the crop alone could. 6. As companion crops they enable our domesticated plants to get their roots to otherwise unavailable food. 7. Weeds store up minerals and nutrients that would be washed, blown or leached away from bare ground and keep them readily available. 8. Weeds make good eating -- for man as well as for livestock. The publisher can vouch for the superiority of lamb's quarter -- a favorite of the author -- over any other domestic form of spinach or cooked greens. No, Professor Cocannouer does not believe that weeds should be allowed to go rampant and take over our farms and gardens. The function of this book, a pioneering work, is to demonstrate how the controlled use of weeds can be sound ecology, good conservation and a boon to the average farmer or gardener. - - - - (From the Introduction)
 Description: A bristly, annual or biennial (lasting 2 years) herb with a rosette or deeply divided leaves with toothed margins with a much larger rounded terminal lobe that grows to 90cm high. The stems are wiry with pale yellow terminal flowers. As A Soil Indicator: Very low Calcium, Low Potassium, Very high phosphate, Very high Magnesium, Very low Manganese, High Iron, High Sulphur, High Copper, High Zinc, High Boron, High Chlorine, High Selenium, High Salt, Very little organic matter, Anaerobic bacteria, Prefers damp soils. Life cycle: Annual or biennial. Seeds germinate mainly in autumn with some in spring. It forms a rosette of leaves over winter and sends up a branched flowering stem in spring. It usually dies off in summer but some plants in moist conditions may survive into their second season. Beneficial: Nectary plant. Leaves and shoots edible. Used in herbal medicine for colds and chest complaints Detrimental: May taint milk. Relatively unpalatable Toxicity: Not recorded as toxic
 Description: A rapid growing, finely hairy, climbing perennial vine with purple-blue, bell shaped flowers at most times of the year with a flush from November to April. Unlike many of the other morning glory species, it is mainly a weed of agricultural areas and disturbed sites (e.g. crops, roadsides, parks, gardens, fence-lines and waste areas). However, it also invades bushland and riparian areas and can be a serious environmental weed in warm moist areas, where it chokes out native plants. As A Soil Indicator: Very low Calcium, Very low Potassium, Very low phosphate, High Magnesium, High Iron, Very high Sulphur, High Copper, High Zinc, High Boron, High Selenium Very little organic matter, Anaerobic bacteria, Prefers damp soils. Life cycle: Perennial. Widely naturalised in the warmer parts of eastern Australia (i.e. eastern Queensland and the coastal districts of New South Wales). Beneficial: Ornamental and medicinal uses. Leaves reported to be used as pig food. Seeds are strongly purgative. Detrimental: Vigorous fast growing. Once established it is difficult to control Toxicity: Not recorded as toxic
 Description: A many branched, robust, biennial or annual herb, usually 1.5 metres tall with twice divided leaves, many white flowers in spring in umbrella like arrangements at the top and with an unpleasant mousy or parsnip like smell when crushed. The stems are hollow and usually have distinctive purplish blotches. As A Soil Indicator: Low Calcium, High Potassium, Very high Magnesium, Very high Manganese, Very high Iron, High Sulphur, Very high Copper, Very high Zinc, Very high Boron, Very high Chloride, High Selenium Very little organic matter, Anaerobic bacteria, Prefers damp soils. Life cycle: Biennial or annual. Seedlings germinate in autumn and sometimes in spring, producing a coarse rosette initially and a deep taproot. Some plants flower in their first spring or summer and die. Others remain vegetative and flower in their second spring and summer then die. It may become perennial in regularly cut situations like Lucerne. Detrimental: Very toxic. Weed of moist areas, especially along roadsides, ditches, creeks, lucerne, gardens, alluvial flats, rubbish dumps, disturbed areas and in pasture. May cause dermatitis after handling in some people. Hosts carrot fly and celery yellow spot.. Toxicity: Very toxic plant. Contains a number of toxic alkaloids. Eating leaves, roots and seeds mistakenly have caused human deaths. Leaves may be mistaken for parsley, roots for parsnip and seed for aniseed. Most toxic when green and varies with climatic conditions. Livestock usually don't eat the plant but contaminated fodder can cause problems. Many cases of poisoning in cattle, pigs, horses and poultry are reported. Sheep and goats appear to be more tolerant. Young stock are more susceptible than old stock. Taints milk. Secondary poisoning may occur.
 Description: Caltrop is a flat, sprawling, summer-growing, annual herb. Stems. Caltrop has numerous green to reddish brown stems radiating from a crown. It grows prostrate to 2 m long with many branches and fine hairs. As A Soil Indicator: Low Calcium, Very Low Potassium, High Phosphorous, High Magnesium, High Iron, High Aluminum Very little organic matter, Anaerobic bacteria, Occurs on a wide range of soils. More abundant on sandy soils.. Life cycle: Annual or short lived perennial. Seed germinates from spring to autumn after rain and it grows rapidly producing deep roots. It grows mainly in the warmer months. It grows profusely after summer rains and flowers mainly in summer and autumn. The flowers open in the morning and close or drop their petals in the afternoon. They usually die in autumn or winter after the first frosts. In tropical areas the deep taproot develops and the plant becomes a perennial. Beneficial: Nectary plant. Fodder. Kills bacteria and used in herbal medicine as a diuretic, tonic and aphrodisiac. Detrimental: Injures animal feet. Contaminates wool. Contaminates dried fruit. Injures shearers and wool, fruit and vegetables handlers. Toxicity: Dense infestations may be toxic to stock causing photo sensitisation of skin around lips, ears and eyes followed by swelling of the head. Sheep are more commonly affected than cattle. Causes a chronic staggers mainly in the British breeds of sheep. Spiny burr may cause injury to feet and intestines of stock and form pussy sores where they penetrate the frog of horses hooves. It can accumulate nitrate and oxalate levels high enough to cause nitrate poisoning and oxalate poisoning in stock especially after spraying with industrial chemical herbicides.
 Description: A large, dark green, vigorous, leathery and invading fern with 'Christmas tree' shaped fronds. Produces toxins that retard the growth and germination of other species. As A Soil Indicator: Very low Calcium, High Potassium, High Zinc, High Aluminum Very little organic matter, More common in Sandy or well drained soils. Life cycle: Perennial. Spores germinate in ash beds and complete the sexual portion of their life. Asexual ferns form and produce patches. Shading or allelopathy (the production of toxins) usually eliminates other plants within the patches. New fronds emerge from underground rhizomes in spring, and mature over summer. These fronds die in winter (usually after frost) and fall, smothering other plants. Patches spread about 1 m per year. Beneficial: Apparently used for Aboriginal and Maori food, bedding, thatch. Detrimental: Produces toxins that retard the growth and germination of other species. Toxicity: Toxic to sheep, pigs, people and especially horses and cattle when eaten in large quantities. Green fronds are most toxic, but dead fronds and rhizomes are also toxic. Hay containing Bracken can be toxic Legislation: The Wildlife Conservation Act prohibits the removal of this species from natural stands on government land.
 Description: An erect or sprawling, annual or biennial herb to 1.5 metres with round lobed leaves, heart shaped cotyledons, small, 5-petalled white or pink flowers from April to November. As A Soil Indicator: Very low Calcium, high Potassium, very high Magnesium, high Iron, Low humas in the soil, anaerobic bacteria dominate, potential waterlogged area, compacted soil, poor drainage, High Aluminum levels Life cycle: Annual or biennial. Germinates in spring to autumn and grows rapidly. Flowers August-December. Spring germinating plants may flower when only a few centimetres high and survive over summer to become biennial. Beneficial: Palatable fodder Detrimental: Weed of stock yards, crops, vegetables, pastures, gardens, roadsides, waterways and disturbed areas. Difficult to control. May cause staggers in stock that graze significant quantities. It is a potential host of Root Lesion Nematodes (Pratylenchus neglectus) allowing some build up of numbers Toxicity: Sheep, especially lambs are more susceptible than cattle or horses to poisoning. Most cases occur in the July to October period with some as late as December when Mallow has made up a large part of their diet for days or weeks. Toxicity may be passed to lambs through milk. May contain toxic quantities of nitrate in unmanaged overfertilised pasture.
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