WireWeed

Where does wireweed come from?

Wireweed is originally a native of the western Pacific but has become established in many other regions around the world as an invasive, non-native species. It was first recorded in the UK in 1973 on the Isle of Wight, and has since spread along the south coast of England and into Wales and Ireland. The first reports of wireweed in Scotland were in Loch Ryan in 2004 and, since then, established populations have also been found on the island of Great Cumbrae and on the North Ayrshire and Kintyre coasts. Detached, floating fronds have been found in other parts of the Firth of Clyde (in Loch Fyne and on the shores of the Isle of Arran) as well as in the Firth of Lorn. We don’t know how abundant wireweed is in these places, or how much farther it has spread.