Whanganui weed warriors wage war against noxious plant

Friends of Gordon Park got a weedbuster award for their work in 2014. At front are Rod Pearce (left) and Colin Ogle. Photo / file

Tradescantia - also known as wandering jew - is a weed that could completely change the ecosystem in a precious remnant of kahikatea forest near Whanganui, ecologist Colin Ogle says.

Ogle is the chairman of Friends of Gordon Park, a group of volunteers who help the Conservation Department by weeding at Gordon Park, near Whanganui East, fortnightly. He's delighted the department (DoC) has obtained funding from the Threatened Species Fund to spray the creeping weedy menace.

Tradescantia is a South American plant and common weed in Whanganui. At Gordon Park it threatens all native ground cover plants and regenerating seedlings and has to be totally eradicated.

"The areas where we knew small patches are now big patches, and we find patches in places where we haven't seen it before. It doesn't spread by seed but only by fragments," Ogle said.

He wonders whether flood waters may move the fragments around.

Contractors are to do the spraying in the next two months, a DoC spokeswoman said.

Ogle doesn't think that will be the end of it. The Gordon Park volunteers will then monitor the success of the spray and report on places that need follow up work.

They are marking out the spots in the reserve where two rare and threatened plants grow - and some are fairly close to the rambling weed.