In message , kay
writes

Stewart Robert Hinsley;886353 Wrote:
In message , Sacha
writes-
On 2010-05-05 19:53:48 +0100, "shazzbat"
said:
-
We went to the allotment today by a different route to the usual, and
on the way we spotted this plant in a roadside ditch. We haven't seen
it there in previous years. What is it?

http://tinyurl.com/35m6zyp
.jpg-

Skunk cabbage - very handsome.-

The BSBI ('BSBI' (http://www.bsbi.org.uk)) might be interested.

That's the yellow, western or American skunk cabbage, Lysichiton
americanum. There's also a northeast Asian species with white spathes.
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley

It's appeared in our nature reserve this year. Any idea whether it's a
harmless garden escape or something invasive we should be worrying
about?

Google Lysichiton invasive site:uk

There are a number of official looking pages listing it as invasive, but
I haven't found one that says how bad it is.
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley