h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

This was an absolutely excellent entry on Japanese Knotweed. It sounds as though you have had personal experience in either having surveyed for it or tried in vain to remove it? Are you involved with a conservation body?

My human soul mate spent many hours/days surveying for it in order to map its invasive distribution. It is a major problem for native flora and fauna as you so succinctly stated here.

Congratulations on a super entry!

May the bless you!

Prideth Queen

Thank you Prideth!

You are so kind! Actually I am not part of a conservation body - just someone whose interests tend to change on a fairly regular basis. Every so often I get somewhat fascinated by something I read or notice, and after some time it develops into a H2G2 article. In this case, I became interested in local flora, and I started reading lots of stuff on invasive alien weeds. Quite quickly afterwards I began to realise that knotweed was quite common in my local area, so everywhere I went I started seeing it in abundance.

I have not been affected by knotweed, thankfully, but I have seen some scary instances of it over the past few months. There are 2 houses not too far from where I work where the stuff has covered the entire back-garden (if not posing a direct threat to the houses themselves), and I also noticed more recently that people are using very crude hedge-cutting tools to trim it down - a *bad* idea if there ever was one. I don't think that there is enough general appreciation here on its effects as yet.

I would be inclined to write another article about knotweed's even more malign brother-in-arms, the giant hogweed, but I am not so familiar with this plant.

Thanks again for your kind words

Woodpigeon

How do you do it? Turn something you've read about into an article?! Some talent!

Pruning Japanese Knotweed is, as you say, a terrible idea! Giant Hogweed is a major bugbear of all wildlife/nature conservation groups. It is even more difficult to eradicate in the sense that its sap actually burns and inflames skin. If it wasn't such a problem, you could admire its self protection methods.

I hope you go ahead and write your entry on Giant Hogweed. I'll look out for it!

Prideth

Thanks again - I wish I had more time to write more articles, as it takes some time to do one properly.

I have kept my eyes peeled for Giant Hogweed, but I have not yet definitively identified it. I heard about somebody who went on a fit of Giant Hogweed destruction a few years ago with no protection. He ended up with extensive burns all over his body, and this stuff never heals properly - .

I heard recently that a biological deterrent will soon be introduced to control its spread. Shucks, and just when I was getting interested in it!

Woodpigeon

Morning Woodpigeon

This person who went on a Giant Hogweed killing spree gives new meaning to the phrase, "Fools rush in where angels fear to tread" methinks! What an idiot!

As you said in your article on Japanese Knotweed, it can and frequently is an extremely BAD idea to bring in biological controls. I think you'll still have plenty of time to get to know the horror that is Giant Hogweed!

Prideth

"biological control" is a bit of an oxymoron, isn't it? How can you control something by using something that is inherently uncontrollable?

Woodpigeon

Here! Here! or is it Hear! Hear! I'm never sure. I totally agree with you about using something inherantly uncontrollable to try to control anything!

Prideth

Congrats on having your entry on the Front Page!

Prideth

Neat! Thanks Prideth!

Giant hogweed? That sounds like the Genesis of a song...

I was reading this article, and though "this needs a reference to kudzu..."

And I got to the end, and there was one! Way to go!

Someone in PR *insisted* I put in the reference! Seems like he/she hit the mark!

I have put an article on Giant Hogweed in Peer Review if anyone wants to take a look. It's at A2566028.