Flaming bursts of colour
As the above photograph illustrates, this plant is well named. Its bright red flowers show up distinctly throughout our native bush reserves in late summer. They certainly look like tongues of flame curling upwards through the native foliage.
Originally, this flame creeper was an escape from someone’s garden and was recorded as naturalised in 1958. It came originally from the rain forests of Chile. At present in New Zealand there are scattered populations in the North Island and what are described as flourishing populations in the south, particularly in Southland.
Environment Southland lists the Chilean flame creeper in its ‘‘total control’’ section and describes it as an ‘‘environmentally sinister’’ plant that puts ecological values at risk.
This creeper can suppress and replace native species by shading and smothering. It’s a serious pest plant and the aim is to eradicate it completely.
After flowering, the Chilean flame creeper produces clusters of small dark blue fruit, which is attractive to birds with the result that the seed is spread over a wide area. Young plants are hard to detect and for a time can grow unnoticed. Tuberous roots form and even if these are pulled out small fragments that are left in the ground sprout readily and the invasion can continue. Stems that touch the ground can also take root readily and so control requires that the whole plant be removed and destroyed.
In some areas chemical spraying may be an option but it is usually impossible to spray the Chilean flame creeper and avoid damaging the native species on which the creeper is growing.
Invasions of this pest plant should be reported to the local environmental authority.