Weed Information

• The settlers who came to NZ missed the familiar animals and plants of their homelands, so they brought some with them. The new settlers thought the native food plants were strange, so they sent home for wheat, barley and fruit trees. 'Acclimatisation Societies' were formed and brought many exotic plants and animals to New Zealand that they thought were useful or beautiful. They worked hard to help those species get established in the wild. Settlers brought plants to NZ for crops, food for livestock (e.g. pasture grasses), shelter for stock (after clearing the forest) and some plants for their gardens to remind them of home

• Some plants were introduced accidentally. Seeds of plants were brought ashore in mattress stuffing, the padding of saddles, stuck on clothing and hidden in soil around plants.
• Wars and large movements of troops and equipment (particularly during WWII) have been important pathways for weed transport around the world.

• More recently, people have introduced plants for agriculture (more exotic pasture grasses!), forestry (pine and eucalypt trees) or horticulture (all of the fruit & vegetables we eat). Many people grow plants in their gardens that are from other countries because they are interesting or pretty. Over half NZ's aquatic weeds were also introduced as ornamental plants (for fishtanks)!