Curse of the Cassia

In the summer, this Cassia shrub sports sprays of attractive yellow flowers - but that is all the good that can be said of it. It is a weed. These seed pods - and there are thousands on each plant - would if left unchecked be scattered by the wind throughout the neighbourhood. The shrub reproduces and grows at a faster rate than many native plant species, and so can become dominant in an area within a few years of its establishment. The Cassia's flowers, seeds and spindly branches are of little value to native birds and animals, which tend to move away from the areas overrun by it. Had we known all this sooner, the blighter would have been uprooted long ago from our boundary line. It will be removed sometime in the next two weeks when our replanting is being done.