Sweetwater Fishing Forums
General Category => Fish Information - Trivia - Reference material => Topic started by: Editor on January 21, 2012, 09:31:57 AM
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Leucaena leucaena leucocephala is a South American Mimosa tree imported to Australia specifically as a stock feed plant. Being able to be eaten back to a bare stump but will then recover to again provide fodder for livestock. In paddocks where it is planted, the tree will reshoot to again provide stock feed. In these paddocks the tree is fairly well contained, however with the transport of cattle the plant has been spread far via their feet and faeces to area far & wide outside of fences, along roads, rail lines and eventually it has made it's way along many waterways; almost always to the detriment of native plants.
The link below is to a risk assesment for Leucaena in Qld
http://www.dpi.qld.gov.au/documents/Biosecurity_EnvironmentalPests/IPA-Leucaena-PSA.pdf (http://www.dpi.qld.gov.au/documents/Biosecurity_EnvironmentalPests/IPA-Leucaena-PSA.pdf)
Check out the google search for Lueacaena for other sources of info
http://www.google.com.au/#hl=en&cp=10&gs_id=2&xhr=t&q=leucaena+leucocephala&pf=p&sclient=psy-ab&site=&source=hp&pbx=1&oq=+leucaena+&aq=0&aqi=g4&aql=&gs_sm=&gs_upl=&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&fp=e595cce12ba3ec31&biw=1366&bih=597 (http://www.google.com.au/#hl=en&cp=10&gs_id=2&xhr=t&q=leucaena+leucocephala&pf=p&sclient=psy-ab&site=&source=hp&pbx=1&oq=+leucaena+&aq=0&aqi=g4&aql=&gs_sm=&gs_upl=&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&fp=e595cce12ba3ec31&biw=1366&bih=597)
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On the other side of the fence this bush is almost being praised for its feed efficiency but cannot be planted within x amount of meters from a natural watercours. I know allot of research has gone into this fodder but not nearly enough i suspect. Those who have planted it do so under watchfull eyes of controvacy.
Steve
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On the other side of the fence this bush is almost being praised for its feed efficiency but cannot be planted within x amount of meters from a natural watercours. I know allot of research has gone into this fodder but not nearly enough i suspect. Those who have planted it do so under watchfull eyes of controvacy.
Steve
It's actually poisonous to cattle & horses. Cattle are given a "bug" to offset the poison & allow consumption, then we eat the cattle :-\ . Horses lose their hair. The nutrional qualities are supposed to be similar to lucerne hay. I saw the first lot of them come through the abaottoir when this weed was first legally introduced. The meat looked quite good.
All care & no responsibility has been the cattlemans catch cry, however the pest plant somehow made its way along roads, rail lines & now rivers....must have been the fairies fault. Another one straight out of the cane toad, tilapia & rabbit hand book on good land management.
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One from up my ally since I spend a fair bit of time killing the stuff. Not bad as cattle fodder provided you introduce the rumen bug to the animal’s digestive system. Relatively slow growth and spread compared to some pests such as neem but hard to kill and a reasonably long seed life in the ground.
As for its origins, yes its industry introduced but I've given up on the blame game long ago on weeds, seems every major weed introduced by industry I can find an equally bad weed introduced into the environment from household gardens.
Cattle will spread it but so can humans aided by waterways.
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Grows to the size of a small gum tree out Aramac way.
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I got a mate that runs a property where it was established years ago for cattle feed. Cattle do really well on it and deer love feeding on it to. Problem is with it ya got keep it under control and keep it cut back as it grows high and unreachable. It hasn seemed to spread out of the area where it was planted. Does have alot of seed on it at times and can understand in softer wetter country how it could be a problem. Theres a hell alot of it planted up around banana region i noticed last time i went through there.
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My personall opinion is against establishing it for fodder.. Honestly its a sh!t of a thing.
Steve.
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My personall opinion is against establishing it for fodder.. Honestly its a sh!t of a thing.
Steve.
That's about the size of it ;D
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Back in South Australia when I worked in the Nursery industry a plant lorded for its hardiness in the limestone soils down there was another member of the Mimosa family and just as much of a pest. The only lifesaver I think was SA's low rainfall. The plant was Albizia lopantha - same appearance bi pinnate leaves, Acacia - like seed pods but it must have been poisonous too as you never saw native birds feeding on the seeds unlike Acacia seeds by parrots. Cheers Pat.
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Back in South Australia when I worked in the Nursery industry a plant lorded for its hardiness in the limestone soils down there was another member of the Mimosa family and just as much of a pest. The only lifesaver I think was SA's low rainfall. The plant was Albizia lopantha - same appearance bi pinnate leaves, Acacia - like seed pods but it must have been poisonous too as you never saw native birds feeding on the seeds unlike Acacia seeds by parrots. Cheers Pat.
Endemic to South west WA, made into a nursary plant and distributed outside its natural range Albizia lebbeck is on my most hated list for up here and gets a heap of chemical for its troubles, hard too kill and will form monocultures