A Tale of Weeds and Redemption
Guest post by Dave Pratchett.
Edited, updated, proofread – Admin
Feature Image: John Tann from Sydney, Australia, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
In 2019, I joined the Goondaloo Creek Landcare site as a volunteer, soon after moving to Townsville. While tackling weeds and watering new plants opposite Tech NQ, I’d glance upstream at a rejuvenated stretch—years of hard work in bloom. Downstream, though, leucaena trees loomed, heavy with seed pods. For local Landcare, these trees spell trouble—a major foe.
Oddly, I feel a twinge of guilt for their spread. Early in my Australian career, I helped grow leucaena.
Dr. Ray Jones pioneered leucaena as cattle fodder in Australia—a gripping tale. The plant’s toxic mimosine harms ruminants unless they host a specific gut bacterium, Synergistes jonesii. Ray identified it and doggedly brought samples here. CSIROpedia: Leucaena Toxicity Solution
In the 1980s, I teamed up with Ray on trials in the Ord River Irrigation area, testing stocking rates and plant density for finishing Kimberley cattle. Despite hurdles, leucaena’s fodder value shone—we hit 1500 kg (5 head) per hectare. Research Library: Agriculture WA
I wrote then: “Leucaena seedlings struggle in dryland or irrigated settings. Hot water treatment sparks germination, but once seedlings reach two to three centimeters, growth slows, and weeds can choke them.”
No one’s boiling the seeds of leucaena now invading Northern Australia. They thrive along riverbanks and cleared land. Yet, in Queensland—including our area—cattle producers prize it as fodder. In its native South America, plus places like Indonesia and India, leucaena shines as a dryland feed, even aiding human nutrition with diverse uses. UNU Press: Leucaena Uses
Like all weeds, leucaena only vexes where it’s unwanted. It’s certainly unwelcome on our Landcare sites. I look forward to my later years here, joining Coastal Dry Tropics Landcare volunteers to curb its damage.