Give banana passionfruit ‘the biff’

SARA BRILL, Weed Action Piroa Brynderwyn

Winter is usually a time of few flowers and chilly winds. However another invasive climbing pest, banana passionfruit, is waving its bright pink flowers in that chilly winter breeze, just asking to be found.

This is one invasive plant that is, fortunately, not too widespread in the Piroa Brynderwyns area. We really do not want it to get a hold as it has in bush in Marlborough which has a sunny climate similar to ours.

Often found on the edges of the native forest smothering vegetation and degrading the environment, birds distribute seeds further into the forest where it will establish in areas of light where trees have fallen. As with all pest plants that birds eat, they do not feed them for long so can cause periods of starvation for birds – unlike our native bush that feeds them year-round.

Banana passionfruit (Passiflora tripartita all sub-species and P. tarminiama) are not allowed to be sold, propagated or distributed in New Zealand. The much nicer black passionfruit (P. edulis) and the red flowered passionfruit (P. antioquiensis) are allowed.

Fortunately, banana passionfruit is quite easy to control. Low numbers of plants are relatively easy to pull out and the roots hung in a nearby tree to rot. For large infestations in trees it is best to use loppers or a hedge cutter to cut the stems near the ground and treat the stumps with 25 per cent solution of glyphosate (ie 25ml glyphosate with 75ml water). Small plants and those growing over unwanted trees can be sprayed with glyphosate at the label rate. Be aware that this may kill the tree it is growing over.

Ensure you protect yourself well and use nitrile gloves. This reduces the amount of herbicide required while ensuring the infestation is dead. Weed-Action can help with advice, small amounts of herbicide and loan tools to help members of the public remove infestations from their land.

Banana passionfruit is easily spotted by its elongated fruit, purple flowers, and twisty vine tendrils. PHOTO/CAROLYN LEWIS