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Cat's claw creeper (Dolichandra unguis-cati)

A vigorous climbing vine that smothers riparian forest and rainforest along the east coast, pulling down trees with its weight.

Key facts

Type: Weed, vine and creeper.

Native to: Central and South America.

Established in: QLD, NSW.

Identification

  • Leaves with two leaflets and a three-pronged, claw-like tendril between them.
  • Bright yellow trumpet-shaped flowers in spring.
  • Long, flat seed pods up to 50 cm containing papery winged seeds.
  • Underground tubers that resprout after the vine is cut.

Where it grows

Riparian vegetation, rainforest, wet sclerophyll forest and urban bushland in coastal Queensland and New South Wales.

Why it matters

  • Smothers and collapses canopy trees.
  • Carpets the ground and stops regeneration.

How it spreads

  • Wind and water carry the winged seeds.
  • Tubers moved in soil and garden waste.

Control options

  • Cut climbing stems at the base and treat ground runners and regrowth.
  • Foliar treatment of ground carpets with registered herbicides.
  • Biological control agents (tingid bug, leaf-mining beetle and jewel beetle) are released in Queensland and New South Wales.

Hygiene and washdown

  • Do not move soil or garden waste from infested riparian areas.
  • 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 West, Greater Sydney, Hunter, North West, South East. The general biosecurity duty applies: anyone dealing with it must prevent, eliminate or minimise the risk it poses.
  • Victoria: Restricted weed. Where it is a restricted weed, trade in it (including the plant, its seed or contaminated material) is prohibited.
  • 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: Declared pest (C1), prohibited. C1 Exclusion: to be kept out of WA, or out of the parts of WA where it is not established. Report any sighting to DPIRD. It must not be brought into WA (prohibited organism).
  • Tasmania: Declared weed. Property managers are required by law to control declared weeds, and their import and sale are prohibited.
  • Northern Territory: Declared weed, Class A. Class A: to be eradicated. All declared weeds are also Class C, so they must not be brought into the NT.
  • Australian Capital Territory: Not declared. Not declared under the Biosecurity Act 2023 (ACT). A general biosecurity duty still applies.

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

Sources