https://emsenn.net/tags/colonialbotany/ Recent content in ColonialBotany on emsenn.net Hugo en-us Thu, 02 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://emsenn.net/library/domains/science/domains/biology/domains/ecology/texts/japanese-knotweed-invasion/ Thu, 02 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://emsenn.net/library/domains/science/domains/biology/domains/ecology/texts/japanese-knotweed-invasion/ <p>In 1847, the Society of Agriculture and Horticulture at Utrecht awarded a gold medal to a plant recently arrived from Japan — &ldquo;the most interesting ornamental plant of the year.&rdquo; The plant was <em>Reynoutria japonica</em>, Japanese knotweed. Within 150 years, the same species would be listed among the world&rsquo;s 100 worst invasive alien species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, would be the subject of dedicated legislation in multiple countries, and would cost the British economy an estimated £166 million annually in control and property devaluation.</p>