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INVASIVE PLANTS PLAY havoc with the environment, causing species to go extinct and damaging ecosystems.
Despite this, if you walk into many garden centres and shops in Ireland, you will be able to buy them and take them home.
Cherry laurel is a common choice for hedging. The butterfly bush, with its popular lilac flowers, is often touted as being good for biodiversity. Montbretia’s orange flowers are a common sight in gardens across Ireland.
But these three species all share one thing: they are invasive.
Cherry laurel (Prunus laurocerasus) grows rapidly, preventing other plants from regenerating. It contains cyanide so is also poisonous for grazing animals.
Montbretia (Crocosmia X crocosmiflora) forms a thick ground cover that suffocates other plants. Butterfly bush (Buddleja davidii) plants spread quickly through millions of tiny seeds, taking over habitats and reducing biodiversity.
Ecologists have long criticised management of invasive species in Ireland, including Ireland’s ‘slow reaction’ to the issue.
On Wednesday, we published findings from our Soil Invaders investigation, which highlighted that millions are being spent by councils each year to deal with invasive species, but they are still spreading in many parts of the country.
In July, new legislation on invasive species implementing EU law came into effect.
The new regulation, which was introduced by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), makes it illegal to sell and release into the environment a list of 77 invasive species “of national concern” including rhododendron, Spanish bluebell, sika deer and grey squirrel.
“These regulations update and strengthen existing legislative provisions around invasive alien species in Ireland and are now being implemented,” a spokesperson for the NPWS told The Journal Investigates.
However, invasive species such as cherry laurel, montbretia and the butterfly bush are not included in the Irish list, meaning they can still legally be sold.
Other plants popular in gardens like old man’s beard (Clematis vitalba), pampas grass (Cortaderia selloana) and Himalayan honeysuckle (Leycesteria formosa) are also invasive but not banned from sale in Ireland.
This issue of being able to buy such species so easily was highlighted by An Taisce in The Journal as far back as 2013. When asked about the continued sale of cherry laurel, montbretia and the butterfly bush, Dr Elaine McGoff, head of advocacy with An Taisce said:
It’s time to join the dots, and stop the problem of invasive species at source. It’s a no brainer.
Referring to our investigation this week on the cost of invasive species management, she said that “it beggars belief” that county councils are “spending vast sums every year to control invasive species”, yet some can still be bought.
“We can’t expect the Irish public to do their due diligence before buying a plant in a local garden centre.
“It should be a given that if it’s for sale in a shop, then it’s safe for use and will not further add to the problem of invasive species which are decimating our precious biodiversity.”
A rewilding charity in Mayo, the Gaelic Woodland Project, has been campaigning in recent years for a ban on the sale of cherry laurel in particular.
“It is astonishing that the sale of such a highly invasive species is still allowed while our country tethers on the edge of biodiversity collapse,” director Oisín O’Neill wrote last year in relation to a government public consultation.
The new regulation “applies to species of EU concern and those of national concern”, a NPWS spokesperson told us. It stops the “trade of a range of harmful species and further efforts nationwide to protect native habitats and species”.
The law does allow for “emergency measures to be introduced for species which are not included” on the EU list, but “any such emergency measures must be given careful consideration and be subject to scientific advice”, the spokesperson said.
These lists and laws related to invasive species vary depending on what plants are of concern in EU countries.
For instance, the butterfly bush is banned from sale in Spain, the trade of cherry laurel is banned in Switzerland and it is illegal to plant montbretia in the wild in Scotland as well as in England and Wales.
If you are out shopping for plants to take home, the National Biodiversity Data Centre offers a range of resources on pollinator-friendly plants that won’t play havoc on our ecosystems, including species and guidelines for gardens.
The fight against invasive plants is costing councils millions. Read now >>
Reporter: Anthea Lacchia • Editor & Additional Reporting: Maria Delaney • Main Image Design: Lorcan O’Reilly • Social Media: Sadbh Cox
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