Flickweed

Flickweed (also known as common bittercress) is a low-growing winter annual broadleaf weed. It forms a basal rosette of pinnate (compound) leaves made up of several rounded to kidney-shaped leaflets, dark green in colour, with a slightly hairy texture on the leaf stalks and margins. From this rosette, slender flowering stems rise 10-30 cm, bearing small white four-petalled flowers only a few millimetres across, typical of the Brassicaceae family.

After flowering, the plant produces narrow, upright seed pods (siliques) around 2-3 cm long. These pods are the most distinctive feature of the species: when mature and disturbed, they split explosively, flicking seed up to a metre or more from the parent plant. This mechanism gives the weed its common name and allows rapid spread within nursery beds, potted stock and garden displays.

Flickweed is widespread across the cooler and temperate regions of Australia, germinating in autumn and winter and completing its life cycle through to seed set in spring. It thrives in moist, disturbed soils and is commonly found in nursery growing media, garden beds, turf edges, pathways and disturbed or bare ground. Its shallow, fibrous root system allows it to establish readily in containers and open potting mix.

Because a single plant can produce large numbers of seeds and disperse them explosively over a short period, control relies on preventing seed set. Regular monitoring and removal of young rosettes before flowering, good hygiene practices (weed-free potting media, clean stock and equipment), and maintaining dense, competitive plantings or turf cover all help suppress establishment. Herbicide options exist for pre- and post-emergent control in various production and landscape situations; timing before pod formation is critical to reduce reinfestation.