Public Enemy no 1 seems to be the dreaded Mikania. At this time of year they appear in flower - previously un-noticed - all over the place. This one is in the swampy area just opposite the community garden.
If you look a bit closer you can see a mass of small flowers. It belongs to the family Compositae, which includes daisies and dandelions, and the seed is a small fluffy parachute that floats easily on the air.
So why is this so bad? Mainly because it scrambles over everything and shuts out the light. Even quite large trees can be starved of sunlight, their source of nourishment, and as a result they die. You can see this happening at various places around Lamma. This is in Tai Peng village on the path to Pak Kok.
Because the seed spreads so easily, it is very hard to eradicate. It's a bit like in
The Day of the Triffids - it is here to stay and all we can do is deal with it as best we can. The best solution seems to be to pull it up whenever you see it. Fortunately it is not difficult to pull out of the ground and it has no nasty spines or thorns.