Environment BOP is warning Tauranga gardeners about a deceptive weed that could have a disastrous impact on city plant life.
EBOP pest control officer Sara Brill says the Moth Plant is reaping havoc in Tauranga, particularly in Otumoetai.
'They climb over everything and kill trees and shrubs by smothering them.”

A picture of the Moth Plant, which EBOP pest plant officer Sara Brill is currently spreading fast in Tauranga.

She says the plant beginning to bloom with white flowers and its seeds spread very easily.
'The plant has pods which have more than 600 seeds inside and they all grow and are carried by the wind very easily.”
Sara says 90 per cent of weeds, like the Moth Plant, were cultivated by gardeners who mistake them for standard plants.
'We have done that in New Zealand for so long. In the past it was all willy-nilly and one thought it was going to be weeds.”