Japanese knotweed
Fallopia japonica
FOUND by rchawley2012-06-27
Brunswick
ID Confirmed
Quality checked by manyeyes
Peer reviewed by
Field Notes
This morning my cousin Amelia and I set out on an adventure. We were trying to find the invasive plant, Fallopia japonica, also known as Japanese knotweed or Mexican bamboo. Last week, while enjoying a coffee soft serve at the local dairy frost, I had pointed out to my family that the large bush behind the dairy tracks in front of the railroad tracks was a nasty invasive, Japanese knotweed. So Amelia and I knew just where we were going to look. We found two large collections of knotweed right away and were impressed by their height. It was approximately 70 degrees F and overcast. It only drizzled a tad. We were happy because we were being goofy with plants.
Supporting Evidence
The leaves on the plant we found were alternately arranged. This is a sign of f. japonica!
The leaves were rounded with smooth margins and came to a point.
It was a dense bush with stems that had swollen joints.
Species Observation: Species Looked For
Did you find it?:
I think I found it
Scientific name:
Fallopia japonicaCommon name:
Japanese knotweed
Sampling method:
Just looking around
Place Studied
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Map this species
Latitude:
N 43.907431 °
Longitude:
W -69.934769 °
Observation Site Information
Habitat:
Upland - Developed areas
Trip Information
Name:
Behind the Dairy Frost in Brunswick, next to the RR tracks
Trip date:
Wed, 2012-06-27 11:00
Town or city:
Brunswick
Type of investigation:
Species Survey
Ecosystem:
Upland
Watershed:
Presumpscot
Comments
goofy adventures - I wish I'd been there!
Hi there, rchawhley (I thought you were changing your name to rhawl?),
Nice observation! And good job keeping your eyes open for invasive plants, even while enjoying a coffee soft serve with your family. They do have a way of creeping into your consciousness, don't they?
I agree with christinev, the leaf shape that you saw is very F. japonica-looking. Did you happen to measure any leaves? Or look at their undersides for little hairs? It is a tall plant, but I don't think it is F. sachalinensis. Only the absence of hairs on the undersides of the leaves could really confirm that.
So why is F. japonica so nasty? I'd certainly agree that it is an impressive invader, but does that make it nasty?
Great field not and super observation!
gbh
giant vs. not giant
When I look at Mainer95's observation of Giant knotweed http://vitalsignsme.org/species-fallopia-sachalinensis-was-found-mainer9..., I can really see the difference in the shape at the base of the leaf. You can also see the difference in size when you look at the sampling method photo. It's really interesting to look a little more closely and see how different the two really seem to be.
I'm glad you both went out in the field today!