NQ DRY TROPICS WEED FREE pg . 19
MESQUITE
Prosopis glandulosa , P . pallida and P . velutina
DESCRIPTION
This is a perennial tree which grows up to 15 metres high . It is thorny and usually has a single main stem and spreading canopy . Leaves are fern-like and are dark green , but can vary to bluish-green . Each leaf has up to 4 pairs of leaf branches , with 6 to 18 pairs of leaflets on each branch . Leaves are arranged on alternate areas of the stem . Flowers are small greenish-cream and grow near the ends of the branches in wattle-like spikes which are 5 to 12 centimetres long . It flowers in autumn and winter . Seeds are 10 to 20 centimetre long pods , straight to slightly curved and smooth . When ripe the pods are straw-coloured , or purplish in some species . Each pod contains between 5 to 20 hard seeds . Habitat it is found along waterways , floodplains , roadsides and in horse paddocks . Weed characteristics can out-compete other vegetation , interfere with mustering and block access to watering places . Sparse stands will often form into impenetrable thickets . Dispersal happens when seeds are spread in the faeces of animals .
BIOSECURITY MATTER
Restricted . This species is Category 3 Restricted matter under Queensland Legislation .
HOW TO ACT
Mechanical control is most cost effective for initial removal of dense infestations . Windrowing and burning to remove the debris will allow for regeneration of natural vegetation . Cut stump or basal barking is effective for isolated established plants . Young plants can be physically removed . Foliar spraying is most effective when plant is actively growing . Control should be carried out prior to seed set with follow up monitoring and control of emergent growth important . Fire can be a valuable tool to stimulate the seed bank so seedlings can be controlled with herbicide .
TREES MESQUITES