Barcoding plants and other stories

Timber from trees infected by a deadly disease goes on sale on the open market. Can Wales become the first country in the world to DNA barcode its native flora? And why is there no home market for mussels harvested from the Menai Strait?

Last updated: 27 March 2011

Country Focus - Sunday 27th March at 07.00am presented by Rachael Garside; repeated 5.30am Monday 28th March 2010

The first batch of timber from infected Japanese larch in Wales is due to be sold on the open market this week. The trees were felled after the outbreak of the Ramourum disease was discovered to have spread to forests in south Wales last year.

We meet the group of volunteers busy building otterholts on the Llangollen Canal.

At the National Botanic Gardens, the race is on for Wales to become the first country in the world to DNA barcode every single one of our native flowers and plants, 1143 species in total. The project is nearing completion causing much anticipation among the science team at the gardens in Carmarthenshire.

What might you pick up at a garden centre near you? We look at the new potential Japanese Knotweeds

And why compared to our European counterparts Britons eat a meagre 2,000 tonnes of mussels a year...yet five times that amount are harvested from the Menai Strait alone and you won't find them on sale unless they've been to Holland and back.


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