---
title: Bindii
canonical: https://fernland.com.au/problem-solver/bindii/
dateModified: 2026-08-07 10:08:09
summary: "Bindii (Soliva sessilis) is a low-growing winter annual broadleaf weed found in thin turf, compacted ground and disturbed areas. Identify flat rosettes and prickly spring seed burrs, and manage plants before seeding."
type: article
keywords: [Bindii, Soliva sessilis]
---

# Bindii

> Bindii (Soliva sessilis) is a low-growing winter annual broadleaf weed found in thin turf, compacted ground and disturbed areas. Identify flat rosettes and prickly spring seed burrs, and manage plants before seeding.

*Soliva sessilis*

Bindii is a prostrate, mat-forming annual broadleaf weed that grows flat against the ground, rarely rising more than a centimetre or two above the turf canopy. Its leaves are finely divided and fern-like, bright to mid-green, arranged in a rosette that spreads outward from a central point. The plant has a shallow taproot and forms dense, low mats that can be hard to spot until the seed heads develop.

The inconspicuous flowers are small, greenish-yellow and sit tight against the crown of the plant at the base of the leaf rosette, largely hidden within the foliage. As these mature they form the characteristic seed cases, each bearing a hard, sharp spine. It is this spiny seed case, not the foliage, that causes the well-known injury to bare feet, paws and knees on lawns and sportsfields.

Bindii is a winter annual, germinating with autumn rains, growing through winter and setting seed in spring as temperatures rise. By late spring and into summer the parent plant dies off, leaving behind a bank of spiny seed in the thatch and soil that persists until the following autumn germination.

It is widespread across southern and temperate Australia, particularly in couch, kikuyu and buffalo lawns, sportsfields, parks and open turf areas where the sward is thin, weak or has bare patches allowing seedlings to establish. Poor turf density, low mowing height, compaction and drought stress all favour bindii establishment.

Management relies on maintaining dense, actively growing turf through appropriate mowing height, fertility and irrigation to compete against seedling establishment in autumn. Because the weed is an annual reliant on seed for survival, controlling plants before spring seed set is important to reduce the following season's population. Pre-emergent control in autumn targets germinating seedlings, while post-emergent options are most effective on young plants before the spiny seed cases have formed.

## How to identify

- **Prickly seed heads:** the main complaint is sharp, spiny seed cases in the turf from late spring through summer that prick bare feet, hands and knees, even though the plant itself may be barely noticeable.
- **Low, flat rosettes:** look for small, ground-hugging rosettes of finely divided, fern-like green leaves growing flat against the soil surface, often in thin or bare patches of lawn.
- **Hidden flowers:** small greenish-yellow flowers sit low in the centre of the rosette and are easy to miss until the hardened, spiky seed cases develop.
- **Field check:** part the turf canopy and run a hand flat across a suspect patch — the spines will be felt even when the low foliage is hard to see visually.
- **Lookalikes:** young bindii rosettes can be confused with onehunga weed (*Soliva* relatives) or with young cudweed seedlings, both of which also form low rosettes; onehunga weed produces similar spiny burrs, so confirm by checking for the fine, feathery leaf division typical of bindii and the timing of seed case hardening in spring.

## Registered products we stock

- [Dicamba M Selective Herbicide](https://fernland.com.au/dicamba-m-selective-herbicide/) — PCT SureFire
- [Multi Turf | Selective Herbicide](https://fernland.com.au/multi-turf-selective-herbicide/) — PCT SureFire
- [Specticle Pre-emergent Herbicide](https://fernland.com.au/specticle-pre-emergent-herbicide/) — Envu
- [Monument Liquid Turf Herbicide](https://fernland.com.au/monument-liquid-turf-herbicide/) — Syngenta
- [Buffalo - Bindii & Broadleaf Weedkiller Herbicide](https://fernland.com.au/buffalo-bindii-broadleaf-herbicide/) — PCT SureFire
- [Crab Grass & Clover Killer Selective Weedkiller](https://fernland.com.au/crab-grass-clover-killer-selective-weedkiller/) — David Grays
- [Amicide Advance 700 Selective Herbicide](https://fernland.com.au/amicide-advance-700-selective-herbicide/) — Nufarm
- [Casper Turf Herbicide](https://fernland.com.au/casper-turf-herbicide/) — Syngenta
- [Fairway Selective Herbicide](https://fernland.com.au/fairway-selective-herbicide/) — Adama
- [Destiny Selective Turf Herbicide](https://fernland.com.au/destiny-selective-turf-herbicide/) — Envu
- [Lonhro 100WG Turf Herbicide](https://fernland.com.au/lonhro-100wg-turf-herbicide/) — Colin Campbell Chemicals
- [Stature 3-Way Broadleaf Turf Herbicide](https://fernland.com.au/stature-3-way-broadleaf-turf-herbicide/) — Colin Campbell Chemicals

## Image credits

- [Photo: Harry Rose from South West Rocks, Australia, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Soliva_sessilis_plant2_(16004650667).jpg)
- [Photo: Harry Rose from South West Rocks, Australia, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Soliva_sessilis_fruit2_(16004372219).jpg)