Silverleaf Desmodium
Desmodium uncinatum
THIS scrambler is also known as ‘velcro weed’ because of its annoying tendency to stick to your clothes, hair and pets. This is because it is covered with tiny hairs with a hooked end.
It is madly seeding now, so if you have it at your place, you’ll definitely know about it.
It is an introduced legume plant from South America, which is used as a pasture fodder plant for cattle.
Unfortunately, it also grows just as well outside of a paddock, and can become a pest plant along roadsides, in gardens and on acreage land.
It is distinguished from its cousin, Greenleaf Desmodium, by having a sliver splash of colour on the leaf – so hence the name.
Being a legume, it has a good taproot, so hand removal means removing as much of the root as possible.
It can be sprayed with an appropriate broadleaf weed killer, such as Kamba-M.
Or buy a cow.
Make sure you take all the seeds off your clothes and put them in a bag and in the bin; otherwise you’ll just spread it around your block even more.