Bmda: Resistance is futile...

Environment Minister Neletha Butterfield has declared war on an Asian weed that grows so quickly that it "threatens all plant life Island wide."

"It grows a foot a day and can cause significant damage to homes in its path," she said yesterday .

Ms Butterfield said the weed, called Kudzu, is one of the world's worst alien weeds: "This is the most dangerous plant we have had to deal with and we are trying to stop it spreading before it becomes established in other parts of the Island."

The sheer weight of its vine can uproot trees, telephone poles, even walls, said Ms Butterfield. Its vine bears three broad shaped dark green leaves and in certain seasons has small purple flowers.

"It is the worst invasive we have seen; worse than Mexican Pepper and Indian Laurel," she said.

And it is spreading over the Island. At first, Paget was the only parish where Kudzu was found, but recently, other patches have been discovered in Warwick.

"Invasive species are now recognised as the number one threat to Island biodiversity and Kudzu is globally recognised as the fastest growing invasive plants of all," she said.

Kudzu has been growing on the Island for 30 years and in this time they have grown stronger.

Joseph Furbert of Conservation Services said that every year Kudzu remains here, it grows more vigourously than the last.

So, what genius imported this predator into Bermuda?