TDA 137 Banned Plants
Tree Damage Alert No 137
20th May 2010
Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 – Amendments to Schedule 9
Mainly Plants
Tree Damage Alert 122 issued in January 2008 drew attention to and encouraged readers’ participation in a consultation process that proposed a number of non-native plant species be added to schedule 9 part II of the Wildlife and Countryside Act (applies to England and Wales only). A ban on the sale of some of the invasive non-native species was also proposed. These proposals reflected concerns about the ability of certain non-native plant species to invade and compete with native species of flora and fauna.
Following the consultation process amendments to schedule 9 came into force on the 6th April 2010 and they include 36 plant species.
The plants added to the schedule are:
Few flowered leek Allium paradoxum
Floating pennywort Hydrocotyle ranunculoides
Three cornered garlic Allium triquetrum
Himalayan balsam Impatiens glandulifera
Water fern Azolla filiculoides
Curly waterweed Lagarosiphon major
Carolina water-shield Cabomba caroliniana
Varigated yellow archangel Lamiastrum galeodbolon subsp. argentatum
Hottentot fig Carpobrotus edulis
Water primrose Ludwigia grandiflora
Hollyberry Cotoneaster Cotoneaster bullatus
Floating water primrose Ludwigia peploides
Cotoneaster Cotoneaster horizontalis
Entire-leaved Cotoneaster Cotoneaster integrifolius
Parrots feather Myriophyllum aquaticum
Small-leaved Cotoneaster Cotoneaster microphyllus
False virginia creeper Parthenocissus inserta
Himalayan Cotoneaster Cotoneaster simonsii
Virginia creeper Parthenocissus quinquefolia
Crocosmia x crocosmiiflora
Water lettuce Pistia stratiotes
New Zealand pygmyweed Crassula helmsii
Yellow azalea Rhododendron luteum
Purple dewplant Disphyma crassifolium
Rhododendron Rhododendron ponticum
Water hyacinth Eichornia crassipes
Rhododendron Rhododendron ponticum x Rhododendron maximum
Elodea species
Japanese rose Rosa rugosa
Hybrid knotweed Fallopia japonica x sachalinensis
Duck potato Sagittaria latifolia
Giant knotweed Fallopia sachalinensis
Giant salvinia Salvinia molesta
Giant rhubarb Gunnera tinctoria
Perfoliate alexanders Smyrnum perfoliatum
Under section 14 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act it is an offence to plant or cause to grow in the wild any of the species listed in Schedule 9. Defra has published interpretative guidance on Section 14 which can be found on their website.
Inclusion of Rhododendron ponticum is of interest because it is used commonly as a rootstock for grafting ornamental varieties. Failure of the scion could result in R. ponticum growing and seeding in the wild!
Shallon (Gaultheria shallon), Sea Buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides), Turkey Oak (Quercus cerris), Evergreen Oak (Quercus ilex) and False Acacia (Robinia pseudoacacia) were included in the original consultation list, but they have not been included in the schedule on this occasion.
It is worth noting that, in the schedule, the scientific name of Japanese Knotweed has been changed from Polygonum cuspidatum to Fallopia japonica. The latter is considered more widely used and accepted (see Arboriculture Research and Information Note 150).
Defra and the Welsh assembly are considering the proposed Ban on Sale of some of the species listed above and an announcement on these is anticipated by the end of the year.
Schedule 9 part I, which refers to animals, has also been amended and the amendments to this are shown below for information and interest.
Harry Pepper, AAIS, Farnham
Annex to Tree Damage Alert No. 137
Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 – Amendments to Schedule 9 - Animals.
The animals now added to schedule 9 part I, and for which it is now an offence to release or allow them to escape into the wild, are:
Mammals
Chinese water deer Hydropotes inermis
Wild boar Sus scrofa
Ferret (Mustelo furo), Polecat ferret (Mustelo furo x putorius) and Common rat (Rattus norvegicus) were included in the original consultation list, but they have not been included in the schedule on this occasion.
Birds
Northern goshawk Accipiter gentilis
Black swan Cygnus atratus
Snow goose Anser caerulescens
Common crane Grus grus
Emperor goose Anser canagicus
Red Kite Milvus milvus
Bar-headed goose Anser indicus
Monk parakeet Myiopsitta monachus
Barnacle goose Branta leucopsis
Red-crested pochard Netta rufina
Eagle owl Bubo bubo
Red-billed chough Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax
Corncrake Crex crex
Ruddy shelduck Tadoma ferruginea
Rosy-faced lovebird (Agapornis roseicollis), Blue-crowned parakeet (Aratinga acuticaudata), Helmeted guinea fowl (Numida meleagris) and Green pheasant (Phasanius versicolor) were included in the original consultation list, but they have not been included in the schedule on this occasion.
Invertebrates
Australian flatworm Australoplana sanguinea
Chinese mitten crab Eriocheir sinensis
Flatworm Kontikia andersoni
Spiny-cheek crayfish Orconectes limosus
Flatworm Kontikia ventrolineata
Red swamp crayfish Procambarus clarkii
Slipper limpet Crepidula fornicata
American oyster drill Urosalpinx cinerea
The American hard-shelled clam (Mercenaria mercenaria) was included in the original consultation list, but has not been included in the schedule on this occasion.
Animals that have been removed from schedule 9 part I are:
Mammals
Crested porcupine Hystrix cristata
Coypu Myocaster coypus
Himalayan porcupine Histrix hodgsonii
Mongolian gerbil Meriones unguiculatus
Birds
Bobwhite quail Colinus virginianus
Budgerigar Melopsittacus undulatus
Note:
The information in this TDA is taken from: “Government response to the public consultation: Review of Schedule 9 to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and the ban on Sale of Certain Non-native Species. Part 1: Schedule 9 Amendments” and published by Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs.
AAIS l Alice Holt Lodge l Wrecclesham l Farnham l Surrey l GU10 4LH
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