An invasion of kiwi fruit-producing plants in Swiss forests is strangling young trees and could cause serious economic and ecological damage, according to the Swiss forestry institute WSL.
The damage was particularly noted in an area where a cyclone had devastated forests in 1999; the population of new sycamore trees growing in the area is most at danger. The kiwi plant, Actinidia deliciosa, damages the trunks of the trees it grows onto.
The plant is a native of China that was introduced to New Zealand 100 years ago; it is now both a valuable crop there, and when wild, an invasive danger. A similar situation may be happening in Switzerland, where it is grown for fruit. In New Zealand, a species of native bird developed a taste for it, and became the carrier of seeds to forested areas; it's believed that's what has now happened in Switzerland as well, since plants have been found far from the farms.
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Photo: Kiwi plant with fruit (
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