Weeds disrupting kerbstones and causing damage to paths

Updates

• A Highway Officer will carry out an inspection within the next 10 working days, some weeds due to their location may require a specialist equipment for safety reasons, if your Highway Officer is unable to clear the weeds on site, they will arrange for the specialist team carry out the work, which in some cases can take up to 28 days.

  Posted by Buckinghamshire Council at 14:29, Wed 15 May 2024

• We will only be treating noxious weeds on the public highway. All other weeds on the grass verge will be cut back as part of our grass cutting schedule which is published on the Buckinghamshire Council website.

  Noxious weeds which will be treated as prescribed in the Weeds Act 1959 are.

  Tuberous thistle - Cirsium tuberosum
  Very rare perennial species of calcareous grassland in Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Cambridgeshire made extinct in 1974 but re-introduced since 1987.

  Melancholy thistle – Cirsium heterophyllum/helenoides
  An uncommon erect perennial plant of damp northern meadows, woodland edges and verges. Leaves unlobed, green above, whitish and cottony beneath, elliptical with a tapering point. The margins toothed or with soft spines. The stem is grooved, winged and cottony, bearing large usually solitary purple flowering heads.

  Carline thistle – Carlina vulgaris
  A biennial plant of short calcareous grassland with very spiny leaves, cottony beneath with a short unspined flowering stem, 10-20cm, rarely up to 60cm. The flowering head is ringed by horizontally extended straw coloured rays.

  Musk thistle – Carduus nutans
  An annual or biennial species of calcareous grassland with flowering stems 100cm in height, discontinuously winged. The large flowering heads are usually solitary and drooping.

  Meadow thistle – Cirsium dissectum
  A local perennial plant up to 80cm high resembling a slender melancholy thistle, distributed through the southern half of lowland England and Wales to north-east Yorkshire. Dwarf thistle – Cirsium acaule – A stemless perennial thistle with a solitary flower head borne in the centre of the leaf rosette. Found on short and calcareous grassland in south and east England to Yorkshire.

  Common ragwort – Senecio jacobaea
  Young plant: Young plants of common ragwort are evident from the autumn to early June as low rosettes in pasture and on bare ground. The leaves of these young plants are extremely variable, either undivided or simply divided into terminal oval and smaller lateral lobes. These are usually a deep bottle-green, tinged purple, and slightly glossy on the upper surface.
  Adult plant: In their second or subsequent years the rosettes mature and produce flowering stems from late June onwards. These are between 30-100cm tall, carrying dense flat topped clusters of bright yellow daisy-like flower heads each 1.5-2.5cm across. The leaves on mature plants are strongly divided into narrow lobes with the bases clasping the non-woody main stem. The flowering stems die back after producing seeds.

  Broad-leaved dock – Rumex obtusifolius
  Young plant: Seedlings emerge from September through to summer with an opposite pair of narrow diamond-shaped or strap-like cotyledon leaves. The true leaves then emerge one at a time unrolling to form a roughly oval or elongated heart-shaped structure that is green but tinged with purple. Plantlets regenerated from root fragments more closely resemble the adult plant. Broad-leaved docks usually remain vegetative for their first year.
  Adult plant: This dock which has a perennial rootstock produces a basal rosette of large, broad, oval to oblong leaves up to 25cm long with a strong central vein and rounded, backward pointing lobes at the base. Flowering is from late June onwards with the stems typically up to 100cm tall but sometimes reaching 150cm. The flowering stem is loosely branched with numerous clusters of small reddish-brown flowers which have more the appearance of seeds. The flowering stems die back after producing seeds. Broad-leaved dock is distinguished from curled dock by the broader leaves. The fruit is roughly triangular with one or two swollen seeds. The thin wing or membrane surrounding the seeds has an irregularly toothed edge. The long tap root of this plant is more prone to be branched than that of curled dock. Both species are widespread and can hybridise so that intermediate plants occur.

  Curled dock – Rumex crispus
  Young plant: The seedlings are very similar to those of broad-leaved dock but the true leaves may have a more pointed tip. As with broad-leaved dock the plants can be regenerated from root fragments caused by soil disturbance or heavy treading by animals or humans.
  Adult plant: The leaves of curled dock are narrower and more elongated than those of broad-leaved dock, usually tapering to a point and with wavy undulating margins. Flowering is from late June onwards each year, when the plants can extend to 100cm or even 200cm in height. The flower and seed clusters differ from broad-leaved dock in that they are much more closely and densely arranged. The flowering stems die back after producing seeds. The fruit lacks teeth on the wing, is oval/triangular in shape, usually with all 3 seeds swollen, although with one often larger than the others.

  Creeping thistle – Cirsium arvense
  Young plant: Seedling plants form small rosettes with a pair of opposite simple and unstalked oval cotyledon leaves. Paired light green true leaves are arranged at right angles to the cotyledons. These have wavy edges, weak spines and the upper surface supports hairs or weak bristles. Plantlets regenerating from root fragments more closely resemble the adult plant.
  Adult plant: The adult plant forms an extensive root system which can be exposed on digging. The flowering stems extend 30- 100cm or more in height from the shoots which emerge out of the rootstock each spring. These stems lack spines, wings, furrows or ridges. The leaves are elongated and narrow with a wavy and strongly spined margin. The upper surfaces are quite glossy or waxy, whilst undersides are cottony or downy. There are separate male and female plants which can be distinguished by their different flower structures. Loose clusters of purple flower heads, each between 1.5 and 2.5cm long and around 1cm wide, are borne on the branched stems, from the end of June each year. The flowering stems die back after producing seeds

  Spear thistle – Cirsium vulgare other common names: Scotch Thistle, Bell Thistle
  Young Plant: Seedling plants appear from autumn until April in pasture and on bare ground. The cotyledons differ from those of creeping thistle in that they are borne on short stalks. The true leaves are also longer and more bristly with a downy appearance to the upper surfaces. The seedling plants quickly form rosettes which remain for at least one year before producing flowering stems.
  Adult plant: The flowering stems begin to emerge from the rosettes when the basal leaves reach 15-30cm in length. These stems typically reach 30-100cm in height, but taller specimens occur. Stems are cottony or minutely hairy, bearing discontinuous wings and leaves which are also spiny and deeply lobed. From July onwards plants produce large purple flower heads 3-5cm long by 2-5cm across, in loose clusters forming the stereotype image of a thistle. The flowering stems die back after producing seeds.

  State changed to: Closed

  Posted by Buckinghamshire Council at 07:25, Thu 23 May 2024