Fallopia japonica is native to Japan, Taiwan and Korea. It is now widely naturalized in Europe and North America, and is regarded as one of the worst invasive alien species. For Japanese people, F. japonica has been one of the most familiar and useful wild plants for centuries. It is rare to regard the plant as a harmful weed in Japan. Fallopia japonica has many ethnobotanical uses as an edible and medicinal plant. Therefore it was recorded in many historical documents, by different names. A dictionary of local plant names recorded 689 words for F. japonica, and it was the plant with the most names among all plants listed. from: Fallopia japonica (Japanese Knotweed) in Japan: Why Is It Not a Pest for Japanese People? © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 [note: the current accepted name is Reynoutria japonica; it was also called Polygonum cuspidatum] *********************************************** The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html