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Why Are Some Plants Labelled Weeds?; I Don't Get It
Topic Started: May 24 2013, 06:58 AM (269 Views)
thenrifish
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Looks like things are a little in between events here so somebody might be looking for something to read. I put this little story together a few years ago and posted it on my blog. If you are really hard up for something to read - go ahead! I'm not fishing so I gotta do something!

That plant is a weed.

This may sound like two minutes with Andy Rooney but I just don’t agree with this term. If a plant looks pretty and it has some quality that makes it useful, then why is it a weed?

What is a weed?

The chicory plant has a pretty little flower and some people use it to make tea. Isn’t the bright yellow flower of the dandelion similar to a marigold or some little yellow daisy? You can make wine from dandelions. That’s good isn’t it? What is grass? It just lays all over the place and looks plain old green. I guess cows can eat it. I don’t think it’s a weed but I think it acts like a weed. Grass tries to overpower everything else. If Creeping Charlie tries to do that, we call him a weed.

Do weeds have some exclusive property that we can use to define them from other plants? Are those other plants just “plants” or should we call them “non weeds”?

When my wife “weeds” the flower garden, she will constantly ask “is this a weed?” Does it really matter? My response is always the same. “If you like it – leave it there. If you don’t like it, pull it out.”

Milkweed – wow, poor plant got it right in the name. This plant with the fun little seedpod is home to the much admired Monarch Butterfly. The monarch needs this plant to survive. Children love to open the mature seed pod and blow the little parachutes all over the place. We are intent on eradicating it because it is a “weed”. I don’t know what makes it a weed.

There are some plants that I guess we can safely call a weed. Poison Ivy comes to mind first. I can’t see anything good about this plant. This one can go away forever as far as I am concerned. A couple of good doses of this plant have it on “My weed list”.

There are some very interesting names for weeds. The mouse eared chickweed. Does this really sound like a weed” It sounds like something we should see on the farm. Another similar name is “lamb’s quarters”. It belongs to the “goosefoot family” It just does not sound like a weed. More farm type plants – try “field horsetail” and “wild oats”. Sounds like they should do well together.

Don’t forget the “european frogbit.” Now you really must wonder about that name.

I like the masses of purple loosestrife I see growing in ditch banks but I guess it is a monster in disguise. It gets out of control and chokes out everything. Maybe that makes it a weed.

I guess St John’s Wort and Cypress Spurge don’t sound that good to me. Maybe I will add them to my weed list.

Now this one really makes me wonder. I looked up Common weeds of northern United states and Canada. Where is the thistle.

That mean bristly plant wasn’t to be found in the list of weeds. It must be a good plant I guess but I can’t imagine why.

I want to talk to the guy that made that list of weeds. I just don’t think he has it right!

I think Andy Rooney might have had an opinion about this whole weed deal. I bet he could have provided a very interesting response.
Some people say I am lucky. I say the harder I work, the luckier I get!
 
Perchdrifter
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LOL...sure makes you think
Live every day like it's your last
 
Rutman
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Agreed. Some weeds look cool and can be useful. Some people just don't appreciate nature I guess. cheers11 TFS
 
deermagnet
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Good read
High on the horn
WHEN YOUR OLD ALL YOU HAVE ARE YOUR MEMORIES SO MAKE THEM
 
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