The wild ginger running rampant in Bastia Hill gullies has beautiful flowers but is among the 100 worst weeds in the world, Horizons pest plant management officer Neil Gallagher says.
He's back for another Wanganui weedbusting spring, and this time his target is wild ginger rather than woolly nightshade.
The ginger plants have scented yellow flowers from January to March.
"But don't let the good looks fool you. In actual fact it's a menace," he said.
Plants have spread out of gardens on Bastia and Durie hills into the wild, bushy gullies. Left alone, their rhizomes will form clumps up to a metre high. They will slowly creep outward, preventing other plants growing.