(Also known as Goldflower)
Hypericum androsaemum and Hypericum kouytchense (syn.H. x moserianum)
Family: Clusiaceae
Type of weed: Woody weed
Flower colour(s): Yellow
Priority Weed Local Priority Weed. (See more weeds of the Local Priority Weed class.)
Flowering Months: January, February, December
Description
A semi-evergreen shrub to 1.5 m tall. Stems are reddish and soft wooded, sometimes arching.
Leaves are stalkless, green on the upper surface, paler greyish-green below some turning red during autumn. When crushed, leaves have a slight curry-like aroma.
Yellow flowers form in clusters on branch tips during summer.
Fruit contains many oval shaped brown seeds. Hypericum androsaemum has a fleshy, berry-like fruit that turns red in autumn. The fruit of Hypericum kouytchense is a dry capsule.
Tutsan is related to St John’s Wort which contains the toxin hypericin which causes photosensitisation in sheep, cattle, horses and goats.
Don’t confuse with…
Juvenile plants could be confused with the native Melaleuca hypericifolia.
Before plants become woody and erect, the Hypericum kouytchense can look like a juvenile eucalypt.
Dispersal
Tutsan seeds are produced in large numbers and are spread by birds, foxes, water and through soil and vehicles.
Impact on bushland
Tutsan occurs on forest edges and is rated a very serious threat to native vegetation in damp and wet sclerophyll forest, riparian vegetation, warm temperate rainforest and cool temperate rainforest.
It forms dense thickets that smother and shade out native vegetation, including those forming the ground layer and smaller shrubs and prevents the regeneration of native plant species.
Hypericum kouytchense is frequently found in swamps and both species occur along creekline edges in the Upper and Mid Mountains.
Distribution
Lower Blue Mountains, Upper Blue Mountains. Mt Victoria to Hazelbrook and Mt Wilson, Mt Irvine and Mt Tomah
Alternative planting
Native plants
Alternative plantings to hold soils on creekbanks or stormwater drainage lines include ferns, sedges or rushes such as:
- Fishbone Water Fern (Blechnum nudum)
- Prickly Rasp Fern (Doodia aspera)
- Common Ground Fern (Calochlaena dubia)
- Broad Rush (Juncus planifolius)
- Common Rush (Juncus usitatus)
- Tall Sedge (Carex appressa)
In drier areas plant Correa spp.
Council provides a tool, on its Mountain Landscapes website, to help you choose native alternative plantings. Choose your village, soil, vegetation community and the purpose of your planting, and the tool will give you suggestions.
There are native nurseries in several Blue Mountains villages, including Glenbrook, Lawson and Katoomba. Please also ask at your favourite local nursery.
Control
- Hand remove
- Remove flowers, fruit, pods or seeds
- Spray
- Scrape and paint
- Cut and paint
Manual control
Hand remove
Grasp stem at ground level. Rock weed backwards and forwards to loosen roots, then pull out gently. Carefully tap the roots to dislodge attached soil. Replace disturbed soil and pat down.
Considerations
- Leave weeds so that roots do not make contact with soil; on a rock, for instance. A small amount of debris may be hung in a tree or removed from the site.
- Vary the position of your body to avoid fatigue when removing plants by hand over extended periods.
Remove seeds, pods or fruit
Gently remove any seeds, pods or fruit and carefully place in a bag.
Chemical control
Note: Herbicides that may be used for this weed include Glyphosate.
Spraying
Please consult the Herbicide page of this website to help you decide whether to spray, how to do it safely and more.
Scrape and paint
With a knife, scrape up to a metre of the stem to reach the layer below the bark/outer layer. Immediately apply herbicide along the length of the scrape.
Considerations
- A maximum of half the stem diameter should be scraped. Do not ringbark.
- Larger stems (over 1 cm in diameter) should have two scrapes opposite each other.
Cut and paint
Useful for small to medium sized woody weeds up to 10 cm in diameter.
Make a horizontal cut as close to the ground as possible with secateurs or loppers, and immediately apply concentrated Glyphosate to the exposed stump surface. Do not allow the surface to get covered with soil.
Specific control tips for this weed
- Seedlings can be hand pulled if all the roots can be removed. Use a trowel or knife to loosen the soil first.
- More established plants will need to be cut and painted using herbicide. As the plant can layer, particularly in swampy areas, scrape and paint may be required; however, this needs to be applied with great care to avoid spreading the herbicide.
- Dense seedling beds can be sprayed with herbicide, depending on the presence of native groundcovers, shrubs or grasses. Clear weed material from around native plants before spraying. Avoid using herbicide in winter when Tutsan is semi-dormant.
- Do not spray plants in creeklines and swamps.
Berries are spread by birds, so treat the plants before they fruit. Dispose of the berries or capsules. Cut parts of the plant can be spread out to dry off the ground.
For key points on these techniques:
Local Priority Weed
Control measures:
- The plant should be fully and continuously suppressed and destroyed.
- Plants under 4 metres in height should be fully and continuously suppressed and destroyed.
- The spread of this plant should be adequately contained to prevent spread impacting on priority assets. Weed notices will only be issued for these weeds under special circumstances.
