Everyone who gardens recognises that weeds are undesirable. In gardens, in crops and in the bush they compete for space and nutrients and crowd out desirable plants. In Australia, weeds are major threats to agriculture (costing more than 4 billion dollar per year in control and lost production) and biodiversity (displacing irreplaceable native plants and animals). Most weeds entered Australia with European settlement. Between 1829 and 2006 Western Australia gained 1233 species of naturalised flowering plants (weeds). Of these, 677 species (55 per cent) are environmental weeds, recorded from natural bushland areas. The rest are weeds growing in agricultural and man-made areas, such as crops, lawns and gardens.
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