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Two-leaf Cape tulip (Moraea miniata)

Introduced from South Africa as a garden plant, Two-leaf Cape Tulip has become a significant weed across southern Australia. It is highly toxic to grazing animals and can invade pastures and native vegetation.

Key facts

Type: Weed, herb.

Native to: Southern Africa.

Established in: NSW, VIC, SA, WA.

Other names: Poison Bulb, Cape Tulip.

Best time to act: Look for flowering plants mostly in late winter and early spring, and start agricultural control programs in late summer or early autumn to encourage dormant corms to sprout.

Identification

  • This perennial herb grows from an underground corm covered in a scaly, black tunic, often with clusters of small cormils around it and in the swollen leaf bases.
  • Each plant usually has 2 to 3 flat, folded and ribbed leaves, 1 to 2 cm wide and up to 100 cm long; they often droop or trail on the ground.
  • Pink flowers grow on an erect, somewhat zig-zagged stem and have six petals with yellow bases dotted with green.
  • The flowers are 2 to 4 cm across, and each petal is 1.3 to 2.5 cm long.
  • Small green capsules turn brown as they mature; the capsules do not contain seeds.
  • Look-alike: One-leaf Cape Tulip (Moraea flaccida) has one leaf, produces seeds, and has a brown, fibrous corm covering and longer petals; it also produces bulbils in the leaf forks.
  • Look-alike: Cape Tulip (Moraea ochroleuca) is much less common and has yellow, rarely orange, flowers with broader petals.

Where it grows

In Australia it is most common in south-western Western Australia, south-eastern South Australia and western Victoria, and occurs in grazing land, dry coastal and woodland habitats, grasslands, wetlands, roadsides, parks, disturbed sites and crops.

Why it matters

  • All parts of the plant are toxic to grazing animals; poisoning can cause loss of appetite, weakness, depression, blindness, dysentery, scouring and hind-leg paralysis, and death usually occurs within 3 days.
  • In infested pastures, stock may avoid the plant, allowing it to replace desirable pasture species and reduce carrying capacity.
  • Patches can be very dense, with almost 7,000 corms per square metre recorded in some areas.
  • It invades native habitats and can impede the growth and regeneration of native ground flora.

How it spreads

  • Corms and bulbils can be moved in farm machinery and agricultural produce, and the plant may spread during paddock cultivation.
  • In Australia it apparently does not produce seeds, so spread is by vegetative means.
  • Cormils can remain dormant for up to 8 years.

Control options

  • Plan for integrated, long-term management over several years, and prioritise early treatment of new infestations and small patches.
  • In agricultural areas, begin a control program with cultivation or burning in late summer or early autumn to encourage dormant corms to sprout.
  • Dig out isolated plants and small patches, then destroy the corms and fruit by burning or immersion in boiling water.
  • For chemical control, use registered herbicides; the plant is susceptible over a longer period from corm transition to early flowering.

Hygiene and washdown

  • Wash machinery that has been used in infested areas before moving it to uninfested areas.
  • Avoid buying hay containing Two-leaf Cape Tulip.
  • 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 1 of 11 regions. Regional priority weed in North West. The general biosecurity duty applies: anyone dealing with it must prevent, eliminate or minimise the risk it poses.
  • Victoria: Regionally prohibited / regionally controlled weed (varies by region). Where it is regionally prohibited, landowners must take all reasonable steps to eradicate it on their land. 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: Declared pest (no control category). Declared pest in WA without a control category, so there is no state-wide control requirement, but movement and keeping rules can still apply.
  • Tasmania: Not declared. Not a declared weed in Tasmania. Other laws may still apply.
  • Northern Territory: Not declared. Not on the NT A to Z weed list, and Weeds Australia does not list it as declared in the NT. Check the NT declared weeds list before moving or planting it.
  • 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
  • Victoria: Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994 (Vic), administered by Agriculture Victoria
  • 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