West Australians fighting fatal flowers

West Australians fighting fatal flowers

By Josh Cole  September 24th, 2019

The West Australia Government is putting money behind efforts to dispel the myths behind and protect the environment from a deadly flower.

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The West Australia Government is putting money behind efforts to dispel the myths behind and protect the environment from a deadly flower.

The Arum Lily, most commonly in the form of zantedeschia aethiopica, is an invasive species in Australia far from its home in South Africa. As well as the presenting the usual challenges posed by invasive weeds, such as competing for nutrients and space with other native plants, the flower is also highly toxic and frequently kills livestock unlucky enough to eat it.  It’s for these reasons that West Australians are working together to fight the Lily both at home and in nearby national parkland, as reported by the ABC. 

That's why Nature Conservation Margaret River received $350,000 from the West Australian government as part of an initiatve to provide residents with the information and tools needed to remove existing liilies and ensure no new ones grow nearby.

The Capel Land Conservation District Committee also received funding for that purpose so that their members could spray liies growing in the Tuart Forest National Park. In doing so they can ensure that it's not only private property that's protected from the Arum Lily, but our unique natural environment.

Part of the process has been in educating local farmers and landowners who may not know that such a beautiful flower has such devastating effects.

Overall it takes a lot of work to both remove such a weed and then prevent it from spreading, and while getting rid of a plant from the environment may not seem like a positive environmental action at first it’s essential to ensure that native flora and fauna can flourish. 

 

Positive Action  Organise or participate in a National Tree Day event and make sure you only planet  If planting at home check with your local council and/or nursery to make sure that what you are planning on is appropriate to your area

 

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Positive Environment News has been compiled using publicly available information. Planet Ark does not take responsibility for the accuracy of the original information and encourages readers to check the references before using this information for their own purposes. 

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By Josh Cole

Josh comes to Planet Ark after a stint in legal communication and from a background in print journalism. He studied Communications and Media as a mature age student in Wollongong where he re-discovered his love for the natural environment.

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