In the UK there is a rather strange statute called the Weeds Act 1959. It lists the injurious weeds of the UK which include:
- Common ragwort – Senecio jacobaea
- Broad-leaved dock – Rumex obtusifolius
- Curled dock – Rumex crispus
- Creeping thistle – Cirsium arvense
- Spear thistle (other common names: Scotch Thistle, Bell Thistle) – Cirsium vulgare
“Injurious weeds” can cause illness. For example, broad-leaved dock can cause sickness in livestock and the milk from the plant can also cause dermatitis. Common ragwort is injurious because it can kill horses. However, incidents are rare.
Set against these deficits, the listed weeds are good news for bees and other pollinators. Because of that it is arguable that the Weeds Act 1959, should be revisited, rethought and perhaps redrafted. I suspect that there is pressure on doing this because bees are suffering due to insecticide pollution which has had a negative impact upon pollination. If bees like some of these weeds, to remove them would further restrict pollination as I understand the situation. There is a need to enhance pollination not do the opposite.
Identification of injurious weeds
Scientists said that five species of native wildflower are classed as injurious under this act and that a study found that three of them; ragwort and the two thistles listed above are very popular with bees and other insects.
The study found that the abundance and diversity of pollinators which visited these so-called injurious weeds was about double that for wildflowers which are recommended by Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs).
A co-author of the study, Dr. Nicholas Balfour of the University of Sussex said: “We are calling for a tolerance of reasonable quantities of injurious weeds in locations where they are doing no real harm [such as] urban areas, rural uncultivated land, road and rail verges, and well-managed pastures.”
Injurious weeds can colonise disturbed habitats. The researchers counted insects visiting wildflowers at six sites. They also had a look at a database of insect sightings. The database held information regarding 387 plant species. The weeds ranked fourth for a thistle (C.arvense), sixth for ragwort (J.vulgaris) and 13th for a thistle (C.vulgare) in terms of popularity for pollinators.
They state that about £10 million annually is spent to control these weeds. Dr. Balfour was alarmed that public bodies are using taxpayers money to remove ragwort. He recommends that the Ragwort Control Bill be scrutinised.
