{"id":53775,"date":"2016-08-16T13:33:01","date_gmt":"2016-08-16T17:33:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.nybg.org\/plant-talk\/?p=53775"},"modified":"2016-08-16T13:33:27","modified_gmt":"2016-08-16T17:33:27","slug":"a-weed-by-any-other-name","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nybg.org\/blogs\/plant-talk\/2016\/08\/horticulture-2\/a-weed-by-any-other-name\/","title":{"rendered":"A Weed by Any Other Name"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kristine Paulus<\/a> is NYBG<\/a>\u2019s Plant Records Manager. She is responsible for the curation of The Lionel Goldfrank III Computerized Catalog of the Living Collections. She manages nomenclature standards and the plant labels for all exhibitions, gardens, and collections, while coordinating with staff, scientists, students, and the public on all garden-related plant information.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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\"Pontederia<\/a>There are some words that gardeners would rather eradicate from their lexicon. \u201cWeed\u201d is one of them, whether a noun or a verb. Although the definition of weed is subject to debate (some define it as any plant growing where it\u2019s not wanted, therefore a rose growing in a cabbage patch might be considered a weed), and can have multiple meanings (such as a widow\u2019s mourning garments, but that\u2019s a discussion for another time), most people think of a weed as a plant with little value.<\/p>\n

So when is a weed not a weed? Many common names for plants include the word \u201cweed\u201d and are often associated with plants that we consider nuisances like bindweed or knotweed. However, quite a few likeable plants, such as native plants and those that are beneficial to pollinators, also contain the word \u201cweed\u201d in their name. Botanists and horticulturists tend to avoid the use of common names because they cause confusion. These vernacular terms vary by region and culture but also the same word can be used for multiple species. Since plants have only one botanical name accepted around the world, it\u2019s a much more accurate term.<\/p>\n

So which \u201cweeds\u201d are keepers?
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\"Impatiens<\/a>
Impatiens capensis<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n

Impatiens capensis<\/em><\/strong>, commonly known as jewelweed, is an abundant native plant with spotted orange flowers that have perfectly adapted to hummingbirds. Though an annual, it will readily self-seed and return each summer. Some people claim the leaves can be used to treat poison ivy rashes. Sounds like more of a jewel than a weed!<\/p>\n

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Named for Asclepius, the Greek god of healing, Asclepias <\/em><\/strong>is a large genus of milkweeds and butterfly weed primarily from North America and, as one of the common names suggest, is an important food source for our beloved Lepidoptera.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Helenium<\/a>
Helenium<\/em> ‘Moerheim Beauty’<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sneezeweed (Helenium<\/em> spp.)<\/strong> is another native butterfly attractant that brightens up gardens in late summer and fall with fiery reds and oranges. The common name comes from the fact that its leaves were once dried and made into a snuff to induce sneezing in an effort to \u201cexpel evil spirits.\u201d We hope it will expel the other kind of weeds.<\/p>\n

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\"Vernonia<\/a>
Vernonia noveboracensis<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One of the tallest, toughest, and purplest native wildflowers is Vernonia noveboracensis<\/em><\/strong>, or New York ironweed. It and other ironweeds such as V. lettermannii<\/em>, are real beacons for bees and butterflies. The specific epithet of the botanical name refers to New York, where it may have been first collected.<\/p>\n

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\"Eutrochium<\/a>
Eutrochium dubium<\/em> ‘Baby Joe’<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Joe-Pye weeds are prominent, statuesque eastern meadow wildflowers. A number of cultivars of Eutrochium <\/em>spp.<\/strong> (reclassified from Eupatorium<\/em>), such as \u2018Baby Joe,\u2019 are available for smaller gardens and for better butterfly viewing. We\u2019re guessing Joseph Pye did not consider this medicinal plant a true weed.<\/p>\n

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\"Dicentra<\/a>
Dicentra eximia<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Most of us know Dicentra eximia<\/em><\/strong> better as wild bleeding-heart or turkey-corn, but another common name is staggerweed, which is staggering to think that \u201cweed\u201d usually refers to unwanted plants. Its unusual heart-shaped flowers and fern-like foliage make it a wonderful woodland shade plant. As with many of our natives, it is loved by bees and butterflies.<\/p>\n

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\"Galax<\/a>
Galax urceolata<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Galax urceolata<\/em><\/strong> is a clumping evergreen perennial with leaves that turn brilliant crimson in the fall. The genus comes from the Greek word for milk, gala<\/em>, an allusion to the white flower spikes, but the meaning of the common name beetleweed is more obscure and doesn\u2019t convey the personality of this Appalachian native.<\/p>\n

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\"Pontederia<\/a>
Pontederia cordata<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

An interesting aquatic plant, Pontederia cordata<\/em><\/strong> is also known as pickerelweed. It not only has ornamental purple flowers and attractive leaves but also provides important habitat for fish (not just pickerel!) and frogs and is a food source for ducks, muskrats, turtles, and other wetland wildlife.<\/p>\n

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If any of these plants were conjured when we think of traditional \u201cweeds,\u201d then Getrude Stein\u2019s most famous line might instead be \u201ca weed is a weed is a weed is a weed.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There are some words that gardeners would rather eradicate from their lexicon. \u201cWeed\u201d is one of them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51779,"featured_media":53804,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[3824],"tags":[282,4190,2316],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.nybg.org\/blogs\/plant-talk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Vernonia_noveboracensis_01.png","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/ph0lU-dZl","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nybg.org\/blogs\/plant-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53775"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nybg.org\/blogs\/plant-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nybg.org\/blogs\/plant-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nybg.org\/blogs\/plant-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/51779"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nybg.org\/blogs\/plant-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53775"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/www.nybg.org\/blogs\/plant-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53775\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53826,"href":"https:\/\/www.nybg.org\/blogs\/plant-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53775\/revisions\/53826"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nybg.org\/blogs\/plant-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53804"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nybg.org\/blogs\/plant-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53775"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nybg.org\/blogs\/plant-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53775"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nybg.org\/blogs\/plant-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53775"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}