Image: Weed Action Whangarei Heads
Moth plant (Aurujia hortorum), aka moth vine or kapok vine is one of our nastiest environmental weeds and is widespread across Auckland. It is a fast-growing vine that can rapidly smother and replace native vegetation. The pink/white flowers appear in January/February followed a month or so later by the seed pods. Five minutes pulling out moth plant vines now can save you five hours removing pods later! Once a pod matures and burst (in April) it spread hundreds of seeds floating up to 30km across Auckland.
For more details on recognition and control, check out Friends of Oakley Creek Te Auaunga who have an excellent leaflet.
If you have neighbours who’d welcome some moth plant information in Chinese, click here for the Auckland Council brochure Moth plant brochure in Chinese
Recognise: Evergreen climbing vine, to 6m high. Narrow green stems, pointed arrowhead-shaped leaves. Small, creamy tubular flowers Dec-May. Large seed pods with 250 – 1000 wind-blown seeds. If you take a photo you can use iNaturalist to identify it.
Remove: Important if handling Moth plant, wear gloves, long sleeves and protective eyewear to avoid contact with the milky sap as it can be an irritant. If you see any pods or flowers, remove them and place in a plastic bag in your main rubbish. If you can, pull or dig out all the roots and leave hanging off the ground to die.