Stats

Lifespan: Perennial
Size: Large
Diet: Photosynthetic
Biome: Temperate broadleaf forest
Range: East Asia
Movement: Sessile
Breeding: Runners
Defense: Toxins
Status: Common

About

Japanese knotweed is one of the world's most aggressive invasive plants, with roots powerful enough to crack through concrete foundations and tarmac. A single fragment weighing just 0.7 g can sprout into a new colony, making it notoriously difficult to eradicate once established.

Life cycle

1.
seed
A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2.
sprout
A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3.
sapling
A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4.
mature
Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Polygonaceae
Genus: Reynoutria
Species: Reynoutria japonica