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Regional council staff have raided a plant nursery to seize and destroy banned "lilly pilly" trees.
The 70 plants were taken last Friday from the Hamilton nursery following an inspection by Waikato regional council biosecurity officers.
The council said today the lilly pilly or monkey apple (Acmena smithii) was banned nationally under the national pest plant accord developed by MAF in conjunction with regional councils and the nursery and garden industry.
The nursery was aware the plant was illegal but had correctly labelled it.
Waikato regional council biosecurity manager Peter Russell said over 130 pest plants were banned by his council because they competed with pasture or could take over native ecosystems.
It is illegal under the Biosecurity Act to propagate, distribute, display or sell them.
He said the seizure would signal to other nursery owners that the regional council was serious about preventing the spread of invasive plants.
Contractors inspected all nurseries for banned plants at least annually, and had very good support for the plant pest initiative, he said.
Lilly pilly is a long-lived tree which grows up to 18 metres tall. It grows in forest and damp shrublands and has been commonly planted for shelter and as an ornamental tree.
The birds often distribute the seed in forest, where lilly pilly can out-compete native plants.
Mr Russell said one other suspicious plant -- a Chilean rhubarb -- was also taken to 'grow on' at Waikato University to help identify whether it was a banned variety.
- NZPA
Pest trees seized and destroyed
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