River Mourne, Higgins Stream, 18 April 2020, DSC_2280
What you see in the foreground is a plant called Japanese Knotweed (Reynoutria japonica). It's an evasive non-native species which is classified as a controlled plant under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. It can easily be spread by carying some of the the plants rhizome (creeping underground stems) on the sole of your shoe. In the UK if you want to dispose of any soil contaminated with Japanese knotweed it needs to be done using a licencesed waste removal contractor in line with the current local environmental regulations, otherwise you could receive a heafty fine.
In spring, reddish-purple fleshy shoots emerge from crimson-pink buds at ground level. These grow rapidly, producing in summer, dense stands of tall bamboo-like canes which grow to 2.1m (7ft) tall. These canes have characteristic purple flecks, and produce branches from nodes along its length.
Leaves are heart or shovel-shaped and up to 14cm (5½in) in length and borne alternately (in a zig zag pattern) along the stems. The stems die back to ground level in winter, but the dry canes remain for several months or longer.
Creamy-white flower tassels produced in late summer and early autumn reach up to 15cm (6in).
River Mourne, Higgins Stream, 18 April 2020, DSC_2280
What you see in the foreground is a plant called Japanese Knotweed (Reynoutria japonica). It's an evasive non-native species which is classified as a controlled plant under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. It can easily be spread by carying some of the the plants rhizome (creeping underground stems) on the sole of your shoe. In the UK if you want to dispose of any soil contaminated with Japanese knotweed it needs to be done using a licencesed waste removal contractor in line with the current local environmental regulations, otherwise you could receive a heafty fine.
In spring, reddish-purple fleshy shoots emerge from crimson-pink buds at ground level. These grow rapidly, producing in summer, dense stands of tall bamboo-like canes which grow to 2.1m (7ft) tall. These canes have characteristic purple flecks, and produce branches from nodes along its length.
Leaves are heart or shovel-shaped and up to 14cm (5½in) in length and borne alternately (in a zig zag pattern) along the stems. The stems die back to ground level in winter, but the dry canes remain for several months or longer.
Creamy-white flower tassels produced in late summer and early autumn reach up to 15cm (6in).