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African boxthorn (Lycium ferocissimum)

A dense, woody shrub armed with long spines that forms impenetrable thickets along fencelines, creeks and coastal country. It shelters rabbits and foxes and is spread widely by birds.

Key facts

Type: Weed, shrub.

Native to: Southern Africa.

Established in: QLD, NSW, ACT, VIC, TAS, SA, WA.

Best time to act: Treat actively growing plants, avoiding periods of drought stress.

Identification

  • Rigid, multi-branched shrub usually 2 to 5 m tall, with stout spines up to 15 cm long along the stems and at branch tips.
  • Fleshy, bright green leaves in clusters along the stems.
  • Small white to pale mauve tubular flowers, followed by round orange-red berries 5 to 12 mm across.
  • Look-alike: Native boxthorn (Lycium australe) is smaller, greyer and confined to arid and saline country.

Where it grows

Grows in most soils across southern and eastern Australia, especially on roadsides, stock camps, fencelines, coastal dunes and disturbed pasture.

Why it matters

  • Forms thickets that block stock and machinery access and injure animals and workers.
  • Provides harbour for rabbits, foxes and introduced birds.
  • Hosts fruit fly and other agricultural pests.

How it spreads

  • Seed in berries spread by birds and foxes.
  • Root fragments moved in soil and by machinery.

Control options

  • Small plants can be grubbed out, removing the crown and main roots.
  • Mechanical removal of large thickets followed by follow-up treatment of regrowth and seedlings.
  • Cut stump, basal bark or foliar treatment with herbicides registered for the situation, applied to the label or an APVMA permit.
  • Follow up for several years, as seed in the soil keeps germinating.

Hygiene and washdown

  • Remove soil and root material from machinery after grubbing or stick raking.
  • Inspect and clean vehicles, plant and footwear before leaving an infested area, paying attention to tyres, radiators, belly plates, tracks and floor mats.
  • Wash down at a designated bay where runoff is contained and can be monitored for seedlings.
  • Record each washdown so the client has evidence of clean entry and exit.

Classification by state

  • Australia (national): Weed of National Significance. One of 32 nationally agreed priority weeds, managed through national strategies with all states and territories.
  • Queensland: Restricted matter, category 3. Do not give it away, sell or release it into the environment. Everyone must also take all reasonable and practical steps to minimise its risks (the general biosecurity obligation).
  • New South Wales: Sale prohibited; Regional priority in 5 of 11 regions. It must not be imported into NSW or sold anywhere in the state. Regional priority weed in Central Tablelands, Hunter, Murray, North West, Western. The general biosecurity duty applies: anyone dealing with it must prevent, eliminate or minimise the risk it poses.
  • Victoria: Regionally controlled weed. Where it is regionally controlled, landowners must take all reasonable steps to prevent its growth and spread on their land.
  • South Australia: Declared plant. Depending on the declaration, it can be an offence to move it on public roads or sell it, and landowners may be required to control it on their land.
  • Western Australia: Permitted, not declared. Listed as a permitted organism in WA, so it can be brought in, but it is not a declared pest.
  • Tasmania: Declared weed. Property managers are required by law to control declared weeds, and their import and sale are prohibited.
  • Northern Territory: Check NT list. There is no NT weed profile for it. Check the NT declared weeds list for its current status.
  • Australian Capital Territory: Declared pest, prohibited. It is a declared pest throughout the ACT. Dealing with it, such as selling, moving or keeping it, is prohibited.

Legal obligations

Every state and territory places a duty on landholders and people working on land to prevent the spread of invasive species, such as the general biosecurity obligation in Queensland and the general biosecurity duty in New South Wales. Declarations and control requirements differ between states and local government areas, so check the current official list before work starts.

  • Queensland: Biosecurity Act 2014 (Qld), administered by Biosecurity Queensland (13 25 23)
  • New South Wales: Biosecurity Act 2015 (NSW), administered by NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development
  • Australian Capital Territory: Biosecurity Act 2023 (ACT), administered by ACT Biosecurity
  • Victoria: Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994 (Vic), administered by Agriculture Victoria
  • Tasmania: Biosecurity Act 2019 (Tas), administered by Biosecurity Tasmania
  • South Australia: Landscape South Australia Act 2019 (SA), administered by the regional landscape board
  • Western Australia: Biosecurity and Agriculture Management Act 2007 (WA), administered by the WA Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development

Sources