Dr Sophie Hawking is an ecologist and botanist at Swansea University. She has a special interest in invasive plants, including Japanese knotweed. The plant's rhizomes are essentially very well adapted stems that grow under the ground. They act as a battery - providing energy for the plant to keep growing year on year.
Since it was introduced to the UK in 1850, Japanese knotweed has gone from novel ornamental plant to rampant invasive species. Madeleine Finlay speaks to journalist Samanth Subramanian about the huge costs associated with finding it on a property, and Dr Sophie Hocking explains what the plant, and our attempts to control it, might be doing to the environment.. Help support our independent journalism at
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