Japanese knotweed has friends – So correct identification is essential!

Japanese Knotweed | 11th June 2019

The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 in the spotlight.

While the focus of Invasive Weed companies such as PBA Solutions has rightly focused on the plague that is Japanese knotweed, there are many other plants listed under Schedule 9 of Section 14 the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and some of these could also be a significant liability to a property developer or even just a residential client! This Act lists out the non-native plants, aquatics and fauna that are a challenge to our native ecology.

These include some plants that you probably have in the garden such as Monbretia (Crocosmia), Japanese Rose (Rosa rugosa), Rhododendron ponticum (which I’ve seen in almost one in three gardens this spring), Cotoneaster, and Black locust (Robinia psuedoacacia). Allowing these to spread to neighbouring land is still an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

Apart from the knotweeds (of which there are several) and the species mentioned above, there are another 40 terrestrial plants on the list of ‘alien’ plants (the EU’s preferred terminology) and 18 aquatic species too. It’s a tough ask to recognise them all, especially as many are still (thankfully) quite rare. You can find a list of the terrestrial non-native plant species here. (Schedule 9 of Section 14 the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981)  If you want help to identify these plants you can use our ID My Weed service. We will be happy to confirm your suspicions or set your mind at rest.

Over the next few weeks we will be running a Picture Box Series on the most common species that you might encounter off this list. And some guidance as to what to do if you do identify an intruder.

So if you want to get up to speed on recognising Non-native Invasive Species of plants, keep an eye on our Facebook posts, and ‘like’ what you see. www.facebook.com/PBASolutions/

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