Life is a Garden | South Africa

Although not listed in the CARA legislation, it is listed in the NEM:BA IAP lists (due to be passed later this year) as a Category 1a plant that must be removed and destroyed by law.

In a joint campaign to self-regulate, the Working for Water Nurseries Partnership Programme (WFW NPP) - which includes representatives from the Cape Green Forum, SANA and SALI - is appealing to all growers, retailers and landscapers to destroy all specimens of snake grass sighted.

Why is snake grass a problem?

• Snake grass is growing along the banks of the Vaal River near the Emerald Casino which means that it has already ‘jumped the garden fence’ and we have missed the containment phase.

How it spreads…

• “Once it is in the ground, there is no way to control it. Snake grass spreads from a single underground rhizome. In other words, all the plants are connected. You cannot pull it out by the roots because they go down in the ground as far as a metre,” says a landscaper. “It will take over any garden or lawn.”
• The root system goes straight down and then spreads horizontally. “I've seen infestations where plants as far as 15m apart were connected underground,” says a landscaper.
• When the plant is broken (if you attempt to pull it out) it then splits and branches out from that spot.
• An ability to grow from prunings also means that snake grass easily ‘jumps out of a garden container’ – usually within 24 months of planting.

A danger to livestock…

• Snake grass contains large amounts of sharp silica crystal making it painful, if not actually life-threatening, if ingested. It has been reported to sicken cattle.

Where does it come from…

• Indigenous to Eurasia and North America, Equisetum hyemale is most commonly found in wet places, including pond margins, swamps, floodplains and ditches across the northern hemisphere.
• Considered a biblical plant, Equisetum hyemale was historically used for scouring metal or "sanding" wood and is commonly known as the scouring rush, Dutch rush or horsetail in Eurasia or Northern America. It is only in South Africa where the plant is known commonly as snake grass.
• The scouring rushes are ancient plants that were dominant in the latter part of the Paleozoic Era (360-250 million years ago). As such, they are regarded as, living relics from an age millions of years before the dinosaurs existed.

Where else is it a problem…

• Equistum hyemale is listed on Australia’s National Environmental Alert List (http://www.weeds.gov.au/weeds/lists/alert.html)

For more information, contact Kay at Working for Water Nurseries Partnership Programme on 011 723 9000