Britain Turns to an Insect to Get Rid of an Invasive Plant

By ⋅ July 6, 2012 ⋅ Post a comment
A locomotive overgrown by knotweed. (Photo: Jaap Tamminga/Wikipedia)

A locomotive overgrown by knotweed. (Photo: Jaap Tamminga/Wikipedia)

In every garden there are weeds. Normally, you’d think of weeds as just plants where you don’t want them, but for the Geo Quiz, we want you to identify the country that produced an invasive plant that’s spread to Britain’s four corners.

It’s tough enough to break pavement and concrete. And nearly 100 years ago it was a prized plant in the gardens of stately homes, but try to get rid of it and you’ve got problems. This Asian plant is usually found near volcanoes in its home country. Its full name gives us the answer, but if you’re a gardener, the second half of its name, ‘knotweed,’ should be the biggest clue of all.

Japan is the answer to the Geo Quiz and the plant is called the Japanese knotweed. British scientists have a plan to get rid of it, but rather than turn to a native species, they are turning to an insect, which is fussy enough to only eat that plant. It’s from the plant’s native country: Japan.

The insect, called ‘Aphalara itadori’, is being brought into the United Kingdom to counter the destructive Japanese knotweed. Host Marco Werman talks to Dr. Dick Shaw, lead researcher for the project from the Oxford-based Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux International.


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Discussion

2 comments for “Britain Turns to an Insect to Get Rid of an Invasive Plant”

  • Emmy_G

    It’s a pity that Japanese knotweed is so invasive. As discussed by Euell Gibbons and others, the plant is also tasty and nutritious. It’s a good source of a number of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, other vitamins and minerals, and of resveratrol! The growing tips of the plants are tart can be cooked as a vegetable; the very sour stems can be peeled and used in pies, like rhubarb.
    One should not eat vast quantities of Japanese knotweed because, like rhubarb, it contains oxalic acid; people who need to avoid oxalic acid should avoid knotweed. Also, it has a slight laxative effect.
    Nonetheless, when used in moderation this can be a useful and nutritious plant. If research continues to support the early very positive reports about resveratrol, perhaps the substance could be extracted from the abundant Japanese knotweed. So in addition to trying to control the plant, we could also focus on harvesting it.

  • http://www.tpknotweed.com/ TP Knotweed

    Wow, invasion starts from here only , Japanese knot weed had many benefit..and negative thing also we have to actually decided to take that into a proper manner.