Japanese knotweed is the most commonly recognised invasive non-native plant. However it is not the only such plant, and there are many plants either covered by Schedule 9 of The Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981) or included in the Invasive Alien Species (Enforcement and Permitting) Order (2019). Brian Taylor is recognised as an industry expert in being able to identify plants correctly. This is particularly important with such plants as Cotoneaster, where 5 species are listed in Schedule 9, 1 species in Schedule 8 and there are a further 90 species present in the UK which are not covered by any legislation – so correct identification down to species is essential.

Taylands is able to reliably identify most invasive terrestrial weeds. When considering a site of whatever nature, it is vital to be able to identify a potentially problematic plant correctly. Many companies can correctly identify Japanese knotweed and Giant hogweed (for example), but these are not the only plants that you may need to be able to identify. To provide an example of our work, we have worked on sites where a specialist knotweed contractor had confidently identified a ‘Schedule 9 Cotoneaster’, however they had failed to identify the species correctly and the plant was not in fact a Schedule 9 plant, and so this changed the waste category – saving money, time and disruption on a busy construction site. We also have free identification guides to download for Japanese knotweed and for bonsai knotweed (chemically distorted growth). Taylands can attend site to identify potentially problematic plants, write a formal report with this information together with other relevant information concerning any necessary remediation works.