Environmental Programmes
In order to tackle our country’s socio-economic challenges, the government adopted the Outcomes based approach to improve government performance and providing focus on service delivery. find out more
Invasive Plants
Apple of Peru
Apple of Peru is an annual shrub growing to 1m tall. It has spreading branches (the plant spreads to 1m wide) and the mid-green, toothed, wavy leaves are egg-shaped with the broad end at the base (ovate). The upward-facing flowers are most commonly pale blue and white, but there are also forms with violet or white flowers. The flowers are bell-shaped and 5cm or more across. Cherry-like, green-brown berries are encased within green or black mottled calyces. The mature fruits can resemble a lantern. The plant usually germinates in late spring or early summer.
Arsenic bush
The arsenic bush is a poisonous shrub that can grow up to 2-3m tall with yellow flowers. The leaves are arranged in pairs opposite each other, consisting of three or four pairs of ovate leaflets. The pods are cylindrical, 7-10cm long, containing shiny seeds. It is a common garden ornamental plant that also invades forest margins, savannah, riverbanks, roadsides, waste ground and plantations. It flowers from October to March.
Ash leaved maple
Deciduous tree 10 to 20 m high with a spreading crown and often more than one trunk; bark is greenish smooth at first, aging to brown and rough. Leaves bright green, paler and sometimes densely hairy beneath, turning yellow in autumn; 3 – 9 pinnate, but mostly with 5 leaflets; leaflets coarsely toothed, 50 – 100 mm long.
This fast-growing species is particularly invasive along waterways (i.e. in riparian areas) and in sheltered forests in temperate zones, but it has the potential to invade other habitats.
Asian wild rasberry
Rubus ellipticus is a stout evergreen shrub with prickly stem that grows approximately 4.5 metres tall. Its stems are covered with prickles and reddish hairs. It has been introduced to several places, including Hawaii, Southern USA and the UK, and is grown in cultivation for its edible fruits. This plant has become a major pest in Hawai'i, threatening its own native species of raspberry (Rubus hawaiiensis), and the ability of this plant to thrive in diverse habitat types makes it a particularly threatening invasive plant.
Australian blackwood
Australian Blackwood is a tree up to 20 m high, with a bole of about 150 cm in diameter. The bark on older trunks is dark greyish-black in colour, deeply fissured and somewhat scaly. Younger branches areribbed, angular, or flattened towards their tips and are greenish in colour.
These branchletsare usually mostly hairless (glabrousorglabrescent), but the stems of younger plants are sometimes more obviously hairy (denselypubescent).
General News Updates
2019 National Symposium on Biological Invasio…
26-02-2019
This is your invitation to South Africa's 2019 National Symposium on Biological Invasions. The convention is hosted by the Centre for Invasion Biology (CIB), University of Stellenbosch, and the Biolo... Read more
2019 Invasive Species Training
22-01-2019
During the past five years (2014-2018), ISSA invasive species trainers have trained 4 000 in the identification of invasive species and laws pertaining to invasive species across South Africa. ... Read more
Alien Grass Working Group
04-09-2018
Who are we? The South African National Alien Grass Working Group was jointly initiated by the South African Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) and the Centre for Excellence in Invasion Biology (C·I·B) in... Read more
Permits for planting indigenous Cynodon?
01-03-2018
On 16 February, 2018, South Africa's Department of Environmental Affairs issued amendments to the regulations and lists relating to the National List of Invasive Species. Updates to the draft&n... Read more
Invasive species training 2018 dates released
28-02-2018
Interested in invasive species? How much do you know about NEMBA invasive species compliance for landowners and organs of state? The South African Green Industries Council (SAGIC) have released... Read more
Communications post for Africa advertised
25-01-2018
The Nature Conservancy has advertised a brand new post: Communications Manager, Africa Region. Knowledge of invasive species and water would be an asset in this post. See details below: Job Titl... Read more
Atlantis Aquifer Invasive Plant Control
The Nature Conservancy Director of Water Funds for South Africa, Louise Stafford, is inviting invasive species teams, mentors and experts to submit proposals for an invasive species clearing project in Atlantis, Western Cape. The…
Xhosa names for invasive plants
46 Xhosa names for invasive plants have been identified by the Selmar Schonland Herbarium, Rhodes University Botany Department, Grahamstown, Eastern Cape. The first list of Xhosa names for plants was compiled…
Removal of invasive vegetation at Wemmershoek Dam will help City save water
"Enormous progress has been made on removing invasive alien vegetation in the catchment area around Wemmershoek Dam", says Executive Mayor, Patricia de Lille, City of Cape Town. "Invasive alien vegetation around…
Invasive species clearing campaign in Jukskei Park
Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo launched National Invasive Species Week initiatives on Thursday 12 October, 2017 in Juweel Park, Jukskei Park, Randburg, Gauteng. National Invasive Species Week is an awareness campaign…
Sign up for Invasive Species Training this November ...
The last two sessions of SAGIC Invasive Species legislation and herbicide applicator’s course in 2017 will take place in November. Are you interested in flora and fauna? How much do you…