Curnell Cursealso know as spark, is the common name for this herb in Australia. Its botanical name is Hydrocotyle bonariensisand is commonly found in sandy soils along coastal areas.
This weed was first noticed around the coast of Venezuela on an island called Bonaria. This Australian grass is found in the coastal sand dunes and cliffs of Sydney. The grass’s thick, rounded, waxy leaves provide protection to the plant from coastal sea salt spray.
Kurnell Curse can be controlled through the use of non-selective herbicides such as Roundup (or generically known as glyphosate). However, trying to paint each Kurnell Curse leaf is very labor intensive and can inadvertently damage the desired lawn.
Note: We have noticed that when we use Dicamba, the Active Constituent present in [Kleen Lawn], to target broadleaf weeds in lawns, there is also fatal collateral damage to Kurnell Curse. Having said that, Dicamba is not registered for use in Kurnell Curse.
Dicamba can be applied to all grasses except buffalo grass (also known as St. Augustine grass in North America). Surfactants should be added to the herbicide mix to help the herbicide adhere to the weed leaf surface.
Cultural or mechanical means of removing this weed are generally unsuccessful. Mechanical weed removal does not work well and usually in most cases the weak leaf stem breaks off leaving the underground stem in the ground. It is generally a difficult plant to remove mechanically from the soil or lawn.