Injurious weeds

Difference between invasive and injurious weeds

This information is relevant to England, Scotland and Wales.

Japanese knotweed, giant hogweed and Himalayan balsam are not considered to be ‘injurious’. Injurious refers to a number of species listed the Weeds Act 1959. These are:

  • common ragwort
  • spear thistle
  • creeping or field thistle
  • curled dock
  • broadleaved dock.

Defra has produced leaflets that will help you to identify these species.

What you must do

If you have any injurious species on your land, you are responsible for controlling them. You must also prevent them from spreading onto adjoining land. You could be served with an enforcement notice to make sure you do this.

In this guideline: