Do you know who is the reincarnation of daisy immortal grass in "Dream of the Red Chamber"? It was Lin Daiyu, who was delicate and weak, and often cried with pear blossoms and rain. If Lin Daiyu, as the reincarnation of Daizhu Immortal Grass, is to repay the favor to Jia Baoyu, the attendant of the god Ying, then the "grass" we are talking about today can disregard the kindness of people to take them to a foreign country for "sightseeing", and when they land, they will begin to "take revenge for their kindness".
The image of the film and television drama "Lin Daiyu"
It turned out that in 1850, a gardening enthusiast from England brought an ornamental plant back to England. The plant, called "Japanese knotweed", belongs to the weed family Tateshina, originally as a "dotted plant" that looked vibrant, but unexpectedly became the beginning of a British nightmare, because it soon began a British invasion.
How could the "little weed" have such combat power? What exactly does Japanese knotweed do in the UK? Let's take a look!
Knotweed
Journey of the British invasion of Japanese knotweed
First of all, from the name of Japanese knotweed, it can be seen that this guy's hometown is in Japan, and the shape of knotweed does not match its name, because it looks like a "weak weed".
However, Japanese knotweed has proved with its own practical actions that it is not to look down on "weeds". This guy is not only extremely vigorous, he can take root anywhere, and he grows very fast, growing to more than 1 meter in just one month, which is too "perverted" to grow. So how did it invade Britain?
Lush knotweed
In 1850, when a gardening enthusiast named Philippe Franz von Seebo was traveling in Japan, he found that this "plant" growing around the volcano was very beautiful, so he decided to bring it back to England to be cultivated as an ornamental plant.
I have to say that this British "aesthetic" is still very online. Because the stems of Japanese knotweed are pink and dotted with many bunches of small white flowers, they look really good. However, after arriving in Britain, the "beautiful Japanese knotweed" slowly showed its terrifying side.
Knotweed landscape map
In fact, when it first entered the UK, people still liked it, because this guy is not only adaptable, but also grows very fast. In this case, many people have chosen Japanese knotweed to decorate their yards, adding a touch of green to the yard.
However, what people did not expect was that its root system was very developed, reaching several meters, which affected the growth of other plants around it. In other words, Japanese knotweed began to confuse the British with its appearance, and then quietly spread its roots deep into the land and spread, secretly "crowding out" other native plants.
Knotweed root system is very stout
In addition, Japanese knotweed is really a "small strong" existence in the plant kingdom, why do you say so? Because it often performs "corpse deception", it is often impossible to pull out all its roots when people uproot it, in this case, some of the roots remaining in the soil will reappear at a later date, so that the British people will once again experience the nightmare.
Many people may not understand why the British and Japanese knotweed have come to the point of "looking at each other", after all, it seems to be good as an ornamental plant. This has to mention the killer skill of Japanese knotweed, that is, its "penetrating ability".
The knotweed root system is very developed and difficult to eradicate
It turns out that no matter whether you are a road, a cement board or a floor tile, Japanese knotweed can rely on the will of "decisive battle to the end" to "penetrate" it. But wherever there is a gap, it can be drilled out, and as the branches grow, the Japanese knotweed will continue to "widen" the original narrow gap, causing the destruction of various buildings and public facilities. After all, this continuous expansion of cracks is bound to affect the overall stability of the building.
Knotweed spreads and grows, affecting residents' homes
Relevant information shows that a British couple who own a four-bedroom house have complained about the japanese knotweed invasion of the house, their house was originally estimated at 305,000 pounds, after the Japanese knotweed invasion, it directly plummeted to 50,000 pounds.
Of course, the British-style invasion of Japanese knotweed had far more effects than that. Their ability to take root in various places has made the species native to The United Kingdom miserable. As we said earlier, the root growth of this guy will hinder other plants, and in addition to doing evil underground, it will also do evil on the ground after it develops.
Unusually lush knotweed
As you can see from the pictures, the Japanese knotweed growing in pieces is very tall and can easily block the sunlight, in this case, the survival of many animals in the Uk has also been affected.
So what did the British do against the Japanese knotweed that had been invading for years? Is it just that they were allowed to "act arbitrarily" in Britain?
Lush knotweed
The British had a headache for Japanese knotweed
In fact, when the British sensed that Japanese knotweed was affecting the local ecology, it had already begun to take preventive measures against it. The simplest and most brutal way is to directly uproot it, but as we said in the previous article, this guy's roots are not only deeply rooted, but also have many collaterals.
So in the first few years of the implementation of "cutting grass and rooting" in the United Kingdom, it is true that Japanese knotweed was rarely seen, but it was not long before they reappeared and quickly formed the "knotweed family", as if to say to the Britons who worked hard to weed: "Didn't expect it? I'm alive again! ”
Take measures to crack down on pesticides to "cut off the tiger and remove the roots"
In this case, the British began to study how to completely eliminate the Japanese knotweed. In the process of prevention and control, not only have we tried to "burn with fire" but also developed various pesticides, but the final outcome is not optimistic. And this kind of prevention and control method will cause serious damage to the land, so not only did it not eliminate the Japanese knotweed, but eventually it also ruined the land into a mess, which is simply "losing the lady and folding the soldiers".
After trying a variety of control methods, British scientists decided to go to the hometown of Japanese knotweed to find its "natural enemy" and sanction it with biological control methods. Indeed, don't look at the Japanese knotweed in the United Kingdom, in fact, there is no threat in Japan.
The reason for this is that in Japan there is an insect called wood lice, which likes to lie on the body of knotweed and suck the juice, under which the growth vitality of Japanese knotweed is not so vigorous. And according to observation, the wood lice will "suck" japanese knotweed while "lowering the cubs" on it, so a knotweed may not face a wood lice, but the entire wood lice family.
Wood lice suck leaf branches
The United Kingdom soon "obtained the true scripture of control" and introduced the pyllids into the country, and from the relevant information, the British use of insects to control invasive plants should be the "first in Europe". It is believed that with the introduction of wood lice, the British Japanese knotweed can be somewhat reduced.
Dick Shaw, chief scientist in the UK, said: "Since biological control agents have never been released against invasive plants in Europe, the implementation of the programme should be very cautious and well considered. Organisms used for biological control must not only meet the requirements of the scientific community, but also be safe and beneficial to the environment. ”
In fact, although Japanese knotweed has become a nightmare for the British, chinese knotweed, which also belongs to the family of Tateshina, does have a very high status in the mainland, and even many people who grew up in the countryside have eaten it.
Why does Chinese knotweed have such a high status?
Knotweed is very popular in China
Knotweed has common names in China, such as sour tube rod, false three seven, soil three seven, etc., often blooming in August and not bearing fruit until September. Many people who grew up in the countryside should have seen knotweed near Tiangeng, this guy is distributed in Sichuan, Gansu, Shanxi and other places, and it is still a medicinal herb, which has the effect of clearing heat and detoxification.
Knotweed can be used as a medicinal herb
People who have eaten knotweed say that its young stems are sour and very refreshing. In some areas, in the summer, they will go to the fields to find knotweed, take it home and wash it and put it in the water to "freeze", and then make it into a cold dish to eat.
Knotweed is also used as a cold dish
Facts have proved that the mainland not only did not eliminate knotweed like the British, but because knotweed contains various pharmaceutical ingredients, it was cultivated and cultivated. However, knotweed cannot be like in the United Kingdom on the mainland, because it has many natural enemies here, such as aphids, etc., and under the suppression of these natural enemies, knotweed cannot "show its fists".