Why this pretty primrose is on a species hit squad’s ‘most wanted’ danger list
IT SOUNDS like something from a sci-fi movie but the Government has set up a special department called the GB Non-Native Species Secretariat to combat alien plants spreading in the countryside.
Under Section 9 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act no less than 40 non-native species of plants have been put on a hit list where it is illegal to plant them in the wild.
Offenders face a fine of up to £5,000 plus up to six months in prison.
Details of all these plants – including how to identify, report and control them – are available at nonnativespecies. org. The Royal Horticultural Society also provides information about ‘invasive non-native species’ at rhs.org.uk.
The secretariat has a ‘most wanted’ list of aliens. These include the Water Primrose (Ludwigia grandiflora). This is a South American pest that has a pretty yellow primrose-like flower but spreads rapidly clogging up waterways.
It was banned from sale in Britain as a plant in 2014 but recent sightings have been made in the South of England.