Mothplant
Araujia hortorum
Moth plant
Other common names
cruel plant, white bladder flower
Synonyms
Araujia hortorum
Description
This is an evergreen vine that grows to 10 m tall with pungent, milky sap and down stems which are woody near the base. It has dark-green leaves (3-12 x 2-6 cm) which are hairless and dull on the top, greyish-downy underneath and arranged alternately on the stems. Clusters of 2-4 bell-shaped white flowers (20-25 mm in diameter), occasionally with pink streaks, appear from December to May, followed by thick choko-like pods (10 x 7 cm) which contain hundreds of black thistledown-like seeds.
Impact
Mothplant produces abundant wind-dispersed seeds. It is long-lived, fast-growing and shade-tolerant, forming dense, heavy, smothering masses that overtop and strangle supporting plants. It invades intact or disturbed forest and is poisonous, with the sap also being a skin irritant. Mothplant has a very wide environmental tolerance, with frost the main limiting factor.
What to do
Contact your regional council to determine the status of this species and responsibility for control and/or advice on control.
Page last updated: 14 January 2010