14 Jan Mickey mouse plant
Ochna serrulata
The long tap root makes manual removal
extremely difficult and it seeds far too easily into Sydney’s bushland
Family: Ochnaceae
Origin: South Africa
Habit: A dense evergreen shrub 2-4m high with rough stems.
Bark has numerous lenticels (corky spots) protruding outwardly.
Leaves: Alternately arranged oblong to lanceolate leaves to 6cm
long, glossy green on both surfaces, slightly paler below.
Leaf margins finely serrated and often wavy, new growth is
reddish-brown in colour.
Flowers: Yellow with 5 petals in Spring-Summer. Green calyx turns red
after petals drop and fruit matures.
Fruit: Succulent green berries to 8mm across, in clusters of 4-6.
Ripen to black in Summer. Each berry contains a single seed.
Roots: Strong tap-root formed, with characteristic kink that renders
it susceptible to breaking. Will reshoot form any root stock
left in ground.
Dispersal: Seed spread by water, animals (foxes, rats & birds), humans,
contaminated soil (earthmoving equipment, car tyres etc) and
garden refuse dumping.
Control: Hand pull/dig juvenile plants. Scrape and Paint. *Hard to kill.
