class of lawyers practice litigating claims over it. The
menacing presence of the plant has caused neighbors
to file lawsuits, banks to cancel mortgages, and homes
to lose their value. Here in New York State, its ability
to edge out native species is considered its greatest
destructive power, and, as in Britain, it is illegal to sell
or purchase the Japanese knotweed plant.
It is not, however, illegal to eat it. The young shoots of the
plant are edible in spring and taste pleasantly tangy, much
like its cousin, rhubarb. And like most illicit substances,
there's money to be made in it. The stems and leaves are
high in resveratrol, the same compound found, famous
-
"Knotweed gets people
worked up, doesn't it? Although I
admit I'm probably in that group of
people horrified by the sight of this
plant. We're fortunate that in Columbia
it is not as prevalent as in many other
places. When we do find it, we try and
eradicate any enclave from spreading
because we are, frankly, pretty scared
of it."
—Brett O'Brien, Natural Resources
Supervisor, Columbia, Missouri
ly, in red wine. Resveratrol has been shown to reduce
lipid levels in mice, and some studies suggest that it
may have protective effects against cardiovascular and
neurological decline, or even anti-cancer properties,
though the evidence is murky and has been tainted
by laboratory scandals. Despite the lack of strong evi-
dence, resveratrol has been touted by many writers of
health articles and makers of herbal supplements as a
red wine-based anti-aging wonder drug. Resveratrol
tablets and tinctures are usually marketed with appeal-
ing images of grapes and wine, but in fact, the majority
of resveratrol supplements on the market are, far more
lucratively, isolated from Japanese knotweed.
The bamboo-like stems of Japanese knotweed. Photo by
Barbara Tokarska-Guzik, University of Silesia, bugwood.org
Strawberry knotweed pie on the Eat the Invaders website.
See also recipes for knotweed wine, knotweed gazpacho,
chutney, vodka, fruit leather, pesto ...
18 CityTREES
