Japanese knotweed
Noun
Meaning
Japanese knotweed (uncountable)
A large, herbaceous perennial plant, Fallopia japonica, native to Asia; it is a highly invasive colonizer outside of its native territory.
Examples
He also introduced Japanese knotweed ( Fallopia japonica ), which has become a highly invasive weed in Europe and North America. citation All derive from a single female plant collected by Siebold.
Following earlier studies imported Japanese knotweed psyllid insects ( Aphalara itadori ), whose only food source is Japanese knotweed, were released at a number of sites in Britain in a study running from 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2014.
In some cases, it is possible to eradicate Japanese knotweed in one growing season using only herbicides.
It is an offence under section 14(2) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to "plant or otherwise cause to grow in the wild" any plant listed in Schedule nine, Part II to the Act, which includes Japanese knotweed.
Many large supplement sources of resveratrol now use Japanese knotweed and use its scientific name in the supplement labels.
On a similar note, Japanese knotweed is also sometimes mistaken for a bamboo, but it grows wild and is considered an invasive species.