Science & technology | Sleeper species

Climate change could reawaken harmful invasive plants

The sooner they can be weeded out, the better

Photograph: Getty Images

THE MISSION is simple. Arrive on foreign soil, blend in and wait. Then, when the time is right, emerge from the shadows and take over. This procedure, familiar from spy fiction as the preserve of sleeper agents, is also the modus operandi of certain invasive plant species.

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This article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “Sleeper creepers”

From the August 17th 2024 edition

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