Cape tulip - one leaf (Moraea flaccida)

One-leaf cape tulips have pink flowers and only one leaf per plant. They are poisonous to people and animals.

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How does this weed affect you?

One-leaf cape tulips:

• can poison people and animals
• outcompete native plants
• outcompete pasture plants, significantly reducing productivity
• compete with crops.

Human poisoning

All parts of cape tulips are poisonous to people and can cause death. Symptoms of poisoning include vomiting, diarrhea and possible paralysis.

What to do if a person is poisoned:

• If the patient is unconscious, unresponsive or having difficulty breathing, dial 000 or get to the emergency section of a hospital immediately.
• If the patient is conscious and responsive, call the Poisons Information Centre on 13 11 26 or your doctor.

Livestock poisoning

All parts of the plant, fresh and dry, are toxic to grazing livestock. Poisoning has been observed in cattle, sheep, goats, horses and donkeys. Most deaths have been reported for cattle. Symptoms of poisoning include:

• loss of appetite
• diarrhea
• weakness
• blindness
• stiffness or paralysis of the hind legs

Cape tulips are not very palatable, and livestock often avoid the plants. Most poisoning occurs when livestock, with no previous exposure to the weed, are moved into heavily infested pastures.

What does it look like?

One-leaf cape tulips grow between 25 and 60 cm high. Although they are perennial plants, the above-ground parts die back in late spring. New shoots grow from underground corms and appear following autumn rain when soil temperatures are still high. Leaves develop during winter, followed by flowering and seed set in early to mid-spring. New corms begin to develop before flowers appear.

The leaf is:

• flat and ribbed
• 6-20 mm wide and up to 1 m long 
• hairless
• taller than the flowering stem.

Flowers are:

• usually orange to salmon pink (occasionally yellow) with a yellow centre
• in clusters at the end of branches
• 3–5 cm in diameter with 6 petals
• present September to October.

Fruit are:

• cylindrical capsules containing up to 150 seeds
• up to 5.5 cm long with a distinct beak 2-3 mm long
• green when young and brown when ripe
• split into 3 parts from the top when seeds are released
• not produced until plants are 2–3 years old.

Seeds are:

• brown
• irregular-shaped
• up to 2 mm long.

Stems are:

• stiff and upright
• slightly zigzagged
• branched towards the top, where flowers are formed.

Corms are:

• white and usually enclosed in a light brown fibrous covering
• 1–2.5 cm in diameter
• 1–3 new corms grow each year, above the old corm
• dormant from September to April.

Roots:

Roots are fine, fibrous and shallow.

Similar looking plants

One-leaf cape tulip looks similar to:

• Two-leaf Cape tulip (Moraea flaccida), which has 2 or 3 leaves per plant, and it produces cormils but no seeds in its fruit. The flowers are slightly smaller with green spots on the yellow centres.
• Cape tulip (Moraea collina), which is a much smaller plant (only up to 35 cm tall). It also has just one leaf and no cormils. Its capsule has a shorter beak (only 1 mm long).
• Cape tulip (Moraea ochroleuca), which also has just one leaf and no cormils. Its capsule has a shorter beak (only 1 mm long). It is up to 70 cm tall.

Where is it found?

In NSW, one-leaf cape tulips have been found growing in the Greater Sydney, North West, Murray, Riverina and South East regions.

One-leaf cape tulips are native to South Africa. They were brought to Australia in the 1840s.

What type of environment does it grow in?

One-leaf cape tulips grow in semi-arid and subtropical shrublands and are common in grazing land in southern Australia. They prefer full sun and areas with less than 600 mm of annual rainfall. They can grow in a wide range of soil types.

One-leaf cape tulips grow in:

• pastures and native grasslands
• cropping land
• open bushlands
• heathlands
• dry coastal areas
• disturbed sites such as roadsides, tracks, stock routes and fire trails.

Maps and records

• Recorded presence of Cape tulip - one leaf during property inspections (Map: Biosecurity Information System - Weeds, 2017-2026)
  These records are made by authorised officers during property inspections under the Biosecurity Act 2015. Officers record the presence of priority weeds in their council area and provide this to the NSW Department of Primary Industries. Records reflect the presence of the weed on the date of inspection.
  
  

How does it spread?

Cape tulips have been grown as ornamental garden plants. Initially, they were spread to new areas of NSW by gardeners.

Corms and seeds sprout in early autumn when temperatures are still high and there has been rain.

By seed

One-leaf cape tulip produces up to 150 seeds per capsule. Seeds are spread:

• mostly via contaminated hay and silage cut from infested paddocks
• by water and wind
• by animals that eat the plants
• by sticking to wool or hooves.

By plant parts

The corms sprout in autumn but not all corms sprout each season. Up to 60% can stay dormant. Corms can be spread:

• in hay
• in soil
• by agricultural machinery including slashers
• by earthmoving equipment.

References

Hawkins C and Lloyd S (2012) Farmnote 491: Cape tulips, Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia.

Hawkins C, Kruger E Peirce J and Rayner B (2007) Farmnote 213: Cape tulip control in pastures, Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia.

Identic Pty Ltd. and Lucid central. (2016). Environmental Weeds of Australia Fact sheet: Moraea flaccida. Retrieved 19 November 2024 from: https://keyserver.lucidcentral.org/weeds/data/media/Html/moraea_flaccida.htm

Muyt, A. (2001). Bush invaders of South-East Australia: a guide to the identification and control of environmental weeds found in South-East Australia. RG and FJ Richardson.

Parsons, W.T., & Cuthbertson, E. G. (2001). Noxious weeds of Australia. CSIRO publishing.

PlantNET (The NSW Plant Information Network System). Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust, Sydney. Retrieved:19 November 2024 from: https://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Moraea~flaccida

Scott J.K. and Morin L. (2012). Moraea flaccid Sweet – one-leaf Cape tulip and Moraea miniata Andrews – two-leaf Cape tulip. In Biological Control of Weeds in Australia. (Eds M. Julien, R. McFadyen and J. Cullen) pp 398-403, CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne.

More information

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Control

Successful weed control requires follow up after the initial efforts. This means looking for and killing new plants.

Prevention

Clean equipment, including vehicles, before moving from an infested area.

Do not buy hay from infested areas. You can request a vendor declaration form when purchasing hay to be ensure it is free of these weeds.

Physical removal

By hand

Dig out individual plants, this is easier when the soil is moist. Ensure that all the corms are dug out. Corms are more likely to detach from plants after flowering.

Cultivation

Cultivating to a depth of at least 15 cm kills most plants. This is best done when the old corm has shrivelled and the new corms have not fully developed, usually in June or July. Repeat the cultivation treatment for 4 years to kill the dormant corms in the soil.

Disposal

Seed pods and corms need to be disposed of so that they cannot grow. Contact your local council for advice on how to dispose of one-leaf cape tulip.

Chemical control

Spraying

Some herbicides are best applied during July and early August. Check the labels for best times.

Herbicide options

See Using herbicides for more information.

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2,4-D LV ester 680g/L (Estercide® Xtra)
Rate: 1.7–3.3 L/ha
Comments: Boom spray. Spray before flowering.
Withholding period: Do not graze or cut for stock food for 7 days after application.
Herbicide group: 4 (previously group I), Disruptors of plant cell growth (Auxin mimics)
Resistance risk: Moderate

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Metsulfuron-methyl 300 g/kg + Aminopyralid 375 g/kg (Various products)
Rate: 10 g/ha and always add a wetter 200 mL per 100 L of water
Comments: For pastures only. Spray at bulb exhaustion, usually during July/early August. Repeat treatments may be required. See label for suitable wetting agents.
Withholding period: Pastures - Grazing for meat production or cutting for animal feed: Do not graze for 56 days after application. See label for further details
Herbicide group: 2 (previously group B), Inhibition of acetolactate and/or acetohydroxyacid synthase (ALS, AHAS inhibitors) + 4 (previously group I), Disruptors of plant cell growth (Auxin mimics)
Resistance risk: High/Moderate

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Metsulfuron-methyl 600 g/kg (Various products)
Rate: 5 g/ha
Comments: Spray at bulb exhaustion, usually during July/early August. Repeat treatments may be required.
Withholding period: Nil (recommended not to graze for 7 days before treatment and for 7 days after treatment to allow adequate chemical uptake in target weeds).
Herbicide group: 2 (previously group B), Inhibition of acetolactate and/or acetohydroxyacid synthase (ALS, AHAS inhibitors)
Resistance risk: High

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Biosecurity duty

The content provided here is for information purposes only and is taken from the NSW Biosecurity Act 2015 and its subordinate legislation, and the Regional Strategic Weed Management Plans (published by each Local Land Services region in NSW). It describes the state and regional priorities for weeds in New South Wales, Australia.

Area	Duty
All of NSW	General Biosecurity Duty All pest plants are regulated with a general biosecurity duty to prevent, eliminate or minimise any biosecurity risk they may pose. Any person who deals with any plant, who knows (or ought to know) of any biosecurity risk, has a duty to ensure the risk is prevented, eliminated or minimised, so far as is reasonably practicable.
North West	Regional Recommended Measure* (for Regional Priority - Prevention) Land managers should mitigate the risk of the plant being introduced to their land. Land managers should eradicate the plant from the land and keep the land free of the plant. A person should not deal with the plant, where dealings include but are not limited to buying, selling, growing, moving, carrying or releasing the plant. Notify local control authority if found.
	*To see the Regional Strategic Weeds Management Plans containing demonstrated outcomes that fulfil the general biosecurity duty for this weed click here

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Reviewed 2025