Friends of the Bowdon Bollin need help in fight against poison plant

12:00pm Saturday 1st September 2012 in News

(L to R) FOBB members Bruce Dagley, Bridget Green and Dale Pickard (L to R) FOBB members Bruce Dagley, Bridget Green and Dale Pickard

ALTHOUGH they may look like spacemen, volunteers from Friends of the Bowdon Bollin (FOBB) have actually been removing Giant Hogweed from the Bowdon Bollin all summer and need more helpers.


The non-native plant has colonised areas of the Bowden Bollin and its poisonous sap can cause irritation and painful irritation of the skin when exposed to sunlight.


Large plants are capable of producing between 50,000 and 100,000 viable seeds which are dispersed by wind and water.
 

The FOBB team has removed many of these flowering plants from a selected area over the summer.


If they are to extend their work to a wider area the team requires more volunteers.
 

Email friendsbowbol@aol.com for more information.

Comments(4)

robin of alty says...
1:04pm Sat 1 Sep 12

Sadly, the Bollin at Bowdon is not the only stretch of this river that's been blighted by this invasive plant. There's evidence of them as far downstream as Heatley near Lymm.

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den the men says...
12:03pm Sun 2 Sep 12

are you frightened of mentioning that this abominal plant is Japanese hogweed or would that be racist

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Altysmiffy says...
9:52pm Sun 2 Sep 12

The large leaves leave the river bank in such shade other plants so the lack of new roots and native plants can lead to weakening of the river bank and a reduction in habitat for local wildlife. The river acts as a corridor for the carriage of the seeds. Once established it is a nightmare to get rid of. Good luck to those volunteering to remove the plant.

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AltyMatt says...
1:35pm Tue 4 Sep 12

den the men, you're thinking of Japanese knotweed which is a completely different plant. And no, of course it wouldn't be racist to use its name, you're just trying to cause a fuss over nothing.

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