Privets and Hay Fever

This morning I woke with my house filled with the nauseating scent of Privet everywhere.
It is overpowering on humid nights (like last night) and mornings like this morning.

The culprits are the custodians of the Railway Line (who would probably be ARTC). But also the next offenders are the non-existent Committee in charge (nobody is actually in charge) of the School Forest.

Privet is the problem.

Privet is in the same family as the Olive - a fact which only comes obvious when the little black seeds develop in a couple of months. Small birds love them, So do bowerbirds unfortunately, and so also do White-headed Pigeons which last year swarmed all over these same trees and bushes, eating the fruit, and thus spreading the seeds. Damn.

White flowers of Ligustrum sinense
The Small-leaved Privet 

Flowers and small, slightly crinkled edged leaves of Privet
Leaf margin referred to as wavy, which is good word.
It helps people trying to weed out Privet seedlings.
Because the leaf edges are
distinctively wavy when plants are very small.
http://www.iewf.org/weedid/Ligustrum_sinense.htm

This is why I get cranky about the lack of responsibility
for these plants.
They are not on railway land, but have spread from the close-by
Railway easement to the "School Forest".

The Railway line is visible on far left of this image.
The Laurence Langley Memorial Redwood Grove
 is visible in the background.

An as-yet unknown (to me) Moths which was on my fly screen
this morning.

And my first Christmas Beetle of the season.
Because Robertson does not have many Eucalypt trees
we do not get many true Christmas Beetles like this one.
Lots of annoying small Brown Beetles do occur here.

Hay Fever is directly triggered by the sweet and overpowering scent of Privet. However, technically, it is classed as an allergy. Hence runny eyes as well as sneezes and difficulty in breathing. In fact, the scientists say that the problem with Privet is a direct irritation of the sensitive mucus membranes of the nose. I'll leave that for the experts to sort out.

White-headed Pigeons back in Robbo

I wrote about the White-headed Pigeons (Columba leucomela)  (the first I had seen this season) on 19 March, when a flock of them suddenly turned up to feast on the fruit of some Privet bushes. Seeing a flock of these birds in Robertson is unusual.

This morning I saw a pair on the powerline outside my house.

White-headed pigeons
as seen from my back deck.

They are lovely birds, but although i have seen them here before, I am never sure what brings them here, as they are fruit eaters, rather than "seed" eaters. In other words, they do not walk around like Wonga Pigeons picking up dry seeds on the ground. But I have no mature, fruiting Lilly Pilllies at my property, so I am not sure what the attraction is for them.

But, heck, they are such beautiful birds, I am not complaining.

White-headed Pigeons arrive to feast on Privet seeds.

I drive past this plant several times a day, so I knew it was heavily in fruit. But the seeds are not yet ripe (they go black when ripe - but as you can see the seeds are still green.) So consider my surprise when this evening (low light conditions which explains the poor images) I came around the corner and saw at least a dozen White-headed Pigeons peering at me from this Small-leaved Privet bush (Ligustrum sinense)

White-headed Pigeons
on Small-leaved Privet

These Pigeons are a seasonal visitor to Robertson. Usually their arrival coincides with the fruiting of the local Lilly Pillies (Acmena smithii). But this year, their fruits are not yet ripe, just getting ready. But then again, so are these Privet seeds.
These Pigeons apparently like to get in early.

Female (grey head) facing camera.
Others with pure white heads are males,
But they are not co-operating.

Female flying off  (black wings visible)
Male bird's head now clearly visible.
Pure white head.

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And now for something completely different.
This is the Ladies Tresses Orchid, Spiranthes australis.
My father, who was the only male child in his family, but who had 5 sisters, was very experienced in doing "French Plaits" for his sisters. These plants remind me of his stories of plaiting his sisters' hair.

Spiranthes australis

I have written about these plants previously, That particular plant had its spiral pattern going in the opposite direction to today's specimen.

Hay Fever season is upon us.

Some of my friends in Robertson are suffering really bad "Hay Fever" at present.

As I understand this issue, it might be more of a reaction to an irritant perfume, than an actual (medical) allergic reaction which is an immune system reaction, or the milder inflammation of the eyes and nose, which is the true Hay Fever. It is nearly always an allergy to wind-borne pollens, which mostly come from grasses and some wind-pollinated plants (such as Pines and Willows). But Wikipedia states that: "An estimated 90% of hay fever sufferers are allergic to grass pollen."

 This is a common irritating grass.

Yorkshire Fog

The reason that insect pollinated plants are largely discounted as allergy-causative, is that the pollen grains of insect pollinated plants are relatively large and heavy, and so do not travel far. By contrast, the ultra-fine pollens of grass and Pines can travel around the world, on the wind.

Assorted weedy grasses beside the Railway Line in Robertson

I recommend that individuals try to work out if their "Hay Fever" is caused by true allergies to grass pollens and other wind-blown pollens which might possibly require medically supervised intervention. (Doctor's treatment).  If you feel you do need medical assistance, start by talking to your local chemist or if you feel it is more severe than I am describing, see your friendly local GP. 

On the other hand, if you are suffering an adverse reaction to a strong and moderately irritating plant perfume,  your problem is most likely to be caused by Privets and less likely, Honeysuckle. In that case, it probably does not require medically-supervised intervention. Your symptoms might respond to commercially available medications.

For irritations, rather than true allergic reactions, 

the prime suspect is the "Small-leaved Privet" (Ligustrum sinense). 

Small-leaved Privet beside Railway line

• "Some people have allergic reactions to Privet causing asthma or related breathing problems so be careful, you might make your neighbors, spouse or children sick. Also, many people consider Privet to be invasive because it produces a ton of little berries which carry seeds and will propagate very easy so don’t plant it too close to the neighbors yard or garden bed or it might take over."

• Source: Garden of Tomorrow: Ligustrum, Privet.

Leaves of Small-leaved Privet have undulating margins.

 The scent of Privet is very prominent at present, 

and may carry hundreds of metres.

The scent is very "cloying"  

tending to cause disgust or aversion through excess

"a perfume of cloying sweetness"

I cannot move around Robertson at present 

without being aware of the sickly sweet perfume of Privet.

The flowers of the Small-leaved Privet are pure white when fresh.

And then there is Honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) 

which is a genuinely sweet perfume,

but very intense and potentially irritating. 

It also grows wild in Robertson along roadside verges, 

and notably along the Railway line 

which threads its way thought the middle of the Village.

The Japanese Honeysuckle is a large-growing climber

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Hay-fever hell (again)?

Hay-fever hell - it is Privet time (again)

If you go to Bowral or Moss Vale at present, you will see large shrubs with masses of creamy heads of flowers growing all over the place. They are the Large-leaved Privet (Ligustrum lucidum) . This plant is a rampant weed in Sydney and warmer places. Here is a link to the Weed list of the Manly Council along with the list of Noxoious Weeds, and the action required of landholders. This plant is listed as a WB4 category, which means "Any existing weed must be prevented from flowering and fruiting".

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While Robertson is colder than other areas which this plant favours more, it does grow here, and it is a weed. It is closely related to the shrubbier, white flowered "Small-leaved Privet", which flowered heavily in Robertson in the first week of December.

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This plant often survives in gardens because people mistake it for a Sasanqua Camellia. Its leaves are about the same size, but lack the small serrations on the edges of the leaves which Camellias generally have. It is more olive-green in colour than the Camellia, generally.

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And of course, it never flowers like a Camellia. But if it is coming into flower now, with heads of masses of small, creamy flowers, then it sounds like it is the Privet. If so, please get rid of it.

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As with the related plant, these plants are prolific seeders, and the birds love the seeds, and they are extremely fertile. This plant has the potential to grow to the size of a large tree, in Robertson. There was one which was removed from the school grounds, beside the School of Arts, last year, which was probably 15 metres tall, and had a trunk of nearly 1 metre diameter. A large tree, by any standards. And this is a definite weed, because of its prodigious ability to reproduce. (The foregoing link is to a New Zealand Website on noxious weeds. The "Tree Privet" as they call it, is obviously as much a problem for them as it is here. It is the same plant.)

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As with the Small-leaved Privet, these plants are a real headache for allergy sufferers, (quite literally). The heavy scent plays havoc with Hay Fever sufferers, blocking their noses and making their eyes water.

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If you have any of these plants growing on your property, it is reasonable to poison them right now, before they set maybe a million seeds for next year's crop of seedlings.

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Use the hole-drilling method. With a cordless drill, make a series of 6 mm (1/4 inch) holes around the stem, just into the bark - you don't have to go far in. Then pour in concentrated Glyphosate. You can use a small hatchet to cut a series of slashed cuts into the bark. Either way, apparently it is important to apply the poison immediately (within seconds of the cut being made). As usual, take "contact" precautions with herbicides - gloves, and masks, and wash thoroughly after using chemicals.

Poison a Privet a day

Robertson is enjoying a warm day, today -with clear skies, at least in the morning, a few clouds are building... Anyway, the warm air has brought out the perfume (or is it an "overpowering, pungent scent") of Privet bushes. This is hell for asthmatics and Hay Fever sufferers.

These shrubs are prominently visible now, with masses of tiny white flowers. They grow along creeks, around roadside edges, and even spread into the rainforest. They are very invasive weeds. Generally, they are weedy shrubs, but some grow into tall trees, in Robertson.

There are 2 main types, the Small-leaved Privet, (Ligustrum sinense), and the Large-leaved Privet, (L. lucidum) which tends to grow much taller. Both are introduced plants, originally used as hedging plants, but they produce huge crops of small black berries which the birds love, especially Silvereyes (Zosterops lateralis) - those litttle green birds with a white ring mark around their eyes. In Robertson, they will also be eaten by Currawongs and Bowerbirds.

Anyway, as the plants are in flower now, and are easily spotted and identified, I recommend pulling out any small Privet bushes growing on your property (and I have not yet achieved this myself, I confess). Large plants can be cut down, and the cut painted with concentrated "RoundUp", as soon as the cut is made. Apparently it is important to paint it straight away. Really large plants are successfully killed by drilling a series of small holes (1/4 inch or 6mm) with a cordless drill, and pouring small amounts of RoundUp into the hole, if you have either a small container with a fine tip, or a little trigger pump spray, set onto "jet" (not wide spray), and just trickle some into the holes. Always were rubber gloves when dealing with herbicides.

By killing Privets now, you are saving another year's crop of seeds, and masses of potential new weeds.

A minute ago, it was raining heavily. Now it has cleared off again. That's Robertson for you.