WHAT MAKES A PLANT EVIL

 

WILLOW

Bureaucratically in Tasmania ALLwillows are seen aa EVILplants and that's because they are mismanaged and misunderstood. Yes willows were introduced from elsewhere and because they are now mismanaged their 'usefulness' in the Tasmanian CULTURAL landscape is misunderstood despite their usefulness and attributes. 

Willows in Tasmania are declared environmental weeds and 'Weeds of National Significance', meaning their importation, sale, and distribution are legally prohibited.

Sadly all this is contestable as MANAGEDwillows are a viable resource and especially so in cultural landscaping devised and designed to manage better land use strategies ... See https://raynorman7250.blogspot.com/p/blog-page_6.html

Arguably here in TOPdown autocratic bureaucracies we find the phenomena  of 'Premeditated Ignorance' ... SEE ...  https://www.sherwinarnott.org/2026/02/interesting-idea-premeditated-ignorance/

Willow's Supposed Environmental Impact:

• Choke waterways and alter natural water flow.
• Drop large branches without warning.
• Form dense root thickets that cause severe bank erosion and flood risks.
• Destroy local habitats, making it hard for native species like the platypus to forage or burrow.
• Degrade water quality when massive blankets of fallen leaves rot and deplete oxygen levels.

Management and Removal

• Local councils actively run removal and restoration programs (such as projects along the Hobart Rivulet and in Launceston) to clear out invasive trees.
• Landowners are encouraged or required to control willow growth on their properties.
• Cleared areas are replanted with local native grasses, shrubs, and trees to restore natural riverbank health

VIDEO

REFERENCES

• ... https://willowweaverstasmania.blogspot.com/2017/11/willow-and-permaculture.html

• ... See https://minister.homeaffairs.gov.au/JoshWilson/Pages/hobart-rivulet-restoration-project-cracking-on-with-willow-removal.aspx