Weeds exhibit at Western Bay Museum, first of Project Parore installations

Dr Peter Maddison from Project Parore in front of the Weeds Weeds Weeds exhibit. Photos / Rebecca Mauger

Not all that glitters is gold.

Same goes for plants. Not all that is green is good.

Some people love flowering agapanthus, others grow Japanese honeysuckle as ornamental plants and some think morning glory makes for beautiful coverage. Not everyone knows the difference between native toetoe and its nemesis pampas.

These are weeds ... and Weeds Weeds Weeds is one of Western Bay Museum's new exhibits. It is the first in a series of Project Parore installations at the museum.

Project Parore volunteers focus on six catchment areas in Katikati where weeds have taken over from the natives, patron Dr Peter Maddison says.

The interesting thing about weeds is some are very pretty, he says.

''Montbretia is very pretty. Honeysuckle is too, that strangles everything. Ivy totally strangles and kills the other plants. Moth plant are among the worst because these pods contain more than 1000 seeds and they spread like crazy.''

Many people are surprised to learn pampas is not the native toetoe, he says.

Weeds are among the worst things to happen in our local catchment areas, Peter says, because they have taken over from the natives.

Weed seeds spread in water.

''What happens is the seeds go down the roadside drains so we have a whole train of weeds coming down.

''We want to educate people to use the right set of plants as the weeds end up in the rivers ... native plants are required to get the clean water filtering through.''

Weeds Weeds Weeds on now at Western Bay Museum.

The exhibition highlights weeds such as pampas grass from South America, moth plant from South America, agapanthus from southern Africa, montbretia from southern Africa via Europe, Japanese honeysuckle from eastern Asia, blue morning glory from the tropics, ivy from Europe, Asia, North America and brush wattle from Australia.

The aim of Project Parore is to control such weeds, to educate and re-vegetate with plants that will contribute to native wildlife and the ecosystem.

Evolution in isolation

Since separation from Gondwana, the plants and animals of New Zealand evolved largely in isolation.

This resulted in there being approximately 2500 species of flowering plants, conifers and ferns native to New Zealand.

More than 80 per cent of these are endemic — that is, found growing naturally nowhere else on Earth.

The first Māori colonisers brought 20 to 30 plants with them from Hawaiki.

Over the past 300 years, settlement by Europeans and others, have resulted in the introduction of a further 20,000 species of plants.

Of those introduced plants, there are about 250 kinds that can be regarded as seriously invasive. In attempting to restore healthy ecosystems to the northern Tauranga Harbour streams and their catchments, Project Parore will be targeting some of these weeds.
- Dr Peter Maddison