St Johns wort
St John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum) is a serious weed of pastures, catchments, forests and national parks in high rainfall areas of southern Australia. Livestock grazing the plant can suffer from light sensitivity resulting in low productivity and sometimes death. It causes vegetable fault in wool, excludes useful plants from pasture and reduces property values.
St John’s wort can be managed by grazing strategies including sheep and sometimes goats used to control it in non-arable hill country when the plant toxins are low. Four insect species have been released as a biological control of St John’s wort.
Managing St John’s wort-infested pastures to boost production (PDF, 76KB)
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