Cecropia, a Latin American tree now establishing in North Queensland, has the potential to become a major weed of Australia's Wet Tropics.
 
Cecropia trees grow very quickly, fruiting within 3-5 years. They behave as weeds in their regions of origin, growing along roads and in abandoned fields. They could become very invasive in fruit orchards in Queensland.
 
Cecropia produces copious seeds which, in central America, are dispersed by a wide range of birds, bats and monkeys. The seeds are dormant in the soil and accumulate there in high densities.
 
Currently confined to a small number of sites, Cecropia is an ideal candidate for eradication.
 
See the feature article in Feral Herald 1:6, March 2004.