Government accused of failing to tackle invasive rhododendron in England

Ridding country of the shrub will take 250 years at the current rate of progress, despise posing ‘a mortal threat’ to Britain’s temperate rainforest, say campaigners

It will take 250 years to eradicate rhododendron from England at the current rate of removal, according to new figures, despite the invasive woodland shrub posing “a mortal threat” to Britain’s temperate rainforest, campaigners warn.

Rhododendron, introduced from Asia and widely planted by the Victorians, covers at least 37,600 hectares (93,000 acres) in England, much of it in the west of the country, which is also home to the remaining fragments of temperate rainforest.