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Skunk vine (Paederia foetida)

In Australia, skunk vine is known from Christmas Island and is considered an aggressive weed there. It can grow quickly, smother native vegetation and damage overstorey trees.

Key facts

Type: Weed, vine and creeper.

Native to: Tropical and temperate eastern and southern Asia.

Established in: NSW.

Other names: Daun Kentut (Christmas Is.), Skunkvine, Lesser Malayan Stinkwort, Chinese Fever Vine.

Identification

  • A perennial twining vine that can grow to more than 7 m from a woody rootstock.
  • Climbing or prostrate stems can root at the nodes.
  • Leaves are opposite, usually oval to lance-shaped, and 4.5–14 cm long; crushed leaves have an unpleasant odour.
  • Small greyish-pink to lilac flowers grow in clusters, and the petals form a tube with five spreading lobes.
  • Shiny yellowish-brown capsules are up to 0.7 cm wide and contain two rounded black seeds, often dotted with white crystals.
  • Look-alike: Sewer vine (*Paederia cruddasiana*) is closely related and very similar. Its fruit is oval and laterally compressed, with distinctly winged seeds; skunk vine has spherical fruit and wingless seeds.

Where it grows

In Australia, it is found on Christmas Island and is not known to be naturalised on mainland Australia.

Why it matters

  • It can form dense canopies and understorey mats that smother and displace native plants and alter community structure.
  • It can climb and smother mid-storey and overstorey trees, causing trees or branches to collapse.
  • It quickly colonises tree-fall gaps and can prevent forest regeneration.
  • It is considered a serious weed on Christmas Island.

How it spreads

  • It has been spread widely by people as an ornamental vine.
  • Where naturalised, birds are suspected to eat and spread its fruit.
  • It can reproduce vegetatively and may spread by stem or root fragments, or seeds, in dumped garden waste.

Control options

  • Small infestations can be mechanically removed, but regrowth is likely in dense infestations.
  • Large-scale hand removal has been ineffective because cut stems can die back above ground and regrow from the roots.
  • Registered herbicides can be applied to foliage or by basal-bark treatment, taking care to avoid surrounding native vegetation; some non-target damage is probable.
  • Take care not to dispose of cut plants where seeds can germinate or stem fragments can take root.

Hygiene and washdown

  • Do not dump cut plants in places where seeds can germinate or stem fragments can take root.
  • Check garden waste for skunk vine material before disposal, as the plant can spread by seeds and stem or root fragments.
  • 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): No national listing. Managed under state and territory law.
  • Queensland: Not prohibited or restricted. Not listed as prohibited or restricted matter in Queensland. Everyone must also take all reasonable and practical steps to minimise its risks (the general biosecurity obligation).
  • New South Wales: Regional priority in 2 of 11 regions. Regional priority weed in Greater Sydney, North Coast. The general biosecurity duty applies: anyone dealing with it must prevent, eliminate or minimise the risk it poses.
  • Victoria: Not declared. Not declared under the Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994. Other Victorian laws may still apply.
  • South Australia: Not declared. Not declared under the Landscape South Australia Act 2019. Other laws may still apply.
  • Western Australia: Not listed. Not found in the Western Australian Organism List. Check with DPIRD before moving or keeping it.
  • Tasmania: Not declared. Not a declared weed in Tasmania. Other laws may still apply.
  • Northern Territory: Declared weed. Weeds Australia lists it as a declared weed in the NT under the Weeds Management Act 2001. Check the NT declared weeds list for its class and what it requires.
  • 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.

  • New South Wales: Biosecurity Act 2015 (NSW), administered by NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development

Sources