The Times News Article

Invasive pond plant could be killed off

Lewis Smith

A South American plant with the potential to match Japanese knotweed for invasiveness could soon be outlawed and eradicated from the countryside, say government officials.
A project to test methods of killing alien species of water primrose, Ludwigia hexapetala, has proved so successful that it is expected to be expanded.
If funding is secured and all the sites where it growing are identified, the plant could be eliminated in as little as a year.
Officials at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) are so concerned about its invasiveness that they are considering making cultivation of the species a criminal offence.
At least three species of the plant sold in Britian as an ornamental acquatic plant, are thought to have escaped into the countryside, including Ludwigia grandiflora, L. peploides, and L. hexapetala.
One native species, Hampshire purslane, Ludwigiapalustris, grows in the New Forest and is not regarded as a threat.
The plant grows at breakneck speed and can double in size in only 15 days. It can block canals and rivers and take over ponds and lakes, choking native water plants and destroying the natural ecology.
It has been found in the wild at six locations in London, Kent, Hampshire and Wales, and is estimated to be present at up to 60 sites.
Outlawing the plant would put it on the same legal footing as Japanese knotweed and a handful of other invasive plants that must not be deliberately grown or transported.
Controlling Japanese knotweed costs tens of millions of pounds a year. If tackled quickly, Ludwigia, could be eradicated for £100,000, officials said.

Wednesday 3rd January 2007

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