In 1839 an Indian surgeon sent some plant parts of the Impatiens Glandulifera from Nepal to the Horticultura Society in London.
In 1825, the same institution owned and described the Fallopia Japonica, originally from East Asian. A plant that Jonkheer Philipp Franz Balthasar Von Siebold immediately afterwards brought to the Hortus in Leiden, after which it was given the name: Polygonum Sieboldii in the local nurseries gardens.
In 1819 the seeds of the Caucasian plant Heracleum mantegazzianum were discussed in the so-called seed lists of the KEW Royal Botanic Gardens in London. In 1839 these seeds were brought to Norway from where the march of this plant through Europe began.
The official scientific plant name may not mean much to you, but these plants are known as Spring Balsam, Japanese Knotweed and Giant Hogweed. Beautiful exotic plants with an impressive appearance and therefore certainly loved in the ancient designed ornamental gardens. However, these plants did not stay within the enclosure of these gardens, they also ended up in the surrounding nature. There they had no, or insufficient, obstacles to spread and began to increase rapidly, pushing the native plants away.
These plants, but also the Canadian Goldenrod, Ambrosia, etc. belong to the so-called. Predatory- or Invasive plants. Plants that we would rather get rid of. Various government agencies and nature organizations try to bring these plants to the public’s attention so that the plants are recognized, but also reported so that the organizations concerned can take effective actions to eradicate these wild garden plants.
Now I’m not that interested in eradicating these invasive plants, but I do find the phenomenon fascinating. I find it fascinating how a highly priced crop could ever end up in such negative attention, and moreover, this can be blamed on itself! As if that could be a choice for the plant. With my images I want to share these invasive exotics with a wider audience. Share with people who might normally focus less on the countryside, or are less aware of the outside. So that the next time they recognize those few species and know that they are actually maligned plants. How beautiful their appearance may be.
