Dictionary.com defines a weed as follows:
1. a valueless plant growing wild, esp. one that grows on cultivated ground to the exclusion or injury of the desired crop.
2. any undesirable or troublesome plant, esp. one that grows profusely where it is not wanted
Yep, sounds like a weed all right. Plants that want to take over the world, starting with your yard, that don't produce beautiful flowers or attract interesting animals in the process, and which crowd out the plants that do.
Still, I might take umbrage with those definitions. It seems to me a bit unfair to lump into one category every plant that grows so well that it will overrun anything and anyone if given half a chance.
If it were me writing the definition, I might further break it down into "good weed" and "bad weed". Quite simply, a good weed is one that, while still trying to take over the world, at least carries some readily noticeable benefit in doing so.
This award, therefore, goes the to the best good weed--which, in my book, is clearly milkweed. Milkweed spreads both by prolific underground runners and seed pods which open to release even more prolific windborne seeds into the air. So yes, they most definitely qualify as weeds in so far as they will rapidly take over a given space and then move on to all the other spaces around them as well.
But--and this is a big but--they also bloom heavily and beautifully. What is more, these are some of the most deliciously fragrant blooms your nose will ever be privileged to smell. Probably because they are so fragrant, they readily attract a wide range of insects including bees, beetles, and a wide variety of butterflies.
Finally, as you know doubt know if you read this blog, they are also the food plant of Monarch butterflies. That in itself makes them worth having in my book. In my admittedly limited experience, the more of them you have, the more butterflies you will have as well. And doesn't it seem like having more butterflies in the world can only make it a better place?
(Note: You can actually control milkweeds growth pretty easily with just a little work.)
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