when was paterson's curse introduced to australia
Echium plantagineum in Australia In the 1880s, it was introduced to Australia, probably both as an accidental contaminant of pasture seed and as an ornamental plant. Reportedly, both names for the plant derive from Jane Paterson or Patterson, an early settler of the country near Albury. She brought the first seeds from Europe to beautify a garden, and then could only watch helplessly as the weed infested previously productive pastures for many miles around.