Rubber vine, Cryptostegia grandiflora, is a very serious weed of pasture and riverine ecosystems in north Queensland which is continuing to spread west towards the Northern Territory and Western Australia. In the open, it forms bushes up to 3 m tall, but also grows as a vine up trees, completely covering them up to 30 m in height. Because of its dense foliage, only shed during the dry season, no light reaches the understorey plants which also die. All native vegetation dies in affected riverine ecosystems, and the native animals may also disappear as a consequence. In 1989 rubber vine affected 350 000 km² in north Queensland and was rated as Australia's worst environmental weed (Humphries et al. 1991).

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