Biosecurity officers will take to the air in September to hunt down any infestations of the highly invasive Miconia weed which has spread into rainforests of north Queensland.

Helicopter surveillance has proven successful in the past after dozens of plants were spotted at El Arish and Whyanbeel in previous surveillance rounds.

Biosecurity Queensland tropical weed eradication project coordinator Mick Jeffery said the next round of helicopter surveillance would be over rainforest areas near Babinda south of Cairns.

“The slow-moving helicopter will undertake the surveillance program from September 22, depending on weather conditions,” Mr Jeffery said.

“Officers will be looking for Miconia from the air in dense rainforest areas. Once weeds have been identified, they will be marked using GPS technology.

“Field crews will then be able to go straight to the sites to remove the pest and search surrounding areas for other Miconia plants.”

Mr Jeffery said Miconia was a Class 1 declared pest plant in Queensland and was a threat to the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area, including the Daintree and Wooroonooran National Parks.

Miconia can be easily identified as it can grow as high as 15m with large leaves growing up to 70cm long.

Each leaf has three prominent veins and a purple underside and can thrive in rainforests where it can form dense thickets and grow rampantly. 

Mature plants can produce more than 100,000 fruit each year which can be eaten and spread by rainforest birds.” 

Once established in the rainforest, Miconia has the potential to replace native plants and impact on wildlife habitat. 

Plants may still be in backyards and acreages because Miconia was sold as a nursery species in the 1970s and ’80s before it became a declared weed.

Eradicating Miconia is a nationally cost shared program with the objective of seeking out and removing every last plant in Australia.