Earlier this week, as Roy and I were driving through the country side around Canberra, Roy was really taken with the beautiful carpet of purple growing on the hills. It was really beautiful, providing a thick, lush covering of purple flowers and absolutely covering the countryside. Of course, with the flower being so pretty and so prolific, especially after the recent rain, Roy wanted to know what it was, and whether we could grow it in our garden, so when I told him it was a weed which had caused massive trouble in Australia, he was rather shocked. He decided that, since he hadn't known about Paterson's Curse, he would like to learn more and share what he discovered with his friends.
Paterson's Curse, also known as Salvation Jane, is one of Australia's most troublesome pasture weeds and has become 'naturalised' in NSW, Victoria, South Australia, Queensland and Western Australia. Although apiarists (bee keepers) find it a very useful resource, using the honey the bees make from it to blend other honeys, or selling it as 'bluebell' honey, for farmers Paterson's Curse is exactly what its name suggests, a curse. It has lots of nutrients which are good for animals, but also contains a certain chemical which can be poisonous, making the animals sick, reducing the wool crop from sheep and sometimes even killing the animals.
So, if Paterson's Curse is such a problem, why was it introduced to Australia in the first place? The simple answer is that the flower is really very beautiful, and it was probably introduced as a garden plant. Paterson's Curse comes from the Mediterranean where it is a flowering Winter annual. In the Mediterranean it had many competing plants and also pests which kept the plant under control, but when it came to Australia it had none of these and soon escaped gardens to take over the countryside. Having a very long taproot Paterson's Curse can survive drought, and with its wide rosette style of leaf it smothers other plants, meaning it can quickly take over. On top of this, it produces thousands of seeds, which wait for the first rains and then quickly begin to grow, carpeting the countryside and beginning the whole problematic cycle again.
We don't know exactly who first bought Paterson's Curse to Australia, but we do know why it is called Paterson's Curse. Originally, it was called Salvation Jane, and it is still known by that name in South Australia where it was first introduced to Australia in about 1875. It's name changed to Paterson's Curse when the Patterson Family became involved in the history of the plant. The Patterson's were, apparently, moving from Melbourne to Cumberoona (NSW). On the way to their new property, a station (farm) on the Murray River, Mrs Patterson saw a pretty purple flower in a garden and collected some roots which she took to their new home to plant in the garden. It soon was out of control. The name itself dates to about 1888 when a Victorian Stock Inspector saw the fields of the flower on the stock reserve across the River. When he asked what the plant was he was told it was 'Patterson's Curse', as it was the stock reserve adjoining the Patterson's property. If you would like to learn more about Paterson's Curse click here or here.