Madeira vine is my most disliked, but also my most loved, weed here in Sydney. I say this because it causes so much damage, grows quickly and spreads very easily, which is why I dislike it with such a passion, while I love it because I get immense pleasure out of removing it from the landscape.

Madeira vine belongs to the Basellaceae family consisting of perennial vines. Within this family are four genera and approximately fifteen plant species. The binomial name has the following meaning: Anredera- comes from the Spanish word enredadera, which translates to ‘climbing plant’ in English, and cordifolia which is Latin for cordate, or heart-shaped, leaves which provides a useful point in being able to identify it. Madiera vine is a native plant of South America. It thrives in sub-tropical and warm temperate climates. It prefers full sun to partial shade but can tolerate full shade. You will find it establishing on rainforest or waterway margins and, because it is able to tolerate some salt, madeira vine has the ability to grow over mangroves. It can also be found in wasteland and other disturbed areas.

The plants identification features are as follows:

• Leaves-cordate in shape, bright green, fleshy and glabrous (hairless) and can be glossy, lamina (leaf blades) are 2-15cm long and 2-5cm wide, petiole (leaf stem) is to 15mm long
• Flowers-arranged in a raceme that’s between 6cm and 30cm long, white or cream in colour, flowers are star-shaped with five petals and up to 6mm long, appear from spring to autumn, seed rarely produced
• Stems-these can reach twenty metres in length, green/red-green when young or brown in colour when older, have aerial tubers along its length
• Roots-can be thick and very fleshy and have tubers that can grow to 20cm in diameter

As of writing (2022), madiera vine is found in coastal NSW where there is plenty of summer rainfall, although it is beginning to spread into drier ares of the state. Madiera vine can grow from many of its plant parts, which is part of the reason why it is such a successful weed. It can grow from parts of the stem or leaf, as well as from the many thousands of tubers a mature plant produces. In very large infestations, there is the potential for fallen tubers to number 1500 per square metre. These tubers fall to the gound over time and remain viable for several years. This does make the job of clearing this weed seem like an impossible task (more on this later in the article). In Australia, seed is rarely produced, especially in more southern areas. The spread of madiera vine is helped along in a few ways:

• dumping of garden waste in inappropraite places
• by bird
• moving soil contamiated with plant parts to other areas
• water moving plant parts to other areas

Under Australian federal government legislation, this plant is a weed of national significance, one of several plants that are very problematic in the country. This means that the plant cannot be sold anywhere. There are several reasons why this plant is a problem:

• it smothers anything from ground covers to trees and will kill them
• due to the weight of the plant, it can cause tree branches to fall
• causes a reduction in habitat and food for native wildlife
• in NSW, it is a vine listed as a “key threatening process” for three endangered plants and three endangered ecological communities (Department for Primary Industries, NSW)
• spreads through agricultural crops

What can be done about this rather successful but unwanted plant? First and formost, do not think of it as someone else’s problem, as we can all have a positive impact on removing as much of this plant as possible.

Firstly, if you find the weed apppearing on your property, remove it. Cut any vines climbing up trees or fences close to the ground an get as much of the root out as possible. You won’t get it all out, but it’s a start. Also remove any tubers or small seedlings that you find at ground level, as this starts to remove the potential of lots of new plants. With any vines that are too high to reach, provided they have been cut from the roots, will die. Do note that any tubers on these cut vines will still be viable. The most important point to remember is that being consistent in working towards your garden being weed free will work-even going out to the the problem area once a week for ten minutes to pull out anything thing you find will clear it over time.

If you see any madiera vine out in your community (as you can with any other weedy mess) report it to the council as they may not be aware of it. Keep them accountable and ask when it will be removed by-if it isn’t removed by the said date, keep asking as they have a duty to remove it!

You can also help out by becoming a volunteer for a local bush care group or volunteer with the National Parks. While this isn’t possible for everyone, it is a valuable thing to do if you are interested and able, as you will help keep local areas of bush in better condition for local native wildlife.

• Weeds.dpi.nsw.gov.au/weeds/madieravine, accessed 18/08/2022
• Plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au, assessed 18/08/2022
• Richardson, F. J., Richardson, R.G., Shepard, R. C. H., 2016, Weeds of the South-East: An Identification Guide for Australia, 3rd Edition, Published by R.G and F.J. Richardson, Meredith, Victoria, Australia
• All photos are my own