A researcher from Montpellier is giving invasive plants a second life

NATURE – Japanese knotweed or Provence cane: these ornamental plants are invading nearly all of Europe. But in Montpellier, in Claude Grison’s laboratory, they are being harnessed for the benefit of the environment and the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries. Of exotic origin, these plants have the ability to clean up water and mining soils by absorbing heavy metals. Plants like the Provence cane “proliferate uncontrollably in wetlands,” notes Claude Grison. The latter is also highly flammable and acts as a fuel for the wildfires that are becoming increasingly common in the south of France.

Le Méridien
June 22, 2022

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