Japanese
Knotweed (Fallopia Japonica, Renoutria
Japonica or Polygonum Cuspidatum) was first
introduced into the United Kingdom in 1825,
when it was purposely planted in Kew Gardens.
It was also later used as an ornamental
garden plant in parks and recreational
areas and as a food source for grazing
animals.
Nowadays it has spread throughout the
UK colonising roadside verges, railway
embankments, wasteland and watercourses.
The
plant grows to a mature height of three
metres, with stems similar to bamboo and
clusters of creamy white flowers appearing
late in the growing season. The woody,
dead stems persist throughout the winter
and new shoots, produced from the extensive
rhizome system, grow up amongst these the
following spring to form dense thickets.
Japanese
Knotweed causes damage to concrete structures
such as, foundations, flood defences and
roads. Not only that but it can also prevent
access to paths and land, its thick stems
attract rubbish and because it damages
the eco-system by overgrowing an area,
can cause bank erosion.
Under The Wildlife and Countryside Act
1981 Japanese Knotweed is now a controlled
species and, as such, soil contaminated
with it’s rhizomes must be disposed
of appropriately and it is an offence to
allow it to spread to other land. These
factors can mean reduced land values.
| Whose responsibility is it? |
The responsibility for the control of
Knotweed usually rests with the landowner
or tenant
of the land. The Environment Agency
and Local Authority are not obliged to
control
knotweed on behalf of others.
The rhizomes spread rapidly and can be
transferred by vehicles, footwear and
watercourses. For this reason it is
now illegal to remove soil contaminated
with
Japanese Knotweed from a site.
REC staff have extensive experience of
identifying and controlling knotweed
and all other invasive plant species and
can
help at all stages of the eradication
process:
|
Site
survey and field identification.