A NOXIOUS weed described as "lantana on steroids" is talking hold on the outskirts of Sydney.
An outbreak of kudzu - which has a reputation for its fearsome growth - has been found near a state forest north of Sydney, the Daily Telegraph reports.
Experts said it would have devastating effects if allowed to spread throughout the Sydney basin.
"It makes morning glory and lantana look insignificant," said Wyong Shire Council's noxious weeds officer Paul Marynissen, who found the 400sq m infestation near the base of the Ourimbah State Forest while carrying out a roadside inspection of blackberry and giant Parramatta grass.
It is only the second ever recorded discovery of the noxious super weed this far south.
"It was raining and I went up (a dirt road) and saw this plant that I'd never seen before," he said.
He managed to positively identify it back at the office.
"This weed is extremely rare in NSW, with only a few isolated patches on the North Coast," he said.
"It's like finding a cane toad."
In the US, kudzu's out-of-control growth - up to 30cm a day - has earned it various nicknames such as the "mile-a-minute vine" and "the vine that ate the South".
It is rapidly becoming a major problem in southeast Queensland but there have been only a handful of recorded outbreaks in NSW, near Bellingen and the Clarence Valley.
The outbreak at Wyong Creek is thought to have been spread by the transport of farm machinery.
In its infancy the infestation is already choking gum trees and even the existing lantana is no match.
The council plans to eradicate the infestation with spraying.
