Weeds Abound

While nature is blessing us with even more beautiful flowering shrubs, trees and plants...

Azaleas

Pansies

Variegated Hosta

Royal Storm Bearded Iris

It is also overflowing with weeds. I researched what was growing as I did not want to pull anything that might be beneficial to butterflies, birds, and good bugs. So I took pictures of everything and then Mike and I tried to identify what it was. Some were easier than others.

I think these are Cleavers which are new to me. They could also be Sweet Woodruff which is the same family but can be toxic. They are lush green and spread quickly. They manage to stick to everything, earning them memorable nicknames like “velcro plant,” “grip grass,” and “catch weed.” Their name comes from the Old English word, “to cleave,” which means “to latch onto.” I thought cleave meant to hack away...learn something new every day. The word is an "auto-antonym,"- a word which can mean its own opposite.

They are high in Vitamin C. "They have medicinal purposes that have been used since physician Galen and philosopher Pliny the Elder celebrated them for their ability to relieve temporary water weight gain, while Greek physician Dioscorides used them to help curdle and filter milk." (Traditional Medicinals) The cleavers’ energy can stimulate the lymphatic system which helps remove waste products from the blood stream and maintain the immune system. "Cleavers has long been used as a slimming aid, probably because of its diuretic properties. Worldwide, cleavers most common use has been as a cleansing herb for treating ailments from kidney and urinary disorders to infections and itching. It is excellent for skin conditions like eczema." (Eat Weeds)

Galium Aparine, Clivers, Cleavers

So while I am removing them from certain areas I am letting them grow up my fence in the back to see what happens. They are supposed to have delicate white flowers as some point so they will brighten the yard even more.

Cleavers can be cooked like spinach and eaten for vitamins and minerals. You can add fresh and tender cleavers to your salads and juices. They can be added to soups, smoothies, tea, pesto, and vinegar. Sweet Woodruff would be used to make insect repellent.

I guess I will wait to use them in my diet until I become more knowledgeable to which I have.

So pokeweed is something that I have heard of but again not to familiar with. I guess the only weeds I really know are dandelion, clover, crabgrass, jimsonweed, broadleaf plantain, carpetweed, bull thistle, buttercup and wild violet (which are not weeds to me, I love them).

Pokeweed

Phytolacca americana, also known as American pokeweed, poke sallet, or poke salad, is a poisonous, herbaceous perennial plant.

Pokeweed

The flowers are green to white, followed by purple to almost black berries which are a food source for songbirds such as gray catbird, northern mockingbird, northern cardinal, and brown thrasher, as well as other birds and some small animals (i.e., to species that are unaffected by its mammalian toxins). (Wikipedia) I have not seen the flowers or the berries yet but glad the songbirds like them.

Pokeweed

So no touching pokeweed as chemicals in the plant can pass through the skin and affect the blood. You can safely remove the toxins in the young  tender leaves after thoroughly cooking them in two waters. Cooked berries are safe for making pies. I plan to not touch nor cook with this weed.

Common Persimmon

Wild Grape

So now that I can identify what it there I can decide what to pull out.