The ecologically important habitats of the New Forest are threatened by invasive non-native plants which spread rapidly and out-compete the native vegetation.
With funding from the New Forest HLS scheme, the New Forest Non-Native Plants Project has undertaken control of invasive non-native plants on the Open Forest including:
• Cotoneaster
• Himalayan balsam (below, photo credit: Ashley Basil)
• Japanese knotweed
• Parrot’s feather
• Yellow azalea (below, photo credit: Catherine Chatters)
• Montbretia
• Gaultheria
• American skunk cabbage (below, photo credit: Clive Chatters)
• Pitcher plants
• Bog arum
• Pickerelweed (below, photo credit: Clive Chatters)
• Golden club
• Iris laevigata
The New Forest HLS scheme also funded the New Forest Non-Native Plants Project to undertake a three-year trial to test novel methods of controlling New Zealand pygmyweed.
Pictured top: Golden Club (Orontium aquaticum). Credit: Clive Chatters