Are you planting invasive species in your wild green space?

FACT: There are 1,402 non-native plants established in the wild in Great Britain, of which 108 (8%) are stated to have a negative impact.

What UK legislation covers invasive non-native plants?

The Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981) recognised the need to control certain species of invasive plants and animals already causing a problem in the UK, listing them in Schedule 9. Originally only giant hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum) and Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica) were listed. However, in April 2010 a further 36 plants were added onto Schedule 9 (see below for a download of the list). A recent amendment to the Wildlife and Countryside Act has a new provision to ban specific plants from sale. In April 2014 a ban on sale of five of the worst invasive water plants in the UK came into force. The five species banned from sale are:

†Azolla filiculoides
†Crassula helmsii
†Hydrocotyle ranunuculoides
†Ludwigia grandiflora and L. peploides
†Myriophyllum aquaticum

FACT: It is a criminal offence to plant or cause to grow a non-native invasive species that is listed on Schedule 9 in the wild which carries penalties of up to £5,000 fine and/or 2 years imprisonment.