View source for Japanese Knotweed

==Description of Artifact==

'''Japanese Knotweed.''' (''Fallopia japonica''). Full plant specimen with rhizomes. Dried. Collected banks of the White River, White River Jct., Vermont. 2004. Difficult to kill. 

 fl;1886;04;di

==Overview==

The rhizomes associated with its root systems are not effected by most commercially available herbicides. The plant spread from the Hancock property in Cornwall, England, into a neighboring yard, causing the value of the invaded property to decrease. (Ref: Conolly, A.P. (1977) “The distribution and history in the British Isles of some alien species of Polygonum and Reynoutria”. ''Watsonia.'' 11:291-311.)

==Historical Context==

Nursery gardens in Cornwall and County of Swansea in South Wales, in the 19th century, are likely to have been important early source of plant specimens. The earliest recorded naturalization was in 1886 at Maesteg near Swansea. 

In East Cornwall, the plant has been known since the 1930’s as Hancock’s Curse, infestation of which having reduced property values in the area. Naturalists say that ''emodin'' from the plants root system can be extracted and used as a laxative. Honey harvested from it is commonly called “bamboo honey”.  

==References==

MM intern research project. 2008. 

http://lboro.ac.uk/research/cens/invasives/6emapi_oral_abs.htm

http://knottybits.com/Knotweed/CommonScientificKnotweed.htm

[[category:Flora]]
[[category:Invasive and Non-Invasive Species of White River Junction]]