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Rhododendron
(Rhododendron ponticum)
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Rhododendron © Deborah Long/Plantlife
A non-native invasive plant.
The rhododendron was a favourite of the Victorians who used it to add a touch of the exotic to their gardens. Despite the pretty flowers, however, some species have caused untold damage to the native countryside throughout the UK.
Most people are particularly concerned about Rhododendron ponticum and the hybrid Rhododendron ponticum x Rhododendron maximum.
Distribution
Across the UK.
Habitat
Rhododendron ponticum causes problems in the wild in acid woodland and heathland.
What's the problem?
Most native plants cannot compete with the rhododendron. It grows to many times the height of a person, with thick leaves that shade out native plants. This in turn leads to the loss of local animal life, which depend on them to survive.
Rhododendrons are causing particular problems in the internationally important oak and hazel woodlands of the west coast of Scotland, where rare lichen and moss communities are under threat. On Lundy Island in the Bristol Channel, rhododendron was threatening the endemic Lundy cabbage (and its associated endemic invertebrates) until an eradication programme was initiated.
What are we doing about it?
Find out more about Plantlife's invasive plant programme by clicking here.