The Woodland Trust has warned against buying rhododendron as the plant, which is prolific in Cornwall, is 'destroying' native wildlife.

The trust is urging gardeners not to buy rhododendron ponticum this spring in a bid to protect native wildlife.

The rhododendron, while visually pleasing, carries a strong risk of disease and is recognised as an "invasive species", threatening numerous forests and plants and damaging UK native wildlife.

Rhododendron ponticum not only carries potentially fatal diseases such as Phytophthora ramorum that could affect more than 150 different plant species, but its invasive nature costs the country millions every year.

Over the past year, the Woodland Trust alone spent £360,000 on controlling their spread.

These species spread rapidly, crowding out other plants and removal is laborious as it requires every root to be removed.

Imported rhododendrons pose a higher risk of arriving with deadly diseases, causing large scale felling of larch plantations thereby affecting the UK’s timber industry.

Rebecca Gosling, a tree disease expert at the Woodland Trust, demands more action from the government.

She said: "Rhododendron ponticum is a real problem for the UK’s native plants and trees.

"It is choking native woodland and shading out characteristic plants, including in important temperate rainforests which cover just 1 per cent of land in the UK."

She highlighted that if action isn't taken to protect more species and habitats, the task of meeting nature recovery targets and halting the decline in species abundance by 2030 will become increasingly difficult.

She added: "Action must be taken to protect further species and habitats from the same fate.

"Increased trade and the growing impacts of climate change furthers the likelihood of new species introductions.

"As a top five driver of biodiversity decline, the government must treat invasive non-native species as a priority issue."

Invasive non-native species (INNS), like the rhododendron ponticum, are animals, plants, or pathogens that have been unnaturally introduced due to human activities.

They disrupt the environment and pose economic threats.

These INNS have been documented as the sole reason for 16 per cent of global plant and animal extinctions.

Despite efforts, trends suggest an increase in the establishment of INNS species in the UK since 1960, with an estimated 311 different invasive species in Great Britain alone.

The trust warns that current measures to prevent species from establishing in the UK are inadequate.

The Woodland Trust and the Wildlife and Countryside Link are appealing to the government to bolster the invasive species biosecurity budget to £3 million, and dedicate another £3 million to fund a permanent species inspectorate.

Increased border inspections would prevent new invasive species from entering the UK.