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Physic nut

Weed Habitat 

  • Principally found in humid and sub-humid tropical scrublands, physic nut shrubs were introduced and used as a hedges or ornamental plants, and can now be found as relic shrubs on abandoned mine and homestead sites.

Description 

  • An erect shrub with one to several stems 2-4 m high reproducing by seed and suckers from roots and crown.
  • Stems arethick and rather soft, coarsely hairy, exuding a watery sap when injured.
  • Leaves are dark green, ivy like, smooth, heart shaped to 15 cm wide on a long leaf stalk. Margins 3-4 lobed.
  • Flowers areyellow to green, small and inconspicuous.
  • Fruit is dark brown when ripe, a fleshy globular capsule 4 cm long containing 2-3 seeds.
  • Seeds are black with fine yellow stripes, bean-like 1.7 cm long smooth on one side but with a ridge along the other side.

Jatropha curcasJatropha curcasJatropha curcasJatropha curcasJatropha curcas

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Plant Type

Leaf Arrangement

Other weed identifiers

Plant Life Cycle

Weed Declaration

Currently not declared however under the Biosecurity Act 2014 you still have an obligation to prevent or minimise a biosecurity risk posed by a pest.

Weed Spread