Weed Identification: Sweet Pittosporum

Despite being native to Eastern Victoria, Sweet Pittosporum (Pittosporum undulatum) is considered a weed on the Mornington Peninsula and is regularly managed. It is a tree that can grow to five metres tall with a dense canopy cover that shades the ground and drops lots of leaves. A chemical inhibitor in the leaves prevents Indigenous plants from growing beneath. Sweet Pittosporum can be identified by its glossy dark green opposite facing leaves that are paler underneath with an undulating edge. It also has creamy white flowers and orange to green grape sized berries.

To manage Sweet Pittosporum, you can either cut the plant at the base as close to the soil as possible and apply a registered herbicide or manually pull the plant out roots and all. When removing any weed by hand it is important to attempt to cause minimal disturbance to the soil to reduce the spread of other weeds. Sweet Pittosporum is particularly hardy, so it is important to achieve good herbicide coverage when cutting and painting. They can also continue growing once manually removed so it is important to ensure the roots are not left touching the ground if removing saplings. Sweet Pittosporum has an indigenous lookalike; Muttonwood (Myrsine howittiana), which has crinkle edged & pointed leaves, and blue- purple coloured fruit. Compared to the smooth Sweet Pittosporum leaves & orange/green berries. If you have Sweet Pittosporum growing on your property and would like to replace it with an Indigenous alternative, we recommend Muttonwood (Myrsine howittiana) and Common Cassinia (Cassinia aculeata). The Shire Nurseries are a great place to buy Indigenous plants to fill your gardens with.