Heather

Heather is a bushy evergreen, perennial shrub approximately 50cm tall. It is a common flowering plant for gardens that quickly becomes weedy in New Zealand conditions.

Description

• Stems are woody and pliable with densely hairy young shoots becoming hairless on maturity.

• Leaves are dark green-brown, small, stalkless and arranged in four vertical rows.

• Flowers are small, purple/pink, bell-shaped on narrow, elongated, upright clusters produced from December – March.

• Tiny, round, hairy seed capsules dispersed by wind and animals.

• Habitats include grassland, tussock, shrublands.

What you need to know

Heather forms dense thickets and outcompetes native vegetation. It alters resource availability and habitat structure, reducing native invertebrate diversity, reducing cover of preferred food plants and lowering pasture productivity.

Management approach

Heather is declared an unwanted organism by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) because it is capable of causing harm to the natural environment, physical resources or human health in Aotearoa/New Zealand.

These species pose a high risk to our environment, economy, recreation, and cultural values.

Rules

Any species declared a pest, including unwanted organisms, cannot be sold or be in a place where plants are being sold. Pest plants cannot be propagated, bred, or multiplied, communicated, released, or cause to be released, or otherwise spread.

Control

Do not attempt to undertake control of heather yourself. Report any sightings to us.