Paterson’s Curse, Echium plantagineum. Physical removal is the best method of treatment at the flowering and seed setting stage.
Please help tackle Paterson’s Curse at its last stronghold at The Fair any time that suits you within the next fortnight.
Paterson’s Curse (PC), Echium plantagineum is one of the most prevalent herbaceous weeds in the nature reserve east of The Fair. Volunteers made great progress controlling this pesky weed since they began work to reclaim the grassy woodlands at The Fair in 2012. During the first years volunteers conducted biannual spraying in autumn and spring followed by handweeding of flowering and seed setting plants.
Thanks to the hard work and persistence, PC numbers decreased dramatically (see for instance progress of work on the bottom of this page) and no herbicide spraying was carried out this spring.
Of course there are still PC weeds scattered at the revegetation site which have now passed the peak flowering stage. If you can, please help remove them before the flowers loose their highly visible petals which will be within the next two weeks.
What to do
Pick up a bag at the nature park entry at Ian Nicol / Tay Street intersection (map); walk towards the big conifer northeast of the entry point and pull & bag any purple flower that you come across (some are tiny). The highest density is around the big conifer in an area outlined pink on this map. Deposit the bag at the entry point on your way out or, if it is too heavy, leave it where you finished weeding for someone else to pick up later.
Bring sun protection and gloves; no weeding tool required.
Enquiries: projects@majura.org
Give Curse No Chance!
