Weed of the Month - Ochna - Mickey Mouse plant

Ochna - Mickey Mouse plant

A native of Africa this plant has been used widey throughout Australian gardens from the 1900’s for its stunning flower colour.

Ochna or Mickey Mouse Plant is commonly seen invading bare areas of disturbed riparian habitat.

Ochna grows to about 1.5m tall and is a small upright woody shrub. The leaves are slender and glossy with serrated margins.

Flowers have five petals and are bright yellow. The sepals remain after the fruit form and turn red. Berries are green and turn a glossy’s black in summer.

Ochna also has an angled tap root that is easily broken when pulled thus making it hard to eradicate.

One of the control methods for Ochna is hand pulling, generally most affect method of control. Making sure that you pull out the whole root system, for larger plants hand tools such as a mattock will be needed to remove the plant.

Herbicides can be used in the method of cut and stump or Basal bark spray.

All herbicides must be applied strictly in accordance with the directions on the label.

Ochna (Micky Mouse Plant) is not a declared plant under the Land Protection (Pest and Stock RouteManagement) Act 2002 but is considered a environmental weed.

**Information supplied by Biosecurity Queensland, Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation. Further information is available from your local government office 07 4688 6514, or by contacting DEEDI Biosecurity Queensland (call 13 25 23 or visit there website at (www.deedi.qld.gov.au).