Senegal tea, a pest, forms rounded bushes up to 1.5m tall and usually puts down roots on the edge of waterways. Photo: Supplied/Hawke's Bay Regional Council
Senegal tea, an aggressive pest plant native to South America, has been found in Hawke's Bay for the first time.
Hawke's Bay Regional Council said the plant was first identified in water samples from Te Awa Mokotūāraro | Clive River.
It said the species spread quickly, damaging environments and preventing native species from establishing, and could block drains, causing flooding.
Catchment management lead biosecurity Matt Short said the regional council was surveying waterways to work out if the plant had travelled.
"Senegal tea becomes dormant over winter and dies back to its roots, then re-sprouts in spring.
"With the plant already dying back in places, it's important we use this small window to identify the scale of the spread."
He was asking for the public's help to try and halt its spread by cleaning their gear thoroughly.
"We're asking everyone using these waterways - whether you're on a boat, a jet ski or walking on the berms - please check your gear and equipment for any weed fragments and leave them at the site, clean your gear thoroughly, then leave it out to dry before using again.
"Following the 'check, clean, dry' method provides us with the best chance to help stop the spread."
The regional council would finalise a control and management plan, with a goal of slowing the spread and removing the weed, when the survey was done.
