Bidibidi or piripiri
Scientific name: Acaena novae-zelandiae, A. anserinifolia
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Key characteristics
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Biology
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Impacts
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Control
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Further information
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Key characteristics
- Prostrate, perennial herb with slender, woody stems
- Leaves composed of 9-15 pairs of leaflets (pinnate leaves)
- Leaflets oblong and deeply toothed
- Flower heads spherical and comprising many segments, each with a long, hooked spike when fruiting
Diagnostic differences
- A. novae-zelandiae leaves are bright and shiny with pale-green undersides
- A. anserinifolia leaves are dull brownish-green with silvery, hairy undersides
- A. anserinifolia also has smaller flower heads.
Biology
Origin
- Both species are native to New Zealand
- A. novae-zelandiae is also found in Australia and Papua New Guinea
- It has become a weed in California, Great Britain and Ireland.
Occurrence
- Common in unimproved pastures, especially in broken hill country, and in waste places
- Found throughout New Zealand, although is less common on the West Coast of the South Island.
Life cycle
- Perennial herbs with a stoloniferous growth habit
- New plants grow from seed
- Seed dispersal is aided by the hooked spikes, which latch on to and are spread by animals.
Benefits
- A. novae-zelandiae has been used for ground cover in gardens or as a lawn substitute but more commonly a related species A. inermis purpurea is now used in this role
- It has been suggested that dried tips of young leaves of A. anserinifolia may be brewed as tea.
Impacts
Impacts on pasture
- Invasive in poor or broken pastures, limiting grass growth and pasture utilisation.
Impacts on forage crops
- Unlikely to invade cultivated or cropped land.
Impacts on stock
- The hooked seeds latch onto sheep’s wool, interfering with shearing and down grading the value of the fleece
- Likely to have a similar impact on other fleece bearing animals such as alpaca.
Control
Grazing and cultural management
- Unaffected by lax grazing or set stocking
- Mob stocking (heavy on-and-off grazing) may reduce flowering and seed set
- Improved pastures may reduce the incidence of this weed.
Chemical control
- The phenoxy herbicide 2,4-D has a label claim to control or severely suppress this weed, however, farmers in some regions say it has little impact
- Picloram based herbicides may offer greater suppression but will also severely damage clovers
- Anecdotal reports indicate glyphosate has little impact
- Effect of metsulfuron unknown.
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