Have you seen - ragwort?

Do you have ragwort on your land? Our biosecurity team is keen to hear from anyone who has ragwort to discuss control options, to help our goal of reducing ragwort plant numbers on the Chatham Islands.

Ragwort(external link) is a member of the daisy family. It has yellow daisy-like flowers with golden yellow centres and wavy, lobed leaves which are smelly when crushed. It is primarily found in pasture but can adapt to a range of habitats including waste land, coastal areas and river systems.

Ragwort is a very tolerant plant, making it particularly weedy! It can grow in very hot to very cold temperatures, very wet to dry conditions, most soil types, and little shade.

Once established, ragwort spreads rapidly and invades clean pasture. It is poisonous to stock and can prevent new native species from establishing.

What to do if you've seen ragwort

Our biosecurity team are keen to hear from anyone who has seen ragwort on their land.

Please phone 03 305 0033 to talk to Rob or Jase, our biosecurity team. They will come out and confirm whether the plant is ragwort, and discuss next steps with you including appropriate control options.

If our team undertakes control there will be no cost to you.