Fallopia baldschuanica Russian-vine

A fast-growing, vigorous, deciduous climber, native in central Asia, which has been nick-named the 'mile-a-minute plant' because it grows so rapidly. It has heart-shaped leaves and produces masses of small pinkish flowers in panicles in late summer. It produces viable seed but the bisexual flowers are self-incompatible, so cross pollination is essential. Seedling recruitment is, however, poor and natural spread seems to be mainly by layering. It is widely grown in gardens in Britain and it naturalises itself mainly as a garden throw-out or as a relic of cultivation where it can persist vigorously and form large plants climbing over walls and old buildings and up trees and telegraph poles. It is found throughout much of lowland Britain, most commonly in southern England but it is absent from much of Wales, except for coastal regions. Most of the records in West Glamorgan are from the Swansea area and Gower. It hybridises with Japanese Knotweed (Reynoutria japonica) to form a hybrid (X Reyloppia  conollyana) which will set viable seed but has rarely been found nauralised.