Botanical Battles: Friend or Foe? Devil’s Fig – The Prickly Invader
Scientific/Botanical Name:
Solanum torvum
Common Name:
Devil’s Fig (among many others which include - gully-bean, pea eggplant, platebrush, prickly solanum and shoo-shoo bush).
Description:
The “Devil’s Fig” is aptly named given its prickly stems and leaf shape. A native to Central America and Southern Mexico, it can be cultivated as a food crop, but in Queensland, it is regarded an environmental weed.
Why it’s regarded an environmental weed:
It competes with native plant species, reduces food and shelter for wildlife, competes with pasture grasses, and forms dense growth that restricts movement for animals and people.
Where does it grow:
It can be found in many different types of habitats including in people’s gardens, woodlands, forests and rainforest margins, along waterways, in pastures (often under paddock trees) and in disturbed sites (eg. roadsides).
How does it spread:
Spread of this weed can be caused by animals such as birds and flying foxes eating the fruit and spreading seed in their droppings. Seeds can also be spread by water and contaminated soil.
How to treat and control:
Devil’s Fig can be treated by physical removal, or with the use of chemical treatment (ie. spot spraying, cut and paint with herbicide). See links for more information. As with all weed control and prevention, monitoring and early treatment is essential.
Links / References:
