south american

The South American pest plant, coral cactus, is consolidating its spiky foothold in the region and stands an even greater chance of spreading after ideal rain.

Coral cactus plant thriving in Mitchell grass country

This wickedly quilled garden escapee may be relatively unknown but, according to Brett Carlsson, that will all change if we don’t get on top of the problem before it gets out of hand.

Brett is a project officer with the Longreach-based Desert Channels Queensland and he deals with pest plants and animals. He says that coral cactus (Opuntia cylindrical) is like a lot of pest species, quietly adapting to local conditions and waiting for the opportunity to colonise.

“You’ve only got to look at the athel pine in central Australia ,’ says Brett.  “It was there for about 40 years and never spread away from around homesteads and then suddenly it got the right conditions and, whoosh, it colonised about 600 kilometres of the Finke River before people could clear their heads."

“We can’t afford to let that happen with another plant so it’s really important that we get on top of the coral cactus outbreaks in the region.”

According to Brett Carlsson, coral cactus infestations pose a significant threat to our region.  “It’s difficult to kill, spreads easily, has no natural predator, and is potentially devastating to our native flora,” he says.

“This is why DCQ assists landholders to take a preventative approach to manage the problem.

“If landholders know of any infestations, big or small, they can give me a call on 4652 7823 to discuss current funding and control options.”

As well as coral cactus, other species of cactus established in the region are: common prickly pear (Opuntia stricta); wheel cactus (Opuntia robusta); tree pear (Opuntia vulgaris); tiger pear (Opuntia aurantiaca); devils rope pear (Opuntia imbricate); snake cactus (Harrisia spp).

Brett Carlsson says the team at DCQ is keen to assist landholders to manage all aspects of our natural resources to be more productive, our landscapes more attractive and to ensure our kids have a future in this region.

Infestation of Devil's Rope Pear near Longreach

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