Weed Identification

Australia > NSW > NSW North Coast (IBRA) > Cat's Claw Creeper

Cat's Claw Creeper

Macfadyena unguis-cati

Family: Bignoniaceae.

Form: Vine

Origin: Native to Brazil and Argentina.

Flowers/Seedhead: Flowers: Yellow with orange lines in the tube. Flowers in spring.

Description: Woody climber with stems extending for 20 m or more. Plants have tubers and adventitious roots (roots arising from the shoots). Leaves comprise two egg-shaped to elliptic leaflets.

Distinguishing features: Distinguished by showy yellow flowers, winged seeds 2–4 cm long in a capsule 15–45 cm long, terminal leaflets modified into a 3-clawed tendril, and swollen underground tubers.

Dispersal: Seeds carried by water and to a lesser extent by strong wind.


Flowers, capsules & leaves
photo J.J. Dellow

Notes: Garden escape, now widespread and common in coastal summer rainfall areas, north from Sydney. Commonly used in gardens to cover trellises and fences. Serious weed that will smother large trees and shrubs. Especially troublesome along coastal and hinterland streams in Queensland and northern NSW.

References:

    Reference: Flora of NSW. G. Harden (ed), Vol. 3, 1992, page 540.

Web References: Search Australian web sites for further information on this weed.

Vine overgrowing a tree
Underground tuber
Arrow points to tendrils
shaped like a cat's claw

This weed has been included in the WEEDeck field guide as card V05.
More information about WEEDeck is available from Sainty & Associates Pty. Ltd.

It has also been included in the 'Jumping the Garden Fence' report (WWF-Australia PDF - 1.19mb) which examines the impact of invasive garden plants on Australian agricultural land and natural ecosystems.

 

Australia > NSW > NSW North Coast (IBRA) > Cat's Claw Creeper

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